20k Avios + £710 to upgrade from CW to F?
Jan 25, 2024, 12:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2015
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 690
20k Avios + £710 to upgrade from CW to F?
Flying LHR-JFK soon and noticed there is F reward availability. I am currently in J on a cash ticket and I was told it would be 20k Avios and £710 to upgrade. Surely this is incorrect? It was the Indian call centre and he insisted it was correct because "the fuel surcharges are very high at the moment". Said he checked with his supervisor. Does this sound right to you?
Jan 25, 2024, 12:55 am
#3
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: UK
Programs: Mucci. And BA Gold – previous awards - Gold 11, Silver 7, Bronze 4.
Posts: 4,236
Flying LHR-JFK soon and noticed there is F reward availability. I am currently in J on a cash ticket and I was told it would be 20k Avios and £710 to upgrade. Surely this is incorrect? It was the Indian call centre and he insisted it was correct because "the fuel surcharges are very high at the moment". Said he checked with his supervisor. Does this sound right to you?
PS I think the general advice on here is to try and talk to someone in the UK call centre about this.
Jan 25, 2024, 1:33 am
#5
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
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Jan 25, 2024, 1:40 am
#6
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: BAEC Bronze, Mucci recipient
Posts: 1,786
Can you do a dummy booking if F fares are still available for sale? That should tell you what the taxes and fees are likely to be and compare to the taxes and fees you've paid already.
I certainly wouldn't be paying that amount to upgrade.
I certainly wouldn't be paying that amount to upgrade.
Jan 25, 2024, 2:38 am
#8
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: UK
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Jan 25, 2024, 3:31 am
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
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what taxes/fees/charges did you pay originally for your J cash ticket (you can find it on your email eticket in the table towards the end)?
what are the taxes/fees/charges on a dummy new cash F ticket for your flight in the price breakdown?
but yes, I think £710 is wrong.
what are the taxes/fees/charges on a dummy new cash F ticket for your flight in the price breakdown?
but yes, I think £710 is wrong.
Jan 25, 2024, 4:11 am
#10
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Munich, Algarve, Sussex or S.F Bay Area
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I’ve had this recently. Some agents look at the RFS “fees” and the new F “fees” and try charging the difference, which is incorrect regardless of whether the underlying booking is cash or Avios. Another example of poor training and too little oversight of new call centre staff. Call again to get a different agent, and yes, sadly, calling a UK centre is more likely, though not guaranteed to get a better result.
Jan 25, 2024, 4:24 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: London
Programs: BA Exec Club Gold
Posts: 77
Not sure if helpful or applicable here but I upgraded one leg from J to F on a 241 yesterday on the LAX route. The difference was 25k in avios and approx £370 in taxes for the two of us (original 241 booked in July)
Jan 25, 2024, 5:02 am
#13
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
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yes so there is a distinction between changing a reward J to a reward in F, and the J RFS complicates that since you are no longer paying true taxes/fees/charges whereas you are in F.
for a cash J ticket being upgraded with avios or GUF'ed it should be a lot more straightforward, and quite simply it should be the difference between the TFC you paid and the TFC for F. Typically the difference is zero or a few pounds. However, if there is a significant time lag in booking J and upgrading you may find YQ has increased across the board since (there have been several YQ increases in 2023), so any upgrade would capture that too.
for a cash J ticket being upgraded with avios or GUF'ed it should be a lot more straightforward, and quite simply it should be the difference between the TFC you paid and the TFC for F. Typically the difference is zero or a few pounds. However, if there is a significant time lag in booking J and upgrading you may find YQ has increased across the board since (there have been several YQ increases in 2023), so any upgrade would capture that too.
Jan 25, 2024, 5:33 am
#14
Join Date: May 2023
Location: London
Posts: 23
Again, not sure if helpful but I changed two of us on an Avios + companion voucher booking from J (RFS) to F one way for a reduction (!) of 10k Avios and about £650 in taxes.
The agent (who was very helpful) reckoned there was no way to retain the RFS rate on the return (J) leg, which would've brought it down a bit, but presumably explains the Avios refund.
Felt very steep, but getting a few Avios back was a little comfort!
The agent (who was very helpful) reckoned there was no way to retain the RFS rate on the return (J) leg, which would've brought it down a bit, but presumably explains the Avios refund.
Felt very steep, but getting a few Avios back was a little comfort!
Jan 25, 2024, 8:49 am
#15
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: GLA
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 2,964
Yet again one wonders why poorly trained agents are being put in a position of having to work these things out... it can't be that complicated to install a button on the software for upgrading, and for the IT to work out what is owed by following set rules. You could even put it on the customer-facing website...