Originally Posted by
lovefly88
Quick question - I’m considering getting the AS Visa with a 40,000 point intro bonus. Can I buy a coach seat with miles and then when the miles hit my account from the Vietnam trip, can I upgrade to First without paying an extra fee?
What is is the likelihood of finding a coach ticket now on CX using AS miles for flexible dates in early November? Would be flying from MNL-NYC. I right now would have about 56,000 but by time the return flight credits I would have 72,000 approx. which would be enough for First coming home. I’ve read that CX opens First up sometimes within a few days of departure. Would it be reasonable to expect a minimum of business ticket back? Where can I search for CX availability using AS miles?
Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance.
If you book an Economy award ticket now, after 24 hours any changes will incur a $125 change fee without a fee waiver. (MVPG+) Change fees would be waived if you booked a higher class award when a segment didn't have availability at the level of the award booked but became available before departure.
For example you booked MNL-HKG in Y and HKG-JFK in F and later PE or J opened up on MNL-HKG you could upgrade the MNL-HKG segment without fee.
There is no guarantee that an award seat will be available at anytime. While close in has historically been good, the error fares over New Years means there are a lot of full F cabins on revenue tickets.
If you need to secure something, booking Y now and paying the change fee for the upgrade should it avail itself, might be the way to go. Alternatively, you could watch for J once your 40K posts as a J award is 50K or purchase 14K to top off your account to 70K for an F if you can find one. There won't be an F cabin on the very short MNL-HKG leg.
James on the Oceania Marina in Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia.