Seat Upgrades with Asia Miles
Mar 31, 2013, 12:07 am
#16
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,803
It is a bit of Catch 22 (if you even remember that movie) with CX because ticketing and Asia Miles are two different departments. Here's what I've found that will work:
1) Call telephone sales and tell them you want to book a revenue ticket in (as an example) Business Class, and upgrade to First using Asia Miles. (Don't make the booking online -- use CX reservations. I'm USA based, and specifically have one particular CX Reservations person in the CX Vancouver reservation bureau assist me. YMMV).
2) The Res Agent can determine if upgrade inventory is available on your date(s). They cannot process the upgrade -- that's why it gets dicey. But they can check inventory -- I don't know if they see it directly, or if they call Asia Miles on an internal link, but they can do it.
3) If you find that the upgrade inventory is available for the dates and flights you want, have Res make the booking.
4) Immediately call Asia Miles and have them pend the upgrade(s). They will tell you that you have to be ticketed: that's true, but they can hold the upgrade for a limited time.
5) Call Res back, and have the revenue ticket issued.
6) Call Asia Miles back, and have them queue the ticket to be re-issued with the upgrade confirmed (for a transpac Business-to-First, the class will change from I or D to Z). In about 36 to 48 hours, you'll get an e-mail with a new ticket, and your upgrade(s) confirmed.
Complicated, no? But it seems to be the only workaround -- unless others on this board have found something quicker?
1) Call telephone sales and tell them you want to book a revenue ticket in (as an example) Business Class, and upgrade to First using Asia Miles. (Don't make the booking online -- use CX reservations. I'm USA based, and specifically have one particular CX Reservations person in the CX Vancouver reservation bureau assist me. YMMV).
2) The Res Agent can determine if upgrade inventory is available on your date(s). They cannot process the upgrade -- that's why it gets dicey. But they can check inventory -- I don't know if they see it directly, or if they call Asia Miles on an internal link, but they can do it.
3) If you find that the upgrade inventory is available for the dates and flights you want, have Res make the booking.
4) Immediately call Asia Miles and have them pend the upgrade(s). They will tell you that you have to be ticketed: that's true, but they can hold the upgrade for a limited time.
5) Call Res back, and have the revenue ticket issued.
6) Call Asia Miles back, and have them queue the ticket to be re-issued with the upgrade confirmed (for a transpac Business-to-First, the class will change from I or D to Z). In about 36 to 48 hours, you'll get an e-mail with a new ticket, and your upgrade(s) confirmed.
Complicated, no? But it seems to be the only workaround -- unless others on this board have found something quicker?
I remember it can be simplified to the following:
- book the revenue flight
- book the upgrade
- ticket the revenue flight
- redeem the upgrade
Mar 31, 2013, 9:56 pm
#18
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: People's Republic of HotTubistan
Posts: 1,408
You will still have to then call Asia Miles to redeem the upgrade, and have the ticket re-issued. To avoid getting trapped with an issued ticket, then finding that the upgrade inventory has disappeared in the interval between the two phone calls, you may want to do what I do: book, defer ticketing until Asia Miles has held the upgrade space, then ticket, then confirm and re-ticket with Asia Miles.
As I say -- YMMV................
Apr 1, 2013, 12:08 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Thai
Posts: 397
Just a follow up... no upgrade award available on a flight 10 months from now. Pretty unbelievable. I can wait list.. but then you have to decide if it's worth the gamble to pay the higher price for a "R" ticket over an "E" ticket.
Last edited by Cameron38; Apr 1, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Apr 1, 2013, 6:05 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: NZ
Programs: AA, UA, QF, TK, EY, NZ
Posts: 447
Well it comes down to how high yielding and full the route is.. If flights consistently go out full in F and J, you're less likely to get an upgrade. Also bear in mind members with a higher status will also leapfrog you into those slots. I wouldn't call $200-300 a gamble; though if you're satisfied with a Y+ seat, maybe just getting an E fare would be enough..
Apr 1, 2013, 7:07 pm
#21
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 415
I can't find my old post (closest I found is this) but your steps are roughly correct.
