Aug 16, 2013, 8:51 am

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

An “official POUG” is defined (for the purposes of this wiki) as the rate that appears in red on the MMB/BA app. It is NOT the rate offered at the airport (please see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ng-thread.html), or the rate offered when you click on the “Upgrade my class of travel with money” link from within MMB, or the “Upgrade to the next available cabin” blue/grey banner in the app.

All POUGs earn full TPs and Avios for the upgraded cabin, subject to the original booking being paid for with cash.
POUGs *ARE* offered on Hand-Baggage Only fares, if available
POUGs only become available after 48 hours of making your booking, until any time up to, and including OLCI. After being checked in you will not be offered a POUG.
POUGs do not seem to become available for travel agent bookings, until 2-3 days before departure (YMMV)
POUGs cannot be requested from Service Centres, except that occasionally BA.com will not proceed with a POUG online and display a message inviting you to call the Service Centre to complete the transaction.
After a POUG has been purchased, the ticket become non changeable and non refundable, apart from government taxes.

Please add to this list as required, and include the month/year when the POUG is offered to you.

LON to Europe from ET to CE (typically £59-£69 for Band 1, £69-£79 for Band 2, £79-£89 for Band 3 and £89-£99 for Band 4):

ACE - £105
AGP – £79 (£99/€119 Dec 2014)
AMS - £69 / £56 (£99 from HBO in Nov 2014)
ATH - £99 (£109 from HBO in Oct 2014)
ARN – £72
BCN – £79 (£89 for Silver/Bronze and £114 for HBO Blue Dec 2014 - same fight, two bookings) // Blue Feb 2015 - LGW - BCN - £89 / BCN to LHR £115)
BGO – £64 (£79 for HBO in SEP2014)
BRI - £119 / €144 (Dec 2014)
BRU - £69
BSL - CHF 85 for BSL-LHR (£55 at then exchange rate) (CHF120 in Dec 2014)
BUD - £79 (£89 and £105 Dec 2014)
CDG - £69 (£75 Dec 2014; CDG-LHR €115 Dec 2014)
CMF - £69 (Dec 2014)
CPH - £79 (£129 from HBO Nov 2014)
CTA - £119/€144 (both Dec 2014)
DBV – £79
DUB – £69/£56 (£99 from HBO Nov 2014, £80 Dec 2014)
DUS – £69
FCO - £170 (Dec 14)
FRA – £69
GIB - £72 (£140 Dec 14)
GOT – £79
GVA - £79/£89
HAJ – £69
HAM – £69
HEL – £89
INN – £89 out / €109 back (Dec 14)
IST – £89
JER – £69
KBP - £80 / USD 129 (BA is not currently accepting Ukrainian currency)
LCA – £89 (£190 Dec 2014 from LCA; separately £134 to LCA Dec 2014)
LIN – £79
LIS – £79 (£119 offered Nov 14, £99 and £145 Dec 14)
LUX - £69
MAD - £79
MAH - £69
MUC - £79
MXP - £119 (€89 MXP - LHR)
NCE - £140 (each way, 21/DEC/14)
ORY - £69
OSL - £79 (£64/640 NOK reported)
OTP - £79/€89
PMI - £69 (Dec 2014)
PRG – £79
PSA - £79
SZG - £114 (Nov 2015)
SOF - £89
STR – £69
TIA – £89 (£99 offered Dec 14 for TIA-LGW) (€119 TIA-LGW Dec 2014)
TRN – £79
TXL – £69
VCE – £79
VIE – £79 [£129 as of Nov14! GBP99 LHR-VIE + GBP99 VIE-LHR Nov14]
VRN- €139 (~£110) Nov 2014 - £89 / €109 Dec 2014
WAW – £69 (£110 Dec 14)
ZAG – £79
ZRH – £79 (£87 (CHF135) for ZRH-LHR): LCY-ZRH + v.v. £69 (offered 11/14)

LON to North America (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

ATL - WTP £189
BOS – WTP £189 (mid-2014) £219 (December 2014)
IAD - WTP £157
JFK/EWR – WTP £189 (can be as low as £133) / CW £443 / F £527 (F £599 02/08)
LAS - WTP £180
LAX – WTP £229 / CW £599 (CW £548 Jan 2015)
MCO– WTP £180
MEX – F £447/£525 / £229 WT-WTP (November 28 2015)/ 4640 MXN WT-WTP (December 14 2015)
MIA – WTP £209 / CW £525
ORD – WTP £171 / CW £525 / F £499
PHL – WTP £189
SAN – CW £599
SEA – WTP £199
SFO – WTP £170
YYZ – WTP £171 (return leg) / CW £425 / F £499
YYC - WTP £134
YVR – WTP £175 / CW £350

