Northwest Airlines First Class Upgrades
 

Help! :)

I am attempting to redeem an upgrade and the Northwest agent is demanding a "reference code". What reference code and where do I find it?

Redemption Instructions:

1)To redeem, you will need the Reference Code, Certificate Number and Redemption Code specified above.

There's a certificate number and a reference code on the certificates AS e-mails to you when you request them. There's a ticket designator, PU462 if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks BLI-Flyer! Where should I have looked for the designator?
I reviewed the e-mail & the attached instruction sheet and didn't see it!

It's in the e-mail, not the instructions. On my e-mail it's the paragraph immediately after the list of certificate numbers and redemption codes, just above the "We appreciate your business . . ." sentence. Here's the full text:

"Travel must be completed by February 29, 2008. The ticket designator is PU462 and Booking Class is R."

I am anxious to know how the NW upgrades work for you. I have 4 of them, what I've read about getting to actually use them wasn't encouraging.

Does it really take 2-3 weeks to get the email? I am flying NW on Friday and would like to have the email to try and upgrade - although it will be a slim chance on Fri from LGA to MSP to PDX.

"An email containing your codes will be sent to the email address in your My Account profile within 2-3 weeks."

Used my first e-upgrade
 

From Montreal to Detroit a few weeks ago. It took an hour of patient phone work by the NW ticket agent in Montreal, who told me I was the first person to ever use one. I doubt that's true, but they clearly didn't know how to handle it. The MD80 from YUL to DTW was a relic and there were no upgrades available on the DTW-SEA leg, but it was better than nothing.

-db

I believe that this is the first reported successful upgrade w/ the e-certs - so it may just be that you were the first person to actually use one!

I 'sort of' used one the previous weekend. I was "successful" in
upgrading, but I do not know if the e-cert was "used", since the
CSR booked me in First, and said they would then try to figure
out where and how to enter the numbers. I spent about 40 min.
on hold while they were trying to figure it out, and then left for
the airport.

So I don't know if the e-cert was "used", but it was "successful".

.

Last week, I called to see if I could upgrade a DTW-SEA segment. I told them I was using an e-cert from AS. At first she said there was first availability. Then she spent some time reading the rules and procedures.

Then came the snag. She said the upgrade had to come from the R class bucket and there weren't any R seats available.

Next time I won't get my hopes up until they complete the transaction.

upgrading online?
 

Is there a way to try to redeem them online or do you have to do it over the phone? I ask this question in as a purely academic exercise since I've never been able to redeem one either. But at least you get good coach seats on NW...

Nope, you have to call. And then they will most likely say they have no R available, if they can even figure out what you are talking about.

Does anyone know how this system actually works?

By calling just after the 24 hour window opens up for
the first segment, does this allow visibility of upgrades
for the next segment if the next segment is still more
than 24 hours away?

How about if the first segment is a code-share with no
possibility of upgrading - - can you upgrade the second
segment on NW if the second segment is still more than
24 hours away?


. . .


It seems that the trick is to call just after the R seats are
released. But I have little idea of when this might happen
within the 2 - 24 hour window 'before' - - whatever this
'before' really means...

.

I used one last week and it worked fine. I just called Alaska and gave them one of my numbers. They even let me change the flight later.

If you called Alaska, then you must have been using the e-certs
given out by NWA to upgrade on Alaska flights.


Obviously Alaska's systems are much better than NWA's. Alaska
seems to know what they are doing.

Unfortunately, this thread is about using e-cert upgrades from
Alaska to be used for NWA flights, using the NWA system, and
calling NWA csr's. Not quite so good...

.