Mar 9, 2015, 6:33 am
Last edit by: Gnopps
*** MOD NOTE: Please do not remove ***
A friendly reminder that Flyertalk is not a marketplace, and nothing may be offered (or solicited) for sale or barter within the general forums - which includes offering vouchers for free. For those with sufficient posts and length of membership, trading/exchange is allowed solely within Coupon Connection, and then only in accordance with the specific rules of that forum.
Please do not attempt to solicit, sell or trade upgrade vouchers within this forum. Posts will be deleted and the members concerned potentially subject to disciplinary action. **Please note that this includes directly using the PM system to do so without first posting in Coupon Connection**. Thanks for your co-operation.
A friendly reminder that Flyertalk is not a marketplace, and nothing may be offered (or solicited) for sale or barter within the general forums - which includes offering vouchers for free. For those with sufficient posts and length of membership, trading/exchange is allowed solely within Coupon Connection, and then only in accordance with the specific rules of that forum.
Please do not attempt to solicit, sell or trade upgrade vouchers within this forum. Posts will be deleted and the members concerned potentially subject to disciplinary action. **Please note that this includes directly using the PM system to do so without first posting in Coupon Connection**. Thanks for your co-operation.
Criteria
- You must be travelling on A3 or OA metal - codeshares are not included.
- The original ticket must be issued on either A3 (390) or OA (050) ticket stock.
- Only revenue (paid) tickets, in fare classes other than U, P & T on a GoLight fare basis, can be upgraded, but not redemption tickets.
- All flights on the ticket must be on A3 or OA metal.
- There must be award availability in I-class for the upgrades to clear. You can check this by logging in to M&B then going to https://en.aegeanair.com/milesandbon...t/spend-miles/ The results page will initially be a calendar. To see Business availability, you have to click through to the next step. (You can also use a free or paid tool such as ANA website, UA website (looking for saver award space), Aeroplan, AwardNexus or ExpertFlyer to check for availability.)
- One coupon per person per journey leg is required - so, for example, TXL-ATH-SKG and return via the same route would require four coupons per person.
- Anyone can be upgraded using the coupons - you do not have to be travelling on the same booking or even the same plane.
Procedure
- Call A3 to request the upgrade. The phone numbers are listed at https://aegeanairlines.custhelp.com/ (most of them should go to the same call centre in Greece).
- If successful, a new ticket will be issued (with a new number). The PNR will remain unchanged.
- You are liable for any extra taxes applicable to Business Class (e.g. APD from the UK). Sometimes this gets charged, sometimes it doesn't - if it's due and you're not charged because the agent forgets, you've just been lucky.
- If there's no immediate I-class availability, you can ask to be waitlisted for upgrade. The ability to waitlist was reported to have been removed in August 2016, but was again possible in September. Check with the agent - option available on May 2018.
- in case you requested to be waitlisted for upgrade and want to check if the customer care agent made the changes on your booking you can check the reservation on checkmytrip.com (click here), the leg you requested the upgrade will be shown here as ”Waitlisted”.
- If you wish to upgrade one segment of a multi-segment trip (e.g. XXX-ATH-YYY) and there is availability on the leg you wish to upgrade, you may still have to be waitlisted due to married segment issues. The process of clearing the waitlist is somewhat confusing and may result in frustration due to the availability seeming to disappear but in reality, this may mean that the segments have been "unmarried" and the availability has been allocated to your reservation. See post 2272 and the update in post 2294 for more details.
Benefits
- No matter what the fare basis of the original ticket, you receive full Business Class benefits after upgrade.
- This includes lounge access (useful if you're upgrading someone other than yourself who has no status, or if you've run out of Silver lounge vouchers) and full baggage allowance (it applies for first leg as well, in case you are upgraded only on the 2nd leg of your trip - confirmed on the etix).
- Because the ticket books as a redemption, the free car hire is not included.
Mileage/segment earning
- You will earn at the underlying rate of your purchased ticket in economy, not at a business class rate. Because status miles are awarded, this also counts as a segment for re-qualification purposes.
- The flights may credit automatically, but may take longer to credit than tickets that have not been changed. They may also credit as 0 miles, and later change to the correct rate. If the flights have not credited properly after a few weeks then calling A3 will rectify this rapidly.
Expiry
- The vouchers expire at the end of your membership year - they do not carry over, even if status is retained. A new set is issued every year.
- It is the date when you use the voucher that matters. It can upgrade a flight that takes place after expiry as long as you apply the voucher before.
- On upgrade from Silver to Gold, any remaining Silver upgrade coupons expire, but they are replaced by four Gold ones which expire at the end of the Gold membership year.
