Improvements to Gold Upgrade Voucher bookings
Jun 28, 2019, 9:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
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Improvements to Gold Upgrade Voucher bookings
Following on from the thread this morning, about a trial for improvements to reward pricing, it seems BA snuck out another change last week - one of the team on the GGL line just confirmed to me that Gold Upgrade Vouchers can now be used on all bookings made direct with BA to upgrade one cabin to T, I or A class, with no requirement for award availability. Upgrades will be automatically approved if there is revenue availability in the higher class. This is a really great change and one that I’m sure many of us will benefit from. I have ten in my account that I need to find a use for so this can only help 
Jun 28, 2019, 10:08 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,426
Why am I always sceptical when BA rolls out something like this?.... maybe they will take it away from TAs? Maybe they will enhance it to one flight segment per Guf? Don’t know but it doesn’t add up...
Jun 28, 2019, 10:12 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
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Incidetnally, the same benefit has also been extended to travel agencies. Propeller, for example, can now upgrade existing bookings using a GUF, where there is revenue availability in the higher booking class.
Jun 28, 2019, 10:18 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: BA GGL, A3*G, Mucci de l'expertise des Apps
Posts: 3,363
Jun 28, 2019, 10:25 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2014
Programs: GGL
Posts: 489
Following on from the thread this morning, about a trial for improvements to reward pricing, it seems BA snuck out another change last week - one of the team on the GGL line just confirmed to me that Gold Upgrade Vouchers can now be used on all bookings made direct with BA to upgrade one cabin to T, I or A class, with no requirement for award availability. Upgrades will be automatically approved if there is revenue availability in the higher class. This is a really great change and one that I’m sure many of us will benefit from. I have ten in my account that I need to find a use for so this can only help
Jun 28, 2019, 10:28 am
#7
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
For GUF bookings with underlying cash tickets, yes, but Avios bookings will still require reward availability. I don’t know how this will apply to an underlying Avios booking using a GUF, but it would be great if it meant no reward availability was required!
Jun 28, 2019, 10:29 am
#8
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Glasgow / London
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 3,457
Yes, that’s correct, which, I’m sure Daniel will agree, is no bad thing! GUF bookings are incredibly labour intensive and even more so when changes are required.
Jun 28, 2019, 10:34 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA - GL, Disgruntled ex LH HON
Posts: 382
Jun 28, 2019, 11:00 am
#13
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA, U2+, SK, AF/KL, IHG, Hilton, others gathering dust...
Posts: 2,552
Does anyone have recent experience of using GUFs to F via a TA (or using a Joker to open award availability in F) on these routes (it was DXB and maybe BOS, can’t recall exactly right now)?
Otherwise, this does seem like a good thing.
Jun 28, 2019, 7:18 pm
#14
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,426
I do wonder if the experiment with the removal of A class on some routes would be extended, and if so, would that eliminate GUFs to F on said routes?
Does anyone have recent experience of using GUFs to F via a TA (or using a Joker to open award availability in F) on these routes (it was DXB and maybe BOS, can’t recall exactly right now)?
Otherwise, this does seem like a good thing.
If this experiment spreads it’s not good news
Jun 28, 2019, 11:39 pm
#15
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
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Posts: 13,243
There have been a number of recent changes with very little communication and I can't help wondering whether they are all connected and leading to an overhaul of the programme in the medium term.
I'm also wondering whether this is linked in some way to the increase in airline fees for upgrades for CW-F using GUF from the USA. Perhaps the $200 charge to use my GUFs from here will be standard across the booking process yet with the removal of the need for redemption availability? That would at least give me some value for the extra $200 whereas at the moment it makes little sense on its own.
I'm also wondering whether this is linked in some way to the increase in airline fees for upgrades for CW-F using GUF from the USA. Perhaps the $200 charge to use my GUFs from here will be standard across the booking process yet with the removal of the need for redemption availability? That would at least give me some value for the extra $200 whereas at the moment it makes little sense on its own.