Avios booking: seats available in CE but can't upgrade
Mar 27, 2024, 6:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Cambridgeshire
Programs: Varies
Posts: 1,298
Avios booking: seats available in CE but can't upgrade
I received a BA email that said I could upgrade an upcoming ET booking (return LGW-HER). When I clicked on the link no upgrades were available. Fair enough, I know that happens.
But if I try to make a new avios booking (same dates, same flights) there is CE availability on my return leg. No availability in any class on the outward leg.
I'm happy to fly ET out - I'll be driving on arrival so won't be drinking alcohol, and I'll have access to the LGW lounge before the flight so will be well-fed. But I'd quite like the return leg to be CE.
In order to take advantage of those CE seats, I guess I need to phone BA. Will I be charged a phone fee on top of the change fee?
But if I try to make a new avios booking (same dates, same flights) there is CE availability on my return leg. No availability in any class on the outward leg.
I'm happy to fly ET out - I'll be driving on arrival so won't be drinking alcohol, and I'll have access to the LGW lounge before the flight so will be well-fed. But I'd quite like the return leg to be CE.
In order to take advantage of those CE seats, I guess I need to phone BA. Will I be charged a phone fee on top of the change fee?
Mar 27, 2024, 6:53 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: UK - Hampshire & London
Programs: Mucci de Guardian des Celliers des Grands Crus 1e Classé, plus BAEC.
Posts: 2,737
The advice in the past on FT has been that if you explain you weren’t able to make the change online they should wave the phone fee.
Mar 27, 2024, 7:03 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,092
I think formally, the fee should be waived where
1) It's a facility the website offers
2) The website is failing to perform the transaction
Which sounds like your scenario, so they should waive it. I think officially the fee is not meant to be waived if you need to phone up for something the website doesn't offer e.g. certain complex bookings where 1) doesn't apply, but in practice I believe many agents will do so anyway.
One more thing to check, is your ET booking in a class that is eligible for upgrade? (Q,O,G are not). I mean, why on earth would BA send you an email inviting you to upgrade if it wasn't, but c'mon, this is BA IT
1) It's a facility the website offers
2) The website is failing to perform the transaction
Which sounds like your scenario, so they should waive it. I think officially the fee is not meant to be waived if you need to phone up for something the website doesn't offer e.g. certain complex bookings where 1) doesn't apply, but in practice I believe many agents will do so anyway.
One more thing to check, is your ET booking in a class that is eligible for upgrade? (Q,O,G are not). I mean, why on earth would BA send you an email inviting you to upgrade if it wasn't, but c'mon, this is BA IT
Mar 27, 2024, 7:17 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 847
If your original booking is an Avios booking then you can't 'upgrade with Avios' online so you'd have to call to amend the booking. I don't know whether the phone fee would be waived, as this isn't something that can be done online at all.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
Mar 27, 2024, 7:19 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Cambridgeshire
Programs: Varies
Posts: 1,298
I think formally, the fee should be waived where
1) It's a facility the website offers
2) The website is failing to perform the transaction
Which sounds like your scenario, so they should waive it. I think officially the fee is not meant to be waived if you need to phone up for something the website doesn't offer e.g. certain complex bookings where 1) doesn't apply, but in practice I believe many agents will do so anyway.
One more thing to check, is your ET booking in a class that is eligible for upgrade? (Q,O,G are not). I mean, why on earth would BA send you an email inviting you to upgrade if it wasn't, but c'mon, this is BA IT
1) It's a facility the website offers
2) The website is failing to perform the transaction
Which sounds like your scenario, so they should waive it. I think officially the fee is not meant to be waived if you need to phone up for something the website doesn't offer e.g. certain complex bookings where 1) doesn't apply, but in practice I believe many agents will do so anyway.
One more thing to check, is your ET booking in a class that is eligible for upgrade? (Q,O,G are not). I mean, why on earth would BA send you an email inviting you to upgrade if it wasn't, but c'mon, this is BA IT
It was a pretty quick and painless experience, and I suppose I did know (after reading so many posts on here) that I shouldn't be charged for phoning, but sometimes I just need psychological backup!
Thanks
Mar 27, 2024, 7:20 am
#6
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,990
If your original booking is an Avios booking then you can't 'upgrade with Avios' online so you'd have to call to amend the booking. I don't know whether the phone fee would be waived, as this isn't something that can be done online at all.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
UuA is only for cash bookings, but there is no change fee.
Mar 27, 2024, 7:24 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,092
It was an avios booking (not a 241 - just plain avios), but CE wasn't available when I booked so I chose ET. I'm not sure what the booking class is. I wonder if, when the upgrade email is sent, BA IT don't distinguish between avios and cash bookings? It is strange that I couldn't see upgrade availability for my original booking either by clicking the email link or by going to manage my booking, and that it was available for new bookings. However, I did phone BA, they have made the change for me and they didn't charge me extra for making the change by phone.
It was a pretty quick and painless experience, and I suppose I did know (after reading so many posts on here) that I shouldn't be charged for phoning, but sometimes I just need psychological backup!
Thanks
It was a pretty quick and painless experience, and I suppose I did know (after reading so many posts on here) that I shouldn't be charged for phoning, but sometimes I just need psychological backup!
Thanks
Glad you got it all sorted. Let's hope for an outing of the Temperance Society on the outbound leg of your return flight, so the bar carts remains full to the brim
Mar 27, 2024, 7:31 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Cambridgeshire
Programs: Varies
Posts: 1,298
If your original booking is an Avios booking then you can't 'upgrade with Avios' online so you'd have to call to amend the booking. I don't know whether the phone fee would be waived, as this isn't something that can be done online at all.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
If your original booking is a cash booking then as per the post above it can only be upgraded with Avios if it's in an eligible class.
Did the email you received relate to a promotional cash upgrade (i.e. a POUG)? If so, those should work on both cash and Avios bookings, but sometimes no upgrade appears when you click through. Or did it relate to upgrading with Avios - in which case see above for why it might not have worked.
The email was titled "Upgrade your cabin for less" and the text said "Elevate your experience" but it didn't mention cash or avios. But yes, if it was talking about "less" I assume they meant a cash upgrade or a POUG. And so I wasn't surprised to see no availability when I clicked through, as I know it sometimes disappears fast. But I was surprised to see that the CE availability didn't show at all on my booking - it said no upgrades were available. If I hadn't made a dummy booking I wouldn't have known. And, thinking about it, I didn't get a seatspy alert either. And I just checked Seatspy and it's not showing availability while there is still availability when doing a dummy booking.
I perhaps mistakenly thought that extra CE availability for Silver Executive club members was only available for 241 bookings. Is it also available for all avios bookings?
Sorry if I'm being thick, it's not a good day for me