BEWARE
- Once you have upgraded your seat, your ticket will be reissued. Suddenly, this ticket may be VERY expensive to change. If, for instance, you later decide to travel on a different date, you will probably be required to rebook into Business, even if Economy was available for new bookings. A3 will charge you the difference from your original Economy fare to a NEW Business fare. Plus fees, taxes and whatnot. Update 18/08/2021: this appears to no longer be the case, as an upgraded ticket was changed and the underlying Economy fare was used for the upgraded segments. The coupon was "removed" from the old dates and "reapplied" to the new dates.
- Coupons will not be returned/reinstated. Once a coupon is applied, it is gone for good (the T&Cs printed on the coupons allow for date and time changes, but not route changes).
- If you want to provide your coupons to upgrade a friend's travel, it is advisable to call in yourself. Your friend can call in if they know your name, birthdate, M&B-number and the email address associated with your account. That means: Anyone who knows these particulars can use your coupons without your knowledge. They do NOT need the coupon numbers.
- Crediting upgraded segments to another program will likely fail, as it will be reported as I-class. It may be possible to retro-claim the miles.
Seat upgrade coupons
May 5, 2016, 9:52 am
#976
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YYZ
Programs: TK*G, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 678
Well, probably a good idea but (and I don't know how familiar you are) Aegean are pretty much VERY good at being on-time in regular ops. If it were me I would have no worry at all about the 2hr connection at ATH and then 4hrs in HEL.
BUT... what they ARE very susceptible to are strikes! Usually by the Greek ATC. That's about the most likely thing to mess up your plans. In that case they are very good at contacting people in advance and re-booking or refunding. If there is a strike you will probably have the option of travelling a day early, although your accommodation in HEL would then be at your own expense.
BUT... what they ARE very susceptible to are strikes! Usually by the Greek ATC. That's about the most likely thing to mess up your plans. In that case they are very good at contacting people in advance and re-booking or refunding. If there is a strike you will probably have the option of travelling a day early, although your accommodation in HEL would then be at your own expense.
Jun 17, 2016, 5:33 am
#977
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Berks
Programs: BA, A3, Hilton, IHG
Posts: 215
Called up to upgrade a LHR-LCA leg for late August. Was wait listed but it was approved within 48 hours.
This is my regular route and (as A3 silver) the use of the United / Singapore lounge is well worth it, particular for a relaxing shower before a night flight. I personally wouldn't use a coupon ex Larnaca unless I needed the baggage allowance
This is my regular route and (as A3 silver) the use of the United / Singapore lounge is well worth it, particular for a relaxing shower before a night flight. I personally wouldn't use a coupon ex Larnaca unless I needed the baggage allowance
Jun 27, 2016, 10:08 am
#979
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: C2, BTS, VIE
Programs: A3 *G, AA Exec Plat Pro, Accor Silver, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, PP
Posts: 321
Funny thing happened to me today.
Being a fresh A3 *S wanted to use my and friend's upgrade coupons for the first time.
Me and my friends have 2 separate OW Tickets, booked through OTA, VIE-ATH-JTR and JTR-ATH-BUD, and we wanted to upgrade one leg each on each itin (since we only have 2 cupons per each), in order to have luggage included.
Upon calling the hotline, a friendly MB representative checked the award seat availability, told me they are available, BUT, now the interesting part, my tickets need to be sent to a special department and fixed and that I should call in 3 days, and if award seat is still avaible on the flights when I call, I will be upgraded
Anyone any ideas on what happened?
Being a fresh A3 *S wanted to use my and friend's upgrade coupons for the first time.
Me and my friends have 2 separate OW Tickets, booked through OTA, VIE-ATH-JTR and JTR-ATH-BUD, and we wanted to upgrade one leg each on each itin (since we only have 2 cupons per each), in order to have luggage included.
Upon calling the hotline, a friendly MB representative checked the award seat availability, told me they are available, BUT, now the interesting part, my tickets need to be sent to a special department and fixed and that I should call in 3 days, and if award seat is still avaible on the flights when I call, I will be upgraded
Anyone any ideas on what happened?
Jun 27, 2016, 12:01 pm
#981
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: C2, BTS, VIE
Programs: A3 *G, AA Exec Plat Pro, Accor Silver, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, PP
Posts: 321
Yes, both are 390
Interesting, now when check both bookings, this pops up on the a3 site, didnt before, apparently they did change/fix something
Interesting, now when check both bookings, this pops up on the a3 site, didnt before, apparently they did change/fix something
Jun 28, 2016, 4:32 am
#982
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: C2, BTS, VIE
Programs: A3 *G, AA Exec Plat Pro, Accor Silver, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, PP
Posts: 321
Technical question, now I see the class listed as I, fare basis SLNOBAGT/UPGR , Will I still get miles+segment (segment being more important for me) according to the original S fare as stated in the WIKI?
Thanks
Jun 28, 2016, 5:24 am
#983
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: AY+ Plat, A3*G
Posts: 672
Funny thing happened to me today.
