After my recent experience of looking at buying the miles to upgrade, I would be very wary and enquire first how much it would be to upgrade to the next cabin with cash only.

I can see the sense if you may only be a couple of thousand miles short but if you have to buy the max miles then always best to check first.

To emphasise the point, my experience was as follows:

PEK-DXB-GLA J Class. Currently have 12,500 miles. To get enough miles to for an upgrade to F on the DXB-GLA leg only, I would have needed another 26,500 miles. Maximium you can buy in 1 year is 25,000. I would have looked at other ways to get the 1500 I would have been short.

To buy the 25,000 miles, it would have cost me £700.

Cue phonecall to the EK Call Centre. They had to do a fare re-calculation as the original ticket was a TA ticket (J Saver).

Call Centre called me back within 20 minutes with price difference to upgrade to F on the PEK-DXB-GLA. Price difference was £412 for not one leg of the itinerary but both legs.

I know it won't always work out as good as that with the dark arts of revenue management but it may pay off making that quick phone call to check.

Safe & Happy Travels

S