yokozuma

Thanks for that, I'll keep an eye out for the email.

gabrielz

Has anyone had any luck using Plusgrade on NA-->KEF and want to share what they paid?

-G

EkekoBWI

$250 for SEA-KEF.

slsx2

I am flying Icelandair for the first time JFK - KEF - AMS with a stopover in Reykjavik on the way over. I got the email to bid to upgrade. I've read The Points Guy blog and a TripAdvisor post on it, but can't get good information?

I am flying economy. When I bid, do I have the option for EC or Saga? I know I am bidding per leg, per person. What's a good upgrade bid for JFK - KEF and what's a good bid for KEF - AMS. How about for the reverse trip?

Thanks in advance.

garethlewis

I have these come through, my view is that the minimum you can bid to upgrade is more often than not more expensive than if you booked the higher class from the beginning

mAAine_flyer

You have the choice of bidding for either EC or Saga. The best value is to upgrade from coach to EC, especially if you can snag seats in rows 5 or 6 (on the 757) which are Saga seats sold as EC (you get everything except the Saga class meals and drink service).

I usually book EC for my US-KEF flights and don't bother with the CLASS UP offers. But I've taken advantage for a few KEF-EU flights when I've moved from coach to EC. My most recent successful bid was for the KEF-ARN redeye, which I got for just USD 10 over the minimum bid.

Sure, sometimes it's cheaper to book the higher class from the get-go. But I've also managed to snag a few upgrades for quite a bit less than the original EC fare.

nologic

How much should I have to bid to upgrade each of BOS-KEF and KEF-CPH from Economy to Saga?

When does the bidding window open and when do they respond?

nologic

Do you have to be a Saga member to bid to upgrade? I put in my AS FF number. Do I open a Saga mileage account?

nologic

I have 4 pending segments BOS-REK, REK-CPH, CPH-REK, and REK-BOS, with the first departure 14 days from today (returning to BOS in 22 days).

I am interested in bidding to upgrade each of the segments from Economy to Saga Business.

I don't know the exact loads on each of the pending flights, but I can tell you that I can book at least 9 seats in business class on each/all of the flights at this time.

How much are these upgrades generally going for an how much should I bid? Does my base fare factor in the equation? If so, I am traveling on a deeply discounted fare with a free stopover.

Advice?

steveo

I flew KEF-ORD yesterday with my wife and we bid from economy to economy plus for 150$ which was the minimum and we easily cleared. We even got the Saga seat without the service, so it looks like minimum bid will get the job done.

I was also on a deeply discounted fair which I bought during one of FI's flash sales, so it doesn't seem to have an effect on the minimum bid. For reference my round trip ticket was $407.

nologic

Thanks. So you are saying that $150 got you premium economy. Do you recall what the minimum bid was for Saga Class?

Did you have an intra-Europe segments? I'm also curious about REK-CPH-REK. I'm on $457 round-trip fare to CPH w a stopover in REK for 4 nights.

nologic

OK, now I see. If you go to the Class Up website, it asks for your last name and booking reference number.

Then it gives you a minimum amount with a "slider" to increase above the minimum.

In my case, the minimum for BOS to REK is $340 for Saga Class and $170 for Economy Comfort.

The minimum for REK to CPH is $260 for Saga and $130 for Economy Comfort.

Bidding increments are $5.

​​​​​​I am thinking of bidding $15 over the minimum for the long haul segments, although I am really surprised by the cost of the intra-European Saga upgrades. I may do KEF to CPH for access to the Saga lounge in REK. Otherwise, the intra-Europe upgrades seem expensive, although the REK to CPH flight is a 767, so maybe E+ is a good idea as they may give you Saga seats?

Still evaluating...

nologic

Actually, the REK-CPH 8am flight is a 767-200.

Turns out I only have 100 minutes connecting time in REK, so not as much time to chill in the Saga lounge as I had thought.

The return CPH-REK flight is a 757. I suspect those are older seats. If I UG to E+, will I automatically get Saga seats? I presume these are older seats than the 767 Saga seats?

I guess one other factor is the CPH-REK fight is an 8pm dinner flight (3 hour flight time, not that much less than the 5 hour BOS-REK.

steveo

Don't forgot you go through customers at KEF, so you'll need maybe 20 minutes to do that. You won't automatically get the Saga seats, I guess its a crap shoot, but on my flight home 8 people in economy comfort got the saga seats. The rest were basically united premium economy seats with an empty seat between them.

Don't be surprised if your flight home takes longer than they state. Flight home to chicago had about an hour of extra flight time because of winds.

I just did the minimum bid and got a confirmed upgrade maybe 3 - 4 days before we left.

nologic

​​​​​Hmm, at 6:40am I have to go thru customs at KEF and I guess I have to go thru security again. Is there a fast track for premium class pax Iike at LHR?

I presume going from plane to Saga lounge will take 20 minutes or so. Maybe I'll get 30-40 minutes in the lounge.

OK, so no it much luxury there. I guess the whole thing: BOS-KEF-CPH is a 10+ hour redeye with little sleep (maybe 2 hours BOS-KEF and an hour kef-cph), so I think it's worth making it "easier."

Let see abt the costs. If I UG the whole thing, we have $457 base fare, plus $340+260+260+340 = $1657. If I was to book today, it would be $2136 round trip. I think I won't upgrade CPH to KEF and will feel good abt out of 4 legs for about $1400 roundtrip...