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To upgrade or not to upgrade...
Hi, So the wife wife and I have return flights booked in WTP in Nov (LHR to SFO rtn). Total cost £873ea (technically £793ea as we reduced the cost using some Avios). Logging into the app I can see there’s a limited time offer to upgrade the outbound to Business for £567ea which seems incredibly cheap. Not sure if they’re trying to free up WTP (4 seats left) and fill up Business (5 seats filled)? Whats the opinion of those that fly more than me? Is it as good a price as it seems? Does it indicate a high liklihood of an upgrade at the desk? Is it probable that an ever better price could come along (based on past experience)? Also, as an aside, when I did a dummy booking to see what it cost for business on the same flight one-way (£8800 if you wanna know) it said I could select my seat for free? I thought you had to pay to select a seat in business? I wasn’t logged in either. |
Originally Posted by stealthferret
(Post 31452330)
Hi, So the wife wife and I have return flights booked in WTP in Nov (LHR to SFO rtn). Total cost £873ea (technically £793ea as we reduced the cost using some Avios). Logging into the app I can see there’s a limited time offer to upgrade the outbound to Business for £567ea which seems incredibly cheap. Not sure if they’re trying to free up WTP (4 seats left) and fill up Business (5 seats filled)? Whats the opinion of those that fly more than me? Is it as good a price as it seems? Does it indicate a high liklihood of an upgrade at the desk? Is it probable that an ever better price could come along (based on past experience)? Also, as an aside, when I did a dummy booking to see what it cost for business on the same flight one-way (£8800 if you wanna know) it said I could select my seat for free? I thought you had to pay to select a seat in business? I wasn’t logged in either. I think that GBP 567 to upgrade WTP to CW is reasonable. There is a thread on airpor upgrades wihch may have a list of previous Airport upgrade costs ( SO maight be on the list) The most expensive fares ( ie like the GBP 8000 ) will allow seat choice for free with no status . The discounted business fares do not allow free seat choice in advance w/o status. Regards TBS |
Ah! That’s one of the perks of paying £8k! I’ll try dig out the upgrade thread. Thanks! |
For flights of that length, CW is “highly desirable” and that seems a reasonable offer.
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Yeah, we did SFO last year in first (Avios 241) so it’s been a bit of a kick in the teeth to have to go WTP! Last minute wedding to attend and have plans for our Avios and 241 next year so went with what we could afford. i think we will probably go for it tbh butwanted to solicit the sage advice of the users here first! |
The outbound is a daytime flight: is it really worth almost £1200 extra for the two of you to have a bigger seat and a better meal? (Genuine question - only you can decide).
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Yeah, I made that point, that the real benefit is the bed which is most valuable on the night flight. That said, it’s an 11hr+ flight landing at 2pm (will feel like 10pm) and then I have to drive 90mins+ to Sacramento so the sleep would be very handy and easier than in WTP. i guess never having been in WTP doesn’t help as I can’t say how comfortable or not I find it... |
I wouldn't pay over a grand (for two) to upgrade a daytime flight, but then I find WTP pretty comfortable as a seat and flying as a pair you can chat, or even share a movie.
But then much depends on what the money means to you. No-one else can help you with that. |
Long time since I did l/h down the back, and at my age I/we wouldn’t consider ever doing it!
