Please report your successful redemptions using Diamond Club miles (2009)
Jan 19, 2009, 10:47 am
#211
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 5 miles from EMA
Programs: BD, BAEC Pleb, VS Pleb, Accor Pleb, HHonors Gold, Big White Season Pass
Posts: 5,927
Jan 19, 2009, 11:22 am
#212
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold....er now Silver...er now Bronze....er now Blue
Posts: 3,507
well it used to be close to F at one point maybe. My last upper class flight in November last year was pretty poor. Average food, wearing seats and pretty awful service. You should certainly get some compensation for being downgraded.
Jan 19, 2009, 1:01 pm
#213
Join Date: May 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 1,896
As you and others have said, Upper = Business. Just to reinforce it with some extracts from Virgin-Atlantic.com:
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb...lass/index.jsp
Ask for a Supervisor and insist on a partial refund.
http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb...lass/index.jsp
Originally Posted by Virgin website
The Upper Class Suite boasts one of the longest fully flat beds in business class air travel
Originally Posted by Virgin website
Sleep, work, rest or play in Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic. Where else could you find a bar on your business class flight?
Jan 19, 2009, 1:01 pm
#214
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: Lots, some no/low status some high status, can't be bothered to list them :-)
Posts: 1,959
We flew LHR-SFO in upper Oct 2008, service was friendly but slow, food crap. Had the infamous 'we've run out of champagne' with somthing like 8/9 hours of the flight to go. Clubhouse was still as good as ever though.
Just done MAN-MCO return in upper Dec08/Jan09 and service and crew were fantastic both ways, even the food had improved. This being on the much maligned MAN route too it was even more of a pleasant surprise.
As for being close to F at one point, I guess that depends who's F you're talking about!
Jan 19, 2009, 4:37 pm
#215
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Home for the terminally bewildered.
Posts: 1,621
The quality of a business class product doesn't make a difference as to what class it actually is. I had an absolutely amazing Etihad trip from AUH-JFK on the A345 with great food and a flat bed.....in business. The new SQ product is great, complete with amazing food and a real quality feel to it. But it's business. Both these products (amongst others) knock the socks off AF L'Espace Premier. But they are both business class where as L'Espace Premier is first class.
Jan 20, 2009, 5:56 am
#216
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Glasgow, Scotland.
Posts: 87
I called the ICC for the very first time last night to make a booking for travel commencing on the 27 January.
Had a few routings shown as being available in C using the ANA tool from Baku (GYD) to Sydney, Australia.
Here's how it all went:
First Agent (couldn't catch her name as the line was so bad): Could see availability GYD-IST-BKK but "there were no onward flights to Australia available", departing from BKK over a 4 day period even connecting through SIN. I explained that I had looked on the net and gave the flight numbers but it was all to no avail. Was recommended to call back in a few days.
So I checked ANA again to see if I'd made a mistake (which I hadn't) and then called the ICC again.
Second Agent (Kalpna, on a much-improved line): Immediately could see what I was looking at on ANA and amazingly everything was setup in around 8 minutes -
GYD-IST-BKK TK C
<stopover>
BKK-SIN TG C
SIN-SYD SQ F
Was asked to call back after 30 minutes so that the taxes could be loaded.
This I did and the very efficient Afreen then advised me that this (correctly) would be charged as a Business Class redemption as the longest sector was IST-BKK. As I had requested part miles and part cash, my outlay was:
37,500 miles, UKP255 plus taxes of UKP225
On visiting my reservation on checkmytrip this morning, eTicket numbers have already been issued.
All in all a very pleasant experience and a successful outcome for a redemption made at short notice! ^
Had a few routings shown as being available in C using the ANA tool from Baku (GYD) to Sydney, Australia.
Here's how it all went:
First Agent (couldn't catch her name as the line was so bad): Could see availability GYD-IST-BKK but "there were no onward flights to Australia available", departing from BKK over a 4 day period even connecting through SIN. I explained that I had looked on the net and gave the flight numbers but it was all to no avail. Was recommended to call back in a few days.
So I checked ANA again to see if I'd made a mistake (which I hadn't) and then called the ICC again.
