Oct 29, 2013, 4:27 am
Last edit by: ZZ100
Is it possible to buy a (cheap) upgrade on Cathay Pacific upon check-in?
The short answer is no.
Cathay, as a general rule, does not allow you to purchase last minute upgrades if there are empty seats in Y+, J or F. The only way to upgrade a ticket is to pay the fare difference between your current ticket, and an available fare class in the higher cabins. Note that if your current ticket has restrictions (cancellation fees, non-refundable) these still apply.
There are been stories of people who have been offered cheap upgrades by Cathay, but this is more an exception than a common occurrence.
If I upgrade my ticket using asia miles, do I still earn miles?
Yes, you will earn miles for the original fare class that you booked, not the upgraded cabin.
How do I get a free upgrade / operational upgrade (op-up)?
Cathay Pacific does not upgrade passengers just because there are empty seats in higher classes. Upgrades will only occur where there is overbooking in lower classes.
The order of upgrades when required is believed to be:
I am travelling on an award ticket. Will I still be considered for a free upgrade?
Yes - there are many stories of passengers on award tickets, or who upgraded a class using miles, getting (additional) upgrades.
What happens if the aircraft has 4 or 3 cabins, but is only selling Business and Economy seats?
It is likely if you have Marco Polo status, and to a lesser extent oneworld status, you may be able to sit in either First Class seats (if booked in J) or Premium Economy (if booked in Y) with service of the original cabin. There doesn't appear to be consistency yet as to how these semi-upgrades are allocated. Some people have been able to choose seats in the higher cabin during online check-in, or some will get them on request at check-in. However, there is no entitlement to these seats.
Will I get an upgrade on my Birthday, or for my membership anniversary, or for reaching xx number of lifetime club miles?
Please see this link for members' experience with these kinds of upgrades: Marco Polo Anniversary Upgrades
I want to use Asia Miles to upgrade a BA flight. How do I do this?
As of 22 June 2018, it is no longer possible to upgrade BA flights with Asia Miles.
How do I upgrade a CX flight using miles?
If you already have issued your original ticket:
If you have not made any booking yet, and you want to check availability:
If you don't receive a new e-ticket before departure, call up Marco Polo club to double check if the upgrade has been issued.
The short answer is no.
Cathay, as a general rule, does not allow you to purchase last minute upgrades if there are empty seats in Y+, J or F. The only way to upgrade a ticket is to pay the fare difference between your current ticket, and an available fare class in the higher cabins. Note that if your current ticket has restrictions (cancellation fees, non-refundable) these still apply.
There are been stories of people who have been offered cheap upgrades by Cathay, but this is more an exception than a common occurrence.
If I upgrade my ticket using asia miles, do I still earn miles?
Yes, you will earn miles for the original fare class that you booked, not the upgraded cabin.
How do I get a free upgrade / operational upgrade (op-up)?
Cathay Pacific does not upgrade passengers just because there are empty seats in higher classes. Upgrades will only occur where there is overbooking in lower classes.
The order of upgrades when required is believed to be:
- VIP (Heads of State, Government Bodies, or Canto Pop/Movie stars)
- CX Diamond Plus
- CX Diamond Invitation, Diamond
- CX Gold
- CX management staff on travel duty
- oneworld Emerald
- CX staff on duty nominees , other airline staff nominees, CX staff on personal travel
- oneworld Sapphire
- CX Silver
- oneworld Ruby
- CX Green
- Asia Miles
- Non status
I am travelling on an award ticket. Will I still be considered for a free upgrade?
Yes - there are many stories of passengers on award tickets, or who upgraded a class using miles, getting (additional) upgrades.
What happens if the aircraft has 4 or 3 cabins, but is only selling Business and Economy seats?
It is likely if you have Marco Polo status, and to a lesser extent oneworld status, you may be able to sit in either First Class seats (if booked in J) or Premium Economy (if booked in Y) with service of the original cabin. There doesn't appear to be consistency yet as to how these semi-upgrades are allocated. Some people have been able to choose seats in the higher cabin during online check-in, or some will get them on request at check-in. However, there is no entitlement to these seats.
Will I get an upgrade on my Birthday, or for my membership anniversary, or for reaching xx number of lifetime club miles?
Please see this link for members' experience with these kinds of upgrades: Marco Polo Anniversary Upgrades
I want to use Asia Miles to upgrade a BA flight. How do I do this?
As of 22 June 2018, it is no longer possible to upgrade BA flights with Asia Miles.
How do I upgrade a CX flight using miles?
If you already have issued your original ticket:
- Try upgrading using Manage My Booking on the website (not always successful)
- If self-service doesn't work, try calling Marco Polo hotline to check availability
- If there is availability, you will need to issue the upgrade immediately to secure it. They may give you a few days grace before isssuing the upgrade, but this is now rarely given.
- In a few days, or longer if they are busy, your miles will be deducted, and you will be emailed a new e-ticket with the upgrade class details on it, and your online booking for your original booking class will disappear.
If you have not made any booking yet, and you want to check availability:
- Call Marco Polo club to check for availability on the flights/dates you want, or check for normal redemption availability on the website.
- Book a revenue ticket in the class of service for which you will be paying. Do NOT do this via the website -- call a CX telephone sales number/travel agent.
- Put the booking on hold.
- Call the Marco Polo/Asia Miles Service Center. Have them book the upgrade and give you a deadline to have the ticket issued. (It's usually about 72 hours).
- Have telephone sales/travel agent issue your revenue ticket.
- Call Marco Polo/Asia Miles back. Give them the revenue ticket number against the PNR and ask them to issue your upgrade.
- In about two or three days, you'll get a new ticket with the upgrade showing.
If you don't receive a new e-ticket before departure, call up Marco Polo club to double check if the upgrade has been issued.
