henkybaby

Maybe the 4 flight minimum. Since I fly CX more than BA I will certainly look into it. Did not know they offered this.

Calchas

Must be on 125 stock (but surely AA SWU must be on 001 stock) but non-BA metal is fine as long as it is BA-marketed. Only BA-operated sectors will be upgraded.

BA4EVER

This is kind of interesting. I'm sitting at 2500 TPs with 7 months left in my membership year. Was thinking I would go for CCR again this year, but might make more sense to credit everything over 3500 to Cathay to get the upgrades.....a return for wifey and I in CX F at discounted J prices would be more valuable to me than a CCR card.

henkybaby

Make sure that they upgrade from all classes. Alitalia offers something similar from booking classes more expensive than the cheapest fare in the cabin you're upgrading to.

d3vski

I believe the changes kick in next year but likewise, it would ale things interesting if any J class fare can be upgraded.

Sixth Freedom

I hate to say it, but those conditions do not seem particularly difficult to satisfy!

Certainly it would normally be at least a thousand Pounds cheaper to buy a ticket like MSP-ORD-MSP on an AUP and then ORD-LHR-ORD in WT+ using the voucher to upgrade to CW rather than buying MSP-ORD-LHR-ORD-MSP as one CW through ticket.

CrazyJ82

While CX is introducing upgrade certs for some members, bear in mind they are not going to offer tier bonuses for miles earning. So it's still a more restrictive program in that in lieu of a tier bonus you get a miles-equivalent product that isn't as versatile as miles would be.

Also, have a closer look at the new tier chart before rushing to switch to chase SWUs. Oddly they are not heavily tilting the TP scale in favor of higher cabins the way BAEC does.

malioil

I prefer the GF method- know a guy at the airport, buy a Y ticket, he crosses out ''35E'' on the boarding card, hand writes ''1A'' on the boarding card, speaks to the crew and you are all set!

littlefish

Good luck applying your BA GUF2 to your WT+ LHR-ORD-LHR (availability of reward space!)
I have also NOT been allowed to use a GUF2 on CPT-JNB-LHR (via TA route).

BAEC have a dilemma with the offering between 1500 TPs and 5000. The GUFs at 2500 and 3500 are really nothing more than avios award discount vouchers. Eg, lock in a CW rtn award (basically when released), and pay WT+ avios cost.
Its not a great incentive.
It could be better. For example, even a choice at 2,500 of three or four different 'baubles' would at least keep those with alternative options interested in BA/BAEC.
Do AA / CX do it better? I'm not so sure. Do the 8 (AA) SWUs really apply to the flights you want? Heard varying stories.

Calchas

You don't need award space if you use a TA (assuming you're paying cash for the base fare). What reason did the TA give for declining your upgrade?

bullroot

GUFs are a nightmare to use with TA's as a) many TA's don't know how to process them, and more importantly b) the BA people the TA's talk to when they are confronted with a GUF give the TA wildly varying guidance, most of which isn't really helpful.

The only time I can use GUF's easily, is when booking direct with BA. And in that instance, the best usage is when cashing in a joker also. However jokers are rarer than GUFs. Which is why I have a bunch of GUFs at hand but probably will only use one or two. But not so bothered about that, a 241 is much more valuable IMO.

My colleagues who frequent US based airlines have much better benefit from the upgrade vouchers they receive, flexibility seems more inherent there. BA GUFs are useless for most use cases I know of, unfortunately.

littlefish

BA Trade Support say no (CPT-JNB didn't count as BA metal). I pressed one time and checked across on here too.
But basically it was a mess, and GUF is thus not a helpful BAEC benefit (to me) ... funnily enough I've "given up" at 1500 TPs in prior years and will do in future if 3000/5000 for GGL is not assured.

Now, it is perfectly likely there are BA routes where CW/F reward seats are fairly widely available, making GUFs a genuine benefit. If I was using such routes regularly I'd likely have a different experience and view.

Full Score

I'd be most grateful if you could name the routes, please. In general it's almost impossible to find them from the West Coast unless a new category is introduced (e.g. F SAN-LHR).

rather_be_on_a_griffin

I have never successfully used a GUF2/1 without a joker. I just can't plan ahead enough and company policy forbids using the TA for self-funded upgrades (permits it only direct with the airline). One good bit of news I have discovered is that they will extend the certificate validity by 6 months which speaks I think to how little value they actually are.

Blueboys999

Not knowing very much at all about GUF whatever number or, indeed, 'jokers', I would be genuinely interested to know the answer to that question, especially from those who have experience of both.