Originally Posted by
rbbjhb
Thanks, thijsseh. To be honest, I'm not that interested in the upgrade for JNB-DXB - it's a shortish flight on a 777, so seems a bit of a waste of valuable miles if I can't get the onward upgrade. In the old days, the upgrade of the second leg would be quite a bit cheaper in miles than upgrading both sectors, but it seems that's changed and now upgrading only the DXB to JFK leg costs the same as upgrading both sectors - extremely irritating!
I do have an alert set for upgrade availability on the second leg (alert only, not auto-upgrade) - are these alerts reliable or should I keep checking manually?
I have found the alert sort of reliable, but I would also check manually and even phone in.
I had misread your original post. I assume you are booked on EK 203 to JFK. There too they are still selling J Saver seats (EF shows O7), so there is a chance.
If you are happy to spend the miles on just the DXB/JFK flight you can always try at DXB (Skywards desk at the escalator to the lounges in B concourse or in the lounge if you have access through silver or above status). Or even on board (ask the FA at the door when you board and someone will come to your seat). The miles for these options are the same as when doing it via MMB or the call centre.