Cathay Pacific - upgrade using points
 

Hello all,

I have just bought tickets from Cathay Pacific but was hoping to upgrade to business-class later when I have enough points.
I just realized the economy-class seats I got are "V". From the asiamiles website, it states the following:
-For Cathay Pacific and Dragonair Economy Class, only fare classes Y, B, H, K, M, L and V are eligible for earning Asia Miles.
-For Economy to Business Class Upgrade Awards only fare classes Y, B, H and K are eligible.

Am I completely short of luck? I'm wondering if this only applies online, compared to at-the-counter. Anyone else able to get an upgrade by the counter using points, if they are economy V seats?
Thanks!

Welcome to FT!!!

You might have better luck posting this in the Cathay Pacific forum under miles and points. Don't worry, I suspect the moderators will move it there.

yes, unless your ticket is one of the classes listed as upgradable, then you will not be able to upgrade. Normally the Y and B classes are full fare economy and not discounted so they are upgradable.

Moving to CP forum & welcome to FT. :)

Welcome to FT.

YBHK only. So you are SOL.

Call CX and see if you can fare-up (if you think it will worth it).

Bear in mind going from V to YBH or K will be quite an upgrade in terms of $$$...

If one buys the upgradeable economy class for the sole purpose to upgrade, what area the chances that the upgrade isn't going to be available? This is always a scary part for me.

Then you are SOL.

AFAIK, upgrade by miles is only cleared at the gate.

OMG! Why is it so hard to find a list of what Cathay Pacific's fare classes are?

I don't mean "Y, B, H, K, M, L” and “V”. Those are listed in the T&C's when you go to book a CP flight. But when I try to do a dummy booking, I have no clue what fare I'm booking. During the booking, there is "economy special, economy core, economy standard, and economy flex." Which class fares do they correspond to?

I want to use my points for an upgrade if possible and see only “Y, B, H” and “K” are upgradeable. But I have no clue which classes those are!!! Help!

If you're doing the dummy booking thru CX website, then it's the Flight Details screen that you will see the Fare Class.

Personally, I've only seen Economy Standard & Flex as upgradable fare classes. Never seen Economy Special or Save as K, H, B or Y

Thanks Hemel, but how do I know which fare is which letter? I do see that "Economy Standard and Flex" are both upgradeable - there is a nice chart in that screen that tells me that when doing a dummy booking. But I still don't know if that's K, H, B or L or anything else! In that same chart, "Economy Special" says that it "varies" if you want to "upgrade with miles". How do I know what fare class "economy special" is? I don't know what Y or F or anything is and CX's website certainly isn't helping!!!

This happens if you request upgrade on departure.

If you continue with the booking on the next page before paying, then it will show you the fare class letter.

I must be blind! I have gone thru a dummy booking right up until I get to the "Purchase" button, but still don't see where it tells me the fare class. I see all the T&C's, but I still haven't found where the fare class is shown. Can anyone be more specific please?

It is on the View Fare Details page.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...areDetails.jpg

No, you can confirm upgrades well before the time of departure. I usually get them cleared a week before.