LON to South America (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

EZE – WTP £199
GRU – WTP £209 / F £499 / WT to CW £699
GIG - WT to CW £699

LON to Asia (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

BKK - WTP £126-£140 / CW £549 / F £
BOM - WTP £ / CW £450 / F £
DEL - F £499, subsequently reduced to £400
HKG – WTP £199 (offered £172 for a Nov 2014 flight) / CW £599 / F £599
NRT - WTP £199 / CW £ / F £525
ICN - CW £499
SIN - WTP SGD$320

LON to Australia and Oceania (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

SYD – WTP £170 / CW £399

LON to Africa & Middle East (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

AUH – F £499
CAI - WTP £121
DXB – WTP £179 / F £499
EBB - WTP £142
JNB - WTP £209
NBO - WTP £189

Non-LON routes (price shown from lower cabin to mentioned cabin, e.g. WTP means price to POUG from WT to WTP):

SYD-SIN – F £465
AMS-LGW - CE €79
BCN-LHR - CE £64
BRU-LHR - CE £105 (12.2014)
CDG-LHR - CE €79
DUB-LHR - CE €109 (£85.70-ish) from HBO booked 05.12.14, offered 08.12.14
BOM-LHR - F cINR40,000 (c£395)
JNB-LHR WTP - £189
TLV-LHR - F $600 (c£370)

Pro-active Upgrade cost tracking and questions thread

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Nov 30, 2012, 12:58 am

#1486

CityRules

Join Date: Jun 2009

Programs: Flying Blue, Marriott Rewards, BA Executive Club

Posts: 294

Quote:

Originally Posted by csutter

I've been offered POUGs on every single one of my recent flights booked in discount economy. £69 each way to Paris (well, it is the city of love... *ducks*

) and £79 each way on multiple flights to Zurich and Vienna.

Any data on your ZRH POUGs, like how far in advance you booked and the flight times? I recently switched from flying weekly ex LCY to ex LHR at non rush hour times to increase my chances. Two POUG legs out of 10 legs so far but the two legs were immediately offered when booking about 6-8 weeks in advance. The reamining flights were less than that, say 4 weeks.

(At this rate I am going to get my 600 points by having to fly 50 legs and it will be a close run thing in any case so POUGs will enormously)

Nov 30, 2012, 1:04 am

#1487

dc2447

Suspended

Join Date: Apr 2011

Location: London

Programs: BA Gold, UA Silver, CC Gold, SPG Gold

Posts: 2,000

All my ZHR upgrades have been ex LHR.

Booked a few weeks i advance

Nov 30, 2012, 4:40 am

#1488

mec72

Join Date: Sep 2011

Programs: BA Gold

Posts: 1,075

Quote:

Originally Posted by stifle

They will normally try to get some money out of people by offering paid upgrades. If this doesn't clear enough people, they will start op-ups.

I'm actually not sure how this works. On two recent occasions, I asked about WT+ to CW POUGs at check-in and was told they're not available - just to be told at the passport desk that I was OP-UPed.

For both of these, I earlier saw POUGs through MMB but didn't want to upgrade myself in advance as this usually makes the ticket inflexible (unless you're willing to downgrade yourself back to WT+).

Nov 30, 2012, 5:07 am

#1489

The _Banking_Scot

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Oct 2001

Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat

Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis

Posts: 17,894

LHR-LAS 30th November £189 from WT to WT+

Hi,

Now in GF after a nice stay in the LHR Hilton T5
I asked at the First check in desk about upgrade offers to WTP today.

The very nice agent said it was £189 and then checked to see what was available.

Middle seats only ( plus one window) was offered.

He asked where I was sitting (29A) and suggested I stay where I was (which was my intention given the choices) I might have taken an aisle seat if the pirce was a bit cheaper.

Going to have lunch shortly and then grab a plane food pack for afternoon tea on board.

