CuiDawei

Hi Everyone,

I have been wait listed for HKG - JFK round trip in J forever. My outbound flight has been confirmed (departing next week) but my three choices for inbound are all still "on request". Deadline is Monday (after already being extended) and if it does not clear I am wondering what my options are?

I do not want to issue a one-way ticket, as this seems like a waste of miles, so is it possible for me to change my already confirmed J seat on the outbound leg into an upgrade from Y+ to J? Obviously, I will purchase Y+, but only if can guarantee my already confirmed seat. And then, is it possible to still be wait listed for upgrade on the return flight up until check-in (which is a week later)?

Thanks in advance

marcuslai

I suspect that the MPC agent would reply, yes you can do that but first he needs to cancel your HKG-JFK confirmed J one-way award. And then see if there is an HKG-JFK Y+ to J one-way upgrade award. While the cancellation of the first should release availability for the second, the agent would warn you there is no guarantee you would be able to grab it back. Someone else waitlisting for that award could theoretically snatch it before you. You would also have already made a Y+ booking before doing any of this.

If the mileage difference isn't that substantial, I wouldn't take the risk even if the risk is small.

(Unless of course there is already availability of the second before you do any of this.)

marcuslai

To answer ur questions more directly :

No. You run the risk of losing the J award seat.

Yes.

CrazyJ82

I don't think this is quite right. IME, the waitlist for the upgrade will expire several days before departure. But if it doesn't clear, you also have the option of requesting a same-day upgrade at the airport when you check-in and try your luck that way.

ernestnywang

That's not quite how flight availability works. When you cancel a seat booked in U, it does not mean that inventory changes from U0 to U1 (even if no one is waitlisting). It could be anywhere between, say, from J4 C4 D3 I3 U2 to J5 C5 D4 I4 U3 and, say, from J2 C0 D0 I0 U0 to J3 C0 D0 I0 U0.

correctioncx

exactly also remember sometimes the U class r special release for DMs so that is why when they release the inventory, it will not go back to the U Class inventory.

Also as discussed above although both Upgrade and Award book into same inventory class, they cannot be interchange.

percysmith

I agree. Upgrades are supposedly more available than full redemptions, if your upgrade doesn't clear right away then there should be little likelihood it'll clear because you dropped your confirmed full redemption segment.

I confirm this is the rule, at least in Mar this year.

I redeemed a HKG-xKUL-oSYD-HKG for 120K AM in early feb. In early March, HKG-SYD became avaialble but on another booking (SYD-HKG did not clear on that booking).

Stupidly, I set up the booking in cx.com, instead of adding it to the redeemed HKG-xKUL-oSYD-HKG.

I asked a number of MPO agents both in Beijing and HK to join the bookings. They consistently refused.

I did my best to get them to drop hints about the waitlist, they were also consistently tight lipped.

The last Canto agent suggested what you suggested - build the HKG-SYD waitlist into the redeemed ticket, cancel the other (HKG-SYD confirmed) booking and see if the seats "drop" into the already-redeemed booking.

I agreed and held my breath. The seats dropped into the already-redeeemed booking right away. I paid $936 and got 40,000 AM back.

GE90-115B

Like how, setting up word traps to try and get them to accidently blurt out details of the waitlist such as how many people are ahead of you and how long the line is?