We have a fairly simple LHR-IAD (after a UK night-stop) in a week or so, and the one thing always in my mind is that I then have to navigate the Washington Beltway etc. for about 45 minutes. I know the area and the roads well (or 23rd visit), but that doesn’t stop the Beltway being manic. Being rested and alert is critical to my thinking. |
Having done the SFO-LHR flight many times, I wouldn’t personally pay $1k to upgrade both from WTP to CW for the day flight. I’d pay to pick my seat in WTP, but with two of you, I’m assuming you would be stuck in the two middle seats, so at least one will have aisle access. Then again I’m used to seats similar to WTP for long US domestic cross country flights. |
To me, it sounds like a reasonable deal and a price I would pay. Whilst it’s a daytime flight, I always try and get a few hours sleep when heading TATL to the Western side of America. I find this helps with my jet lag and I’m not completely knackered at about 7pm and wanting to fall asleep wherever I am! So for me, it’d be worth it. |
Originally Posted by stealthferret
(Post 31452379)
Last minute wedding to attend and have plans for our Avios and 241 next year so went with what we could afford. |
I'd say that's a very reasonable offer. Factor in the lounge and some additional TPs as well, plus the length of the flight. I'd cough up that kind of money i think, but last time I flew a similar length flight they wanted 839 quid, that on top of the 1500 usd already forked out for the WTP ticket. I passed. :)
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I fly between LHR and SFO quite often (although maybe not as often as some) and if one has the money, I would recommend upgrading to CW whenever possible (in either direction.) It's a longish flight, and as stated above a few hours sleep on the outbound definitely helps with timezone adjustment, I find.
rb211. |
I would say that the better investment on the way out to SFO is an airport hotel overnight. Driving on the i-80 when tired is not a good move IMHO, so I overnight every time now and feel that the 2.5 hour drive is a lot safer. Don't forget you will wake really early and leaving at 5:30 or 6am the roads are really empty.
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It's a decent deal but you just don't get the benefit of it on a day flight. Night flight, I'd be all over it!
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Originally Posted by Cymro
(Post 31457136)
It's a decent deal but you just don't get the benefit of it on a day flight. Night flight, I'd be all over it!
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Originally Posted by Starship73
(Post 31457163)
Each to their own I guess... I actually tend to take the opposite view and like to enjoy the benefits of an upgrade and the extra comfort it offers during a day flight, rather than ‘wasting’ it by being asleep. That said I’d obviously still prefer to be in a better seat for a night flight too - but I don’t see the value proposition to be as high as for a daytime upgrade. Maybe I’m in the minority! |
This is the relevant thread I think: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...19-thread.html
Your offer looks similar to previous ones. I guess you would get club check-in, fast-track security, lounge(s), priority boarding (not that you need it in CW), more TPs (it's a slippery slope and you would be on the way to bronze!), more avios AND the better seat and service. And, I would plan to stay overnight at the airport having taken advantage of the lounge and CW drinks service! |
These days I take any opportunity to sleep, so whether I'm heading East or West, Day or Night, I shall be putting my seat into horizontal mode. ;)
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Obviously different people have different priorities. I’d be hitting that bid all day (and night) long. |
Good mix of pros and cons there guys! Doesn’t help making the decision but gives me things to consider. We’re in the Sofitel T5 the night before and the flight leaves at 10.45am so whilst the lounge is a plus, no lounge isn’t an issue as we will just check out later. I’m not a drinker so that’s not a consideration, and we get two bags, really it just comes down to comfort. I’ve flown to LA in Economy before and survived so my gut says ‘save the cash’ and just make the best of WTP. It’s the drive (as pointed out by a few people) that makes me second guess and I wonder if a few hours proper lie-flat sleep is sensible - or should I say going to make enough of a difference to warrant £1100+ for the two of us... Only I can make that call but I appreciate the input! |
Do you need to be in Sacramento that evening, or were you just planning to be there? I'd be jetlagged and want to be up at 5 a.m. the next morning, so I'd book a hotel at SFO, pick up my car, drive there and then leave at dark o'clock for a full day there. (I know this because I'm doing precisely that, albeit to Napa rather than Sacramento - but same difference - in November, flying WTP).
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We’re meeting the wife’s parents/uncle & aunt at SFO (they’re on Virgin) and taking two cars up, we could get a hotel but we’ve accomodation already arranged for the trip. Plus since we land about 3pm it seems a waste of an evening to just mooch about SFO or have all the trouble of heading into San Fran for the sake of a few hours. I think generally people just want to get up there and ready for the wedding. Thinking on further spouses are added as free 2nd drivers on the hire cars so we could switch up the driving - makes it less tiring. In which case we should be fine with whatever napping we manage on the plane. Then again it’s her 40th birthday in December so maybe I just book business anyway and not tell her... |
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