Being a fresh A3 *S wanted to use my and friend's upgrade coupons for the first time.
Me and my friends have 2 separate OW Tickets, booked through OTA, VIE-ATH-JTR and JTR-ATH-BUD, and we wanted to upgrade one leg each on each itin (since we only have 2 cupons per each), in order to have luggage included.
Upon calling the hotline, a friendly MB representative checked the award seat availability, told me they are available, BUT, now the interesting part, my tickets need to be sent to a special department and fixed and that I should call in 3 days, and if award seat is still avaible on the flights when I call, I will be upgraded
Anyone any ideas on what happened?
Being a fresh A3 *S wanted to use my and friend's upgrade coupons for the first time.
Me and my friends have 2 separate OW Tickets, booked through OTA, VIE-ATH-JTR and JTR-ATH-BUD, and we wanted to upgrade one leg each on each itin (since we only have 2 cupons per each), in order to have luggage included.
Upon calling the hotline, a friendly MB representative checked the award seat availability, told me they are available, BUT, now the interesting part, my tickets need to be sent to a special department and fixed and that I should call in 3 days, and if award seat is still avaible on the flights when I call, I will be upgraded
Anyone any ideas on what happened?
She still insisted that she blocked upgrade seats for me despite the actual ticket upgrade will happen later on. In about 1-2 weeks I received new e-ticket via email. Ticket was also bought through OTA (Tripsta iirc.)
Jun 28, 2016, 7:59 am
#984
Join Date: May 2012
Location: GVA
Posts: 188
That's what the wiki says, because that's what we believe. If you're worried specifically because the class has changed to "I", I believe general experience is that that is expected and will not be a problem.
Jun 28, 2016, 9:32 am
#985
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Heraklion, Greece
Posts: 7,565
Well, that was strange, out of nothing, i just got an automatic ETIX for the JTR-ATH-BUD part, with the ATH-BUD part upgraded as requested yesterday.
Technical question, now I see the class listed as I, fare basis SLNOBAGT/UPGR , Will I still get miles+segment (segment being more important for me) according to the original S fare as stated in the WIKI?
Thanks
Technical question, now I see the class listed as I, fare basis SLNOBAGT/UPGR , Will I still get miles+segment (segment being more important for me) according to the original S fare as stated in the WIKI?
Thanks
Jun 28, 2016, 9:34 am
#986
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: C2, BTS, VIE
Programs: A3 *G, AA Exec Plat Pro, Accor Silver, IHG Plat, HH Diamond, PP
Posts: 321
Thanks, I asked because I did not know how regular this "special department" upgrade procedure affects miles/segments compared the regular way it is usually supposed work (and is described in the wiki), thus if you get I class as well without the "special department"
Jun 28, 2016, 10:56 am
#987
Join Date: May 2012
Location: GVA
Posts: 188
Fair enough. Yes, the switch to I class is normal (though I've never had this "special department" treatment), and it should not be a problem with the exception of possibly needing to retro-credit, as KLouis points out, so remember to keep an eye out for it.
Jul 3, 2016, 8:55 am
#988
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: A3*G, Marriott Gold, Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium
Posts: 851
Just to report on my experience with my upgrade coupons today: I booked TXL-ATH-LHR-ATH-TXL for November on Expedia. Within 5 minutes of booking, there was an eticket number showing on the A3 website so I rang to use my coupons (I'd already checked that all 4 legs were available before booking). I wasn't even on the phone for 3 minutes including going through the menu options and I had confirmed upgrades on all 4 flights. The new eticket receipt came within 15 minutes. All done quickly, easily and very efficiently. Well done A3! 
Jul 4, 2016, 7:10 am
#989
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: France
Programs: A3 *G; AC
Posts: 409
Just to report on my experience with my upgrade coupons today: I booked TXL-ATH-LHR-ATH-TXL for November on Expedia. Within 5 minutes of booking, there was an eticket number showing on the A3 website so I rang to use my coupons (I'd already checked that all 4 legs were available before booking). I wasn't even on the phone for 3 minutes including going through the menu options and I had confirmed upgrades on all 4 flights. The new eticket receipt came within 15 minutes. All done quickly, easily and very efficiently. Well done A3!
Jul 4, 2016, 7:29 am
#990
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YYZ, YUL, PEK
Posts: 429
I tried to upgrade my RHO-ATH-RHO ticket, was put on a waitlist for the outbound leg and got the return leg successfully upgraded. I was also subjected to the "special department" treatment: they said they would call me back sometime to let me know if the upgrade was successful but instead I received an email no more than an hour later showing that it was indeed.
In everybody's experiences how likely are my waitlist chances? The outbound is on August 30.
In everybody's experiences how likely are my waitlist chances? The outbound is on August 30.