Second Agent (Kalpna, on a much-improved line): Immediately could see what I was looking at on ANA and amazingly everything was setup in around 8 minutes -
GYD-IST-BKK TK C
<stopover>
BKK-SIN TG C
SIN-SYD SQ F
Was asked to call back after 30 minutes so that the taxes could be loaded.
This I did and the very efficient Afreen then advised me that this (correctly) would be charged as a Business Class redemption as the longest sector was IST-BKK. As I had requested part miles and part cash, my outlay was:
37,500 miles, UKP255 plus taxes of UKP225
On visiting my reservation on checkmytrip this morning, eTicket numbers have already been issued.
All in all a very pleasant experience and a successful outcome for a redemption made at short notice! ^
Jan 20, 2009, 6:35 am
#217
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: DUB - Ireland
Programs: EI-GCE, BD-G, BA-G, A3*G, TK*G, FB-G, HH-G, Hyatt-Dia
Posts: 8,527
Not bad for just 4 posts, GASUG - all that lurking must have worked! 
Jan 20, 2009, 8:04 am
#218
Join Date: May 2002
Location: MHG/DTM
Posts: 336
I redeemed two cash & miles around December 20:
FRA-ZRH-DXB LX/LX 02JAN
FRA-MUC-VIE-EBL LH/OS/OS 06MAR
All Fridays in February were full on the VIE-EBL-leg, on my date FRA-VIE was full so now I have to take the detour via MUC
FRA-ZRH-DXB LX/LX 02JAN
FRA-MUC-VIE-EBL LH/OS/OS 06MAR
All Fridays in February were full on the VIE-EBL-leg, on my date FRA-VIE was full so now I have to take the detour via MUC
Jan 21, 2009, 2:15 am
#220
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Posts: 121
Oh, I love BMI
I've just completed booking 3 x one way Miles+Points in C class on Air NZ from SYD to LAX via AKL, then onto LAS on US in F (where my wife, son and I are relocating to)
Of course, it wasn't simple (if it was, I suspect everyone would be doing it). I started last saturday, armed with availability from the ANA tool of 2 seats on one flight of the crucial AKL to LAX leg, and 1 seat on the other NZ flight on the same day.
The first ICC consultant I spoke to refused for a good few minutes to acknowledge the availability of the SYD-AKL-LAX routing. He said that there was "no availability between SYD and LAS", which is hardly surprising. Then he offered me seats on AC via YVR and YYZ! (almost tempting, and a route I'd never even thought to consider, but a hilariously long way round)
Eventually I got him to put each leg in one by one. Then, of course, I had to explain that the booking was in F for the LAX-LAS leg. This took another few minutes of discussion.
But it all worked. I got 2 of the seats I wanted. I then phoned back and got the 3rd seat on a seperate flight (my wife would have been the lucky one to not fly with our 3 year old) with pretty much no hassles but again explaining the F rule for domestic US flights.
And today I've just phoned and changed the flight over for my wife to the same as mine and my son's. She's not so happy, as she was looking forward to 12 hours of peace...
So for 90K points and about 800 pounds, I've got what Air New Zealand are currently selling for over 12,000 pounds. Not a bad deal!
Without trying to repeat the FAQ, my strategy was:
1. Research on ANA site to work out when seats open up. I knew last week that the seats on the day I wanted were coming up any day now, and increased my checking rate accordingly.
2. Be persistent with the agent on the phone. Unlike with another airline beginning with the letter U, my experience has been in the past and now that the ANA tool matches perfectly what the agent can see. The agents also seem to be willing to try things that don't make sense to them. One thing I told the agent was not to worry about how many points it was going to cost until the end. He thought that adding the leg from LAX to LAS in F would cause the whole route to price in F, which turned out not to be true.
3. If you need 3 seats, and you see 2, book the 2. Another one will probably open up. My strategy was to book the other seat on another flight and absorb the 20 quid charge later when the other seat became available.
