kdobbins

first post, new to forums, great reading, can i ask for help.
i purchased 2 tickets on usairways to lhr, next february, 2015, for a week from phx. the flight is operated by ba, #288 and #289. i was told to buy usairways economy and that i could use my usairways miles 60k plus $600 to upgrade each ticket to a higher class. i was informed yesterday that will not work for my flight. (first flight abroad for me) i was told that i can try to upgrade my seats the day before my flight? day of my flight with money? (tickets are not refundable, purchased a few weeks ago) is this day before my only option of upgrading? i joined ba, but cannot buy miles. should i apply for a ba credit card and spend enough to get the miles and then will i be able to buy enough to upgrade to higher class?
thanks for any help and suggestions..

Calchas

Hello kdobbins and welcome to FlyerTalk.

I think you are not going to be able to upgrade with miles.

If your flights are numbered as US (US7036), then US Airways might be able to help. (I don't know much about the US programme.) It will probably be difficult because (a) it isn't their plane and (b) they are new to working with BA. So you might have to talk to a lot of people to get it to happen, even if the rules allow it (I don't know, you will have to check on the US Airways forum). BA cannot help you in this circumstance.

You cannot upgrade BA economy tickets (except refundable ones) with BA miles, so don't try this. (Also, if the flights are sold as US7036, BA will consider them as US flights and they won't help you upgrade even if you had a flex ticket.)

You can sometimes upgrade on the day for money. This is called a AUP ("airport upgrade promotion"). I expect the price from "World Traveller" (coach/economy) to "World Traveller Plus" (premium economy: better leg room, wider seat, better meal) will be about 350 USD and from coach to "Club World" (business class: fully flat bed, better food, better wine) will be about 1200 USD. You cannot upgrade to First Class without reissuing the ticket.

I will also say the British Airways economy class is not too bad, it's a lot better than any economy class I've ever sat in on a US plane (domestically or internationally). I am quite happy in it on a short trans-Atlantic day flight, and I've sat in it all the way to SFO and back a few times without crying. So if it's your first trip abroad, perhaps don't worry too much about upgrading your flight, if US Airways cannot help you.

Can I ask, who told you to buy the economy tickets in the first place, and who said you could upgrade "the day before"?

jerry a. laska

I don't see how you will be able to upgrade your flight other than possibly at the airport with cash via an airport upgrade promotion.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ng-thread.html

Regarding upgrading with avios, you should review this post:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22138044-post7.html
1. You can only use BA avios to upgrade a ticket issued on BA ticket stock.

2. You can only upgrade the most expensive economy tickets using avios.

3. You can upgrade using avios a ticket with BA, AA, or IB if the ticket is issued by BA and not a travel agent. Under generally similar conditions you can use AAdvantage miles to upgrade a BA flight.

4. Although US is merging with AA the frequent flyer programs have not been completely aligned and you cannot use avios to upgrade a US flight nor can you use US miles to upgrade a BA flight.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/22940044-post9.html

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk kdobbins, welcome to the British Airways board. And in due course, welcome to the UK, and I see that you are heading to my neck of the woods ('ish) with your planned visit to St James' Park. Please make yourself at home here too, and I hope you will continue to participate here.

Yes, I have to agree with Calchas, that I suspect you have done this the wrong way around. You have a US revenue ticket on BA metal (if I've understood correctly). The ability to upgrade out of economy into premium economy (WTP) is always difficult (e.g. you need a BA ticket, higher priced fare buckets). You can also get redemptions into WTP, but you probably needed to start with AA and/or some time ago. But you are still able to ask for an AUP on the day of departure, they may be available from around 3 hours before you leave, subject to availability.

Basically I would not plan on it being available but you may get lucky. I don't think the BA membership is going to get you very far, unless, of course, you get the bug and start flying a lot more! The other thing you can perhaps do, since it's quite a long flight for a first time international, is to think about reserving a good seat. You will have to pay for it, but for the flight from PHX it may make life a bit more comfortable. For the return, being essentially a day time flight, it's perhaps less of an issue. Otherwise the usual thing to make flying more comfortable: entertainment, books, maybe a pillow, your favourite snacks and some extra bottles of drinks.

I hope you have a good trip, just don't count on good weather!

kdobbins

thanks Calchas, Jerry and Corporate wage slave. i started calling usairways about 2 months ago asking about this trip, called 2x and spoke to agents for quite some time, worried about just such a problem, live and learn. i will try to upgrade the day of the flight if available. i won't take any american express travelers checks in pounds. i don't want to look like too much of a visitor, but i'm thinking the trip of a lifetime might require some better pictures than my iphone, i'll get a backpack. i grew up in ohio, so cold and rain will be a welcome change from dry and hot all the time. thanks for your help..

atmorris

Jerry, you can upgrade a Travel Agent booking using Avios, the same rules apply as to BA bookings. There are a few additional rules granted, but entirely possible..

I've nearly been able to do it, but not been able to as I had US/AA flights on my booking

jerry a. laska

Of course you can upgrade a BA flight by itself booked by a travel agent with avios. But, there are different rules for upgrading BA flights alone or flights with BA, IB, and AA.

Compare from the terms and conditions:
with:
http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/...itions-of-use#

As I said, the rules specifically exclude avios upgrades for BA, IB, and AA flights that were booked by travel agents.

See also the Guide:

toothy

Welcome to the BA Board kdobbins. The only thing to add to what others have said is to get to the airport early and ask about a paid upgrade to Premium Economy (WT+) at checkin. It's about Ł200 (sorry - no idea what that is in $ atm). They do get sold, hence the getting to the airport early. WT+ is in a smaller cabin, better food and extra legroom and is quite pleasant in my opinion.

The other thing which may work is if you put your PNR reference number into the BA website and you may be offered an upgrade - often called a POUG on here. I don't know if this will work, but it's worth a look.


T

Ldnn1

Hi kdobbins and welcome again to FT. As others have said above, there's a chance you may get offered a cash upgrade but this isn't guaranteed.

I would highlight c-w-s' point about paying to reserve a good seat though. In particular, on the 'mid-J' 747 which BA flies to PHX, exit rows 28B/C/H/J and 29A/K are worth paying extra for. These don't open up for selection until 14 days before departure though so you will need to check back then. You may also have difficulty selecting seats online given you are on a codeshare ticket, so you may need to call BA, which can be rather painful.

I'm not quite sure what you meant here, but generally I wouldn't bother with travellers checks at all, and certainly not for a week-long trip. Debit/credit/prepaid cash cards are accepted everywhere in the UK and will be much more convenient.

Anyway, I hope you have a great trip. Even if you don't bag an upgrade, I'm sure you'll enjoy your first flight abroad and hopefully it will be the first of many. And you never know, it may even be mild and sunny!