( PS -For those travelling to PHX today- the monitors are saying " Contact airline")

Regards

TBS

Nov 30, 2012, 5:36 am

#1490

csutter

Join Date: Oct 2012

Location: Brighton and Hove, UK

Programs: BA Silver, Thameslink Delay Repay

Posts: 1,245

Quote:

Originally Posted by CityRules

They tend to be extended weekend trips ex LHR to see family, so they always include Sat night stay (maybe that makes a difference), tend to be non-rush hour times and are booked fairly far in advance. My three ZRH flights where I POUGed this year, always immediately after booking, were booked between 4 months and 5 weeks before departure.

I do make sure when I book that the flight still has plenty of I-class seats left (i.e. when choosing classes, shows the cheapest possible CE price in the CE column and doesn't say "only X seats left"), and that theory has yet to fail me

Dec 1, 2012, 3:05 am

#1491

CityRules

Join Date: Jun 2009

Programs: Flying Blue, Marriott Rewards, BA Executive Club

Posts: 294

It is now POUG city for my ZRH bookings @ £79. I took two of the three offered and mulling over the third. What is it with me about getting to silver?

Dec 1, 2012, 3:27 am

#1492

stifle

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Feb 2009

Location: From ORK, live LCY

Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci

Posts: 14,205

I'm waiting until my BA Amex bill cuts before I take up some POUGs; Christmas is hard enough as it is

Dec 1, 2012, 7:04 am

#1493

LTN Phobia

Moderator: British Airways Executive Club

Join Date: Jan 2009

Programs: Battleaxe Alliance

Posts: 22,127

Quote:

Originally Posted by stifle

They will normally try to get some money out of people by offering paid upgrades. If this doesn't clear enough people, they will start op-ups, but you are well down the priority list for this, behind all BA Premier, Gold, Silver, and non-BA oneworld emeralds. So I would not suggest you get your hopes up.

And sometimes they op-up people instead offering a POUG. That always baffles me a bit. I'd rather pay cash or Avios than to enter the op-up lottery, and surely it's better for BA too.

Dec 2, 2012, 6:25 am

#1494

clearedforlanding

Join Date: Jan 2011

Programs: BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist

Posts: 395

Anyone had any upgrades offered on LHR-AMM and AMM-LHR since BA took over via MMB? If so, how much?

Had to book a flight for just outside the great value sale price window so just could not justify the club price straight off.

Dec 2, 2012, 8:56 am

#1495

dc2447

Suspended

Join Date: Apr 2011

Location: London

Programs: BA Gold, UA Silver, CC Gold, SPG Gold

Posts: 2,000

LGW - AMS tomorrow, £69 as usual, took it
AMS - LCY Wednesday, they wanted £204

Again demonstrates how weak LGW -> AMS is compared to LCY City Flyer

Sad times

Dec 2, 2012, 9:01 am

#1496

teiring

Join Date: Jan 2012

Location: MUC, BER

Programs: BA Gold

Posts: 156

Quote:

Originally Posted by LTN Phobia

And sometimes they op-up people instead offering a POUG. That always baffles me a bit. I'd rather pay cash or Avios than to enter the op-up lottery, and surely it's better for BA too.

Said by a lowly Blue Member. Haha

*joke*

Dec 2, 2012, 9:55 am

#1497

pacenotes

Join Date: Oct 2012

Location: On the underground

Programs: BMI Dimond club, BA Executive Club

Posts: 462

Booked a flight for next May to Dublin for the H cup final. All ready offering £69 upgrades. Might take it as I'm up for a few drinks. There are drinks offered in T1 lounge?

Last edited by pacenotes; Dec 2, 2012 at 10:06 am

Dec 2, 2012, 10:58 am

#1498

travelwithross

formerly rxfleming

Join Date: Jan 2009

Location: AUH, DXB (and GLA)

Programs: BA GGL, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Plat Elite

Posts: 2,450

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacenotes

Booked a flight for next May to Dublin for the H cup final. All ready offering £69 upgrades. Might take it as I'm up for a few drinks. There are drinks offered in T1 lounge?

yes. of course. a large selection of wines, beers and spirits to satisfy most needs. Unless you are a GF regular and cant belittle yourself to drink such lower class offerings

Dec 3, 2012, 2:20 am

#1499

stifle

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Feb 2009

Location: From ORK, live LCY

Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci

Posts: 14,205

What you will not on the other hand get is any substantial food. And don't forget the lounge is after the biometrics check so you can't change your mind and go back (without a substantial amount of faff anyway).