I remember it can be simplified to the following:
- book the revenue flight
- book the upgrade
- ticket the revenue flight
- redeem the upgrade
I remember it can be simplified to the following:
- book the revenue flight
- book the upgrade
- ticket the revenue flight
- redeem the upgrade
I was checking an ORD-HKG-MNL fare for $2800 on Y+ and found a $3000 fare that was R fare on the ORD-HKG portion. Not bad, considering HKG-MNL is such a short leg that Y would be fine. Wish there was a way to force R to show online.
Apr 1, 2013, 7:26 pm
#22
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
How does one "book" a revenue flight and not ticket it? Will the agent put it on hold for you if you explain that you're trying to get an upgrade? I guess I'm trying to figure at what point do you actually shell out your $$. If you don't get the upgrade can you cancel the booking?
Unfortunately, the convoluted process the previous posters are referring to is precisely what logical customers have to do. Because, if you look at Cameron38's question, the reason you aren't advised to do the abbreviated 3-step process he asks about is this: the availability of the upgrade you call about in Step 1 may no longer be there in the 15 minutes or so that will elapse between Steps 1 and 3.
Apr 1, 2013, 7:55 pm
#23
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,803
How does one "book" a revenue flight and not ticket it? Will the agent put it on hold for you if you explain that you're trying to get an upgrade? I guess I'm trying to figure at what point do you actually shell out your $$. If you don't get the upgrade can you cancel the booking?
My parents love doing this so they can fix prices and dates and then see if their friends or relations want to go. Or change their minds in two weeks time.
I guess the TA doesn't like doing this but I make sure a certain percentage of the bookings are followed through.
Apr 1, 2013, 8:19 pm
#24
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
Using TA. I can get her to make a booking saying "confirmed booking date flight date flight *** Ticket deadline : dd mmm yy ***".
My parents love doing this so they can fix prices and dates and then see if their friends or relations want to go. Or change their minds in two weeks time.
I guess the TA doesn't like doing this but I make sure a certain percentage of the bookings are followed through.
My parents love doing this so they can fix prices and dates and then see if their friends or relations want to go. Or change their minds in two weeks time.
I guess the TA doesn't like doing this but I make sure a certain percentage of the bookings are followed through.
Apr 2, 2013, 9:40 am
#27
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: People's Republic of HotTubistan
Posts: 1,408
If you use the North American 800 number, and you call during North American business hours, your call will automatically route to Vancouver. That's what you want.
Now, if you call during the North American nighttime, the call may route to Hong Kong -- I don't know. But having a specific agent work on your behalf out of the Vancouver office seems to help all this stuff: you can exchange e-mails directly with your helper to speed up things rather than having to call back and ask for that specific person (who may be on another call anyway).
Over many years flying with SQ, I found the same thing to be true -- they have a San Francisco ticket office, and can handle anything locally, avoiding all the overseas outsourced call centers..........................
Now, if you call during the North American nighttime, the call may route to Hong Kong -- I don't know. But having a specific agent work on your behalf out of the Vancouver office seems to help all this stuff: you can exchange e-mails directly with your helper to speed up things rather than having to call back and ask for that specific person (who may be on another call anyway).
Over many years flying with SQ, I found the same thing to be true -- they have a San Francisco ticket office, and can handle anything locally, avoiding all the overseas outsourced call centers..........................
Apr 2, 2013, 2:08 pm
#28
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Thai
Posts: 397
I'm not sure the availability of mileage upgrades has that much to do with how many seats are available. When I used to upgrade on EVA, the customer service rep once told me they had about 2 Business Class seats per flight designated as eligible for mileage upgrade. Once those are taken, no more are issued regardless if the plane flies out with half the seats empty. I know the flight I was trying to update on CX was for late January. I took the same flight/date this year and the whole plane was half empty both ways.
Apr 8, 2013, 6:12 pm
#29
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: Thai
Posts: 397
Just an update.. was able to book the J upgrade by moving my flight one week earlier and choosing the morning flight from LAX instead of the evening flight.
Last edited by Cameron38; Apr 10, 2013 at 7:42 pm