The Ultimate Upgrade Question thread
Apr 18, 2015 | 3:40 am
#181
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 96
Also, does this (as per the Sticky on this forum) work anymore?
If you have not made any booking yet, and you want to check availability:
1. Call Marco Polo club to check for availability on the flights/dates you want, or check for normal redemption availability on the website.
2. Book a revenue ticket in the class of service for which you will be paying. Do NOT do this via the website -- call a CX telephone sales number/travel agent.
3. Put the booking on hold.
4. Call the Marco Polo/Asia Miles Service Center. Have them book the upgrade and give you a deadline to have the ticket issued. (It's usually about 72 hours).
5. Have telephone sales/travel agent issue your revenue ticket.
6. Call Marco Polo/Asia Miles back. Give them the revenue ticket number against the PNR and ask them to issue your upgrade.
7. In about two or three days, you'll get a new ticket with the upgrade showing.
If you have not made any booking yet, and you want to check availability:
1. Call Marco Polo club to check for availability on the flights/dates you want, or check for normal redemption availability on the website.
2. Book a revenue ticket in the class of service for which you will be paying. Do NOT do this via the website -- call a CX telephone sales number/travel agent.
3. Put the booking on hold.
4. Call the Marco Polo/Asia Miles Service Center. Have them book the upgrade and give you a deadline to have the ticket issued. (It's usually about 72 hours).
5. Have telephone sales/travel agent issue your revenue ticket.
6. Call Marco Polo/Asia Miles back. Give them the revenue ticket number against the PNR and ask them to issue your upgrade.
7. In about two or three days, you'll get a new ticket with the upgrade showing.
Apr 18, 2015 | 3:52 am
#182
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SIN, PIE
Programs: AA-EXP, SQ-PPS, Marriott PP
Posts: 210
That process from the sticky has worked for me.
You'll need to book a R or W fare to upgrade to business class from premium economy. The (E) fare cited in bullet #2 won't get you to J.
You'll need to book a R or W fare to upgrade to business class from premium economy. The (E) fare cited in bullet #2 won't get you to J.
Apr 18, 2015 | 4:54 am
#183
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriot Am, MU Pt
Posts: 3,092
You need to be booked into W or R fare to upgrade to U (redemption business).
This works even if you have to waitlist. The holding time of the ticket is normally 24 hours, but if you have an upgrade redemption on waitlist, the ticket can be held until the upgrade clears or the waitlist expires.
This works even if you have to waitlist. The holding time of the ticket is normally 24 hours, but if you have an upgrade redemption on waitlist, the ticket can be held until the upgrade clears or the waitlist expires.
Apr 18, 2015 | 2:16 pm
#185
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 96
You need to be booked into W or R fare to upgrade to U (redemption business).
This works even if you have to waitlist. The holding time of the ticket is normally 24 hours, but if you have an upgrade redemption on waitlist, the ticket can be held until the upgrade clears or the waitlist expires.
This works even if you have to waitlist. The holding time of the ticket is normally 24 hours, but if you have an upgrade redemption on waitlist, the ticket can be held until the upgrade clears or the waitlist expires.
Apr 18, 2015 | 2:18 pm
#186
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 96
I'll try this. Did you call CX directly and book (hold) the revenue R or W fare? And then simply call AM and request the upgrade for that ticket number. Sound simple enough.
Apr 18, 2015 | 5:48 pm
#188
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SIN, PIE
Programs: AA-EXP, SQ-PPS, Marriott PP
Posts: 210
http://www.asiamiles.com/am/en/redeem/charts
good luck
Apr 22, 2015 | 9:26 pm
#189
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: In front of my computer
Programs: MPC DM, SPG Plat
Posts: 87
I just received a fantastic double upgrade from Y to J from HKG to LAX but no idea why / how. I booked a S class fare a few months ago, called to try and either pay to change into PEY or V class (so I could at least earn club miles) but both PEY and higher fare classes were sold out. Today, I get an upgrade at check-in to PEY (with thanks!) and then got bumped to J at boarding. Our equipment had a malfunction identified at the gate so we need to switch planes so now I'm crossing my fingers that I don't suddenly get downgraded back to Y.
Apr 23, 2015 | 7:55 am
#191
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,041
I just received a fantastic double upgrade from Y to J from HKG to LAX but no idea why / how. I booked a S class fare a few months ago, called to try and either pay to change into PEY or V class (so I could at least earn club miles) but both PEY and higher fare classes were sold out. Today, I get an upgrade at check-in to PEY (with thanks!) and then got bumped to J at boarding. Our equipment had a malfunction identified at the gate so we need to switch planes so now I'm crossing my fingers that I don't suddenly get downgraded back to Y.
May 10, 2015 | 10:47 pm
#194
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 36
New to this thread. Planning on booking several long haul flights this summer b/t the US and Singapore and am trying to figure out the process to best utilize our miles. We have a huge bucket of miles in Alaska Mileage plan, however almost all redemption flights on partners are full. We also have a large bucket of miles sitting in various credit cards that we had planned to use to either redeem tickets or upgrades. I have looked through the CX website and it seems that all award tickets are gone for the entire month of July. Is it possible to still book W class tickets and use miles to upgrade into J (or equivalent)? Also, for future planning what is the best site or program to use to search availability? We we always purchase several J class tickets and then need to upgrade our children into the same class with us. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
May 11, 2015 | 12:45 am
#195
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 22,114
We also have a large bucket of miles sitting in various credit cards that we had planned to use to either redeem tickets or upgrades. I have looked through the CX website and it seems that all award tickets are gone for the entire month of July. Is it possible to still book W class tickets and use miles to upgrade into J (or equivalent)?
Last edited by percysmith; May 11, 2015 at 1:43 am