DLovehall

Hi friends.

I'm travelling from YOW to YVR in late October. Generally, I'm flying on business and so book Flex and usually upgrade when checking by paying the LMU fee. This time, it's not for business so I can't just book Flex tickets (unless they're only slightly more expensive from Tango) so I'm looking to get there are back as cheap as possible while still upgrading to J. Basically, my host will pay for my ticket and if I can't use eUps to upgrade, I'll pay for whatever upgrade I get.

I see that you can now upgrade from Tango using eUps and cash, but it looks like the cost of doing that is really high. Has anyone tried this? How expensive is it really?

What I'm also wondering is (assuming I book Flex) which route will give me the best option for an upgrade. Is it a direct YOW-YVR route? Should I connect through YYZ? I assume there is a lot of traffic on both of those routes and that I am more likely to have competition in upgrading (I'm E50K). What about connecting through YUL? I imagine there is less traffic between YUL and YVR.

Coming back, I don't think I have the option of connecting through YUL but would have to fly direct, connect through YYC or YYZ.

Any thoughts, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated here.

Thanks.

BlueMilk

If you want to upgrade on a widebody, then YUL is your best bet.

If a narrowbody works, then through Edmonton is a good bet for that route.

Even a 320/321 through YYZ can be OK since the widebodies attract the upper tiers.

However, were I you, I'd fly through YYZ on a 777 or 787 (avoid AC33/34) and select a preferred seat in the middle cabin. It's a sure thing when booking and, IMHO, a much better use of resources than a tango upgrade.

Wpgjetse

Is J class worth 2 to 4 hours extra travelling time for you? Just take a direct flight that works best for you, buy a preferred seat and hope for the best on the upgrade.

YOWgary

Wait until your eUp window opens at 10 days out, pick a flight with positive R space and confirm an eUp when you book.

Virtually guaranteed to cost less than an LMU from Tango, and little more than an eUp from Tango.

Plus, as a 50K, if anything goes wrong with the eUp, you get a free Preferred seat.

DLovehall

Part of the issue is that I'm still not the one buying the ticket, it's just that it's not a business trip so I can't justify the extra cost of Flex.

Is it possible to buy a Tango ticket, and then separately upgrade it to a Flex fare? That could be ideal for me. I would have a reasonably-priced Tango ticket, but then could upgrade to Flex on my own dime and then just use the eUps.

Does that work? How would one do that without incurring change fees?

RZR

some agents won't charge you the fee to change from tango to flex, other will.

they don't charge you a change fee from economy cabin to business.

Anyhow, buy a tango ticket yourself and try it out. if it doesn't work , just cancel the ticket within 24 hours of booking.

It's a way to do the research yourself.... and not rely on us... in case it goes bad

DLovehall

Well, I just did it. I called the preferred line for Altitude members to ask if it could be done. The lady I spoke with told me yes, but that I would have to pay the change fee. I called back after seeing RZR's post with the thought that if it didn't work, I'd just cancel the booking right away. The guys I spoke to told me there would be no fee. He put me on hold to make sure. I figured while I had him on the line that I would just book the flight online, which I did, and then upgraded through him. No change fee.

Thanks to all for your help.

YZF_Elite

I frequently travel YOW-YVR. Getting a confirmed upgrade YOW-YVR isn't that hard, especially if you avoid the 3-4 business heavy flights for the week (Monday morning, Friday daytime, Thursday night, etc). With most folks who regularly use e-ups now having exhausted our annual allotment, I've noticed empty J seats on my last few flights.