Upgrading agent-booked Y tickets?
 

Situation: a third party company has booked some travel for me -- in Y fare class, so hopefully easier to upgrade than the discount fares that I'm usually on. However, of course I can't upgrade on ba.com because it's a travel agent booking, and I can't contact the travel agent because they don't work for me.

From reading the expert commentary on this forum, I believe there is some time period ahead of a flight where the booking passes to the airline/airport's control -- if I wait until T-24 or similar, can I ring up BA to do upgrades? Or do I need to wait until physically at airport?

Edit: One more detail, this appears to have been booked via American Airlines, even though it's all on BA metal and coming up in the BA app etc, not sure if that would also make a difference.

cash or avios?

If avios rules can be found here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...l#post29235586 but if it's on an AA ticket you are out of luck anyway.

Cash you may get a POUG in MMB or see if there is an Airport Upgrade Promotion on the day at the airport.

all my work TA bookings I just call up the gold line and UuA

> cash or avios?

Cash.

Have just confirmed over phone that no cash or avios upgrade is possible at all, due to it being AA ticketed. Oh well, try again at the airport!

yes see if there are any AUPs available on the day.

I have AUP'd an AA issued ticket on BA metal (Premium Economy to Club World, JFK->LHR, did it at the First checkin counter) - no issue at all. Outside of the airport, you need to go to AA.

I believe that if it is a public AA fare then AUP is OK, but POUGs you won't get, along with anything else that involves tampering with an AA issued ticket.

Ditto, I've AUP'd BA and AA issued tickets many times without issue. OP should contact AA to see if they can do a partner upgrade mileage award. I was able to do it on a TA booking the one time I tried.

If you want to upgrade with cash (i.e. pay the fare difference yourself) then you might actually be in luck. BA refuse to touch travel agent bookings, however AA are not quite so squeamish. If you call up AA and say you have an AA ticketed booking that you want to upfare, then you should be quoted the difference in published fare between Y and whatever you want to upgrade to.

I've only ever done this on pure AA metal, so I can't vouch for codeshares, but it's worth a shot if that's what you were hoping to achieve. Caveat emptor if your employer finds out you changed a flexible Y ticket for an inflexible I class ticket though!

If it is an AA issued ticket on an AA codeshare, BA operated flight in the full-fare Y fare bucket then you should be able to upgrade using AAdvantage miles just by calling AA - they'll convert it to a BA prime flight in the process, but you'll get your upgrade for 25000 Advantage points each way.

If you don't have any AA miles, then look to see if you can transfer any hotel or credit card points to AA.

Same deal for me (company booked Y-class). It did work to call AA for help, however the only available ticket they had was a $10k First upgrade.... Hoping something will pop up for when check-in opens at T-24.