4. Don't kick the computer when it takes too long to load the ANA site, then shows availability of 3 seats just as the clock turns 8PM GMT
I've just completed booking 3 x one way Miles+Points in C class on Air NZ from SYD to LAX via AKL, then onto LAS on US in F (where my wife, son and I are relocating to)
Of course, it wasn't simple (if it was, I suspect everyone would be doing it). I started last saturday, armed with availability from the ANA tool of 2 seats on one flight of the crucial AKL to LAX leg, and 1 seat on the other NZ flight on the same day.
The first ICC consultant I spoke to refused for a good few minutes to acknowledge the availability of the SYD-AKL-LAX routing. He said that there was "no availability between SYD and LAS", which is hardly surprising. Then he offered me seats on AC via YVR and YYZ! (almost tempting, and a route I'd never even thought to consider, but a hilariously long way round)
Eventually I got him to put each leg in one by one. Then, of course, I had to explain that the booking was in F for the LAX-LAS leg. This took another few minutes of discussion.
But it all worked. I got 2 of the seats I wanted. I then phoned back and got the 3rd seat on a seperate flight (my wife would have been the lucky one to not fly with our 3 year old) with pretty much no hassles but again explaining the F rule for domestic US flights.
And today I've just phoned and changed the flight over for my wife to the same as mine and my son's. She's not so happy, as she was looking forward to 12 hours of peace...
So for 90K points and about 800 pounds, I've got what Air New Zealand are currently selling for over 12,000 pounds. Not a bad deal!
Without trying to repeat the FAQ, my strategy was:
1. Research on ANA site to work out when seats open up. I knew last week that the seats on the day I wanted were coming up any day now, and increased my checking rate accordingly.
2. Be persistent with the agent on the phone. Unlike with another airline beginning with the letter U, my experience has been in the past and now that the ANA tool matches perfectly what the agent can see. The agents also seem to be willing to try things that don't make sense to them. One thing I told the agent was not to worry about how many points it was going to cost until the end. He thought that adding the leg from LAX to LAS in F would cause the whole route to price in F, which turned out not to be true.
3. If you need 3 seats, and you see 2, book the 2. Another one will probably open up. My strategy was to book the other seat on another flight and absorb the 20 quid charge later when the other seat became available.
4. Don't kick the computer when it takes too long to load the ANA site, then shows availability of 3 seats just as the clock turns 8PM GMT
Jan 21, 2009, 2:37 am
#221
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Marriott Plat, ICH Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 4,396
Jan 21, 2009, 3:43 am
#222
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, TK Gold, AF Gold, AA; Marriott Silver, PC Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 460
Booked for Christmas travel:
MUC - GRU 2x J 18750 miles + 127.5 cash + 99.3 tax
Return flight not available yet, but we don't really want to risk it. In the worst case, it's just a 25 cancellation fee.
LHR - MUC segment - there are no business class seats on the flights that would connect well with LH504, and because of the new increased APD, the *extra* tax would be 135 ish per person, so decided to not have the connecting flight.
MUC - GRU 2x J 18750 miles + 127.5 cash + 99.3 tax
Return flight not available yet, but we don't really want to risk it. In the worst case, it's just a 25 cancellation fee.
LHR - MUC segment - there are no business class seats on the flights that would connect well with LH504, and because of the new increased APD, the *extra* tax would be 135 ish per person, so decided to not have the connecting flight.
Jan 21, 2009, 12:51 pm
#223
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: Nah.
Posts: 13,967
I had VIE-ZRH-BOS (stopover) BOS-YYZ-MEX booked. LX J & F and AC J for 25000 miles + £140. I was told to call back when taxes were loaded. New agent said that I would be charged for a Zone 1-3 and a Zone 3-3 award. 
So I'm just doing the first part. J to MEX is pretty cheap anyway.
So I'm just doing the first part. J to MEX is pretty cheap anyway.
Jan 21, 2009, 1:39 pm
#224
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SAN
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Marriott Plat, ICH Plat, HH Gold
Posts: 4,396
Jan 21, 2009, 2:32 pm
#225
formerly Marwanie
Join Date: Apr 2008
Programs: BA Silver, MH Enrich Gold, BMI
Posts: 295
What would availability be like to GRU with LH or LX anywhere between June - August?