I generally fly NW/Continental and try and use my miles for upgrades to WBC across the Atlantic, generally I upgrade B fares with my miles, for base charge around $1350. However, I'm very interested in somehow trying out Virgin's UC I've read so much about. I'm a registered FC member but with 0 miles.

This coming late August/September/or early October I'd like to fly SFO-LHR in UC without paying $6000-7000+. I understand my options are:

1. pay flexible PE fares and then upgrade with miles I need to find elsewhere in some kind of trade, e.g., Coupon Connection or the like
2. buy a Z or D fare for around $2500 (if available -- the rep on the phone told me they aren't available until 25 days before the flight, risking my landing up with nothing)
3. find a good consolidator who might get me the ticket for $2700.

If I exercise option #1, what are the odds of my being able to find an upgradeable PE fare in September (the rep on the phone today told me the cheapest upgradeables are K fares, priced somewhere between discounted PE and flexible PE -- does that match up with what you know?)

I will be making a couple more trips to Europe in 2005 and would happy to have VS miles banked for those trips, so my ideal is flying September 2004 with miles credit, but I'd also fly without miles credit if it were cheaper.

I don't want to spend more than $2500, and if I spend that, I'd probably want miles credit.

Any ideas RE what the best planning or deal would be?