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
Dec 12, 2019, 5:44 pm
#1171
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
I'm looking at a RT flight HKG-SIN and there are of course no awards despite plenty of seats open. Thinking of booking PE. Upgrading to J is only possible with R/W booking class, but the cheapest PE is in E class.
Will CX clear the upgrade if the seat is available at the gate, or does it not work like that?
Will CX clear the upgrade if the seat is available at the gate, or does it not work like that?
Dec 13, 2019, 7:40 am
#1173
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: CX MPC DM
Posts: 416
I'm looking at a RT flight HKG-SIN and there are of course no awards despite plenty of seats open. Thinking of booking PE. Upgrading to J is only possible with R/W booking class, but the cheapest PE is in E class.
Will CX clear the upgrade if the seat is available at the gate, or does it not work like that?
Will CX clear the upgrade if the seat is available at the gate, or does it not work like that?
That being said, you should also check in the days leading up to the flight. It's common for awards to become available in the last few days. If you don't clear, ask for instant upgrade a check-in counter. They may make you wait until check-in is closed and complete the transaction in the lounge.
Dec 13, 2019, 10:12 am
#1174
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: YYZ
Programs: CX GO, AC Aeroplan 25K, AMEX PLAT, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 464
Thankfully most times I get my upgrade cleared prior to departure and rarely do I have to rely on Instant Upgrade.
@helvetic - I concur to what synthkeys says. Very often they release upgrade inventory the last few days (up to last few hours I have seen). This is on YYZ-HKG route and I have seen quite a few times where upgrade U inventory becomes available despite I showing 0. (e.g. J3 C2 D2 I0).
Dec 14, 2019, 3:32 am
#1175
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
I ended up booking E and deciding it wasn't worth $500 USD + 24k miles to upgrade the round trip HKG-SIN… and guess what, I got op-up'd from W to J anyways on the way there. Perfect.
Dec 16, 2019, 7:10 pm
#1177
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: CX DM/OWE, Marriott Titanium, Avis Preferred, National EE
Posts: 128
Hey All,
Not sure if this is the right forum to post this but I hit the 1600 point mid-tier diamond benefit which is 4 bookable upgrades. Can anyone share any experience with how easy it is to get the upgrades approved/processed? I had several gold mid tier upgrade passes expire cause I was never able to get the upgrade approved before the flight...
Not sure if this is the right forum to post this but I hit the 1600 point mid-tier diamond benefit which is 4 bookable upgrades. Can anyone share any experience with how easy it is to get the upgrades approved/processed? I had several gold mid tier upgrade passes expire cause I was never able to get the upgrade approved before the flight...
Dec 16, 2019, 8:09 pm
#1178
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
Upgraded on the return too. Woah. Is it that common to get op-up booked in W on HKG-SIN? Seems like they oversell Y/W and there's not much competition as emerald in W for the op-up. I'm not even Marco Polo elite.
Dec 17, 2019, 6:27 am
#1180
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: HKG
Programs: CX Gold, MB Titanium
Posts: 123
Have we had any reports that Instant Upgrade did not clear and flight left with empty J seats? If so that would have a huge implications...
Thankfully most times I get my upgrade cleared prior to departure and rarely do I have to rely on Instant Upgrade.
@helvetic - I concur to what synthkeys says. Very often they release upgrade inventory the last few days (up to last few hours I have seen). This is on YYZ-HKG route and I have seen quite a few times where upgrade U inventory becomes available despite I showing 0. (e.g. J3 C2 D2 I0).
Thankfully most times I get my upgrade cleared prior to departure and rarely do I have to rely on Instant Upgrade.
@helvetic - I concur to what synthkeys says. Very often they release upgrade inventory the last few days (up to last few hours I have seen). This is on YYZ-HKG route and I have seen quite a few times where upgrade U inventory becomes available despite I showing 0. (e.g. J3 C2 D2 I0).
I don't recall mine exactly, however on my most recent flight back in August, I was waitlisted for both outbound and return. My return ended up being confirmed almost a month out, whilst the outbound never cleared (didn't know about checking closer to the date trick, until just a few days ago as I was able to upgrade from J to F to LAX), I was eventually upgraded at the gate.
Dec 18, 2019, 10:48 am
#1181
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: YYZ
Programs: CX GO, AC Aeroplan 25K, AMEX PLAT, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 464
I don't recall mine exactly, however on my most recent flight back in August, I was waitlisted for both outbound and return. My return ended up being confirmed almost a month out, whilst the outbound never cleared (didn't know about checking closer to the date trick, until just a few days ago as I was able to upgrade from J to F to LAX), I was eventually upgraded at the gate.
Dec 18, 2019, 12:59 pm
#1182
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: CX MPC DM
Posts: 416
My co-workers won't pay the up-charge for R fares if they can't get confirmed at booking but I'm willing to take the risk. If you plan wisely and watch the loads it can be an effective strategy. But you need to choose less popular times where loads are a bit lighter. I usually arrive HKG on Saturday mornings and depart on Sunday afternoons and I'm willing to take a midweek flight if I think its necessary. Whereas my co-workers are less flexible and want to arrive HKG on Monday mornings and depart on Friday afternoons which are popular arrival and departure days and thus harder to get an upgrade.
Also it helps working with my travel agent, she has access to more information than I can get on EF and is willing to call MPC several times on my behalf (and speaks Canto) to see if the flights I choose can get confirmed immediately plus her fares a better than what CX publishes online.
Dec 23, 2019, 12:32 am
#1183
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 49
Has cheap AM upgrade replaced op-up?
My family (Both OWR) came back from HND on CX549 a few days ago. They faced an interesting situation and I'm not sure if I heard it before. Since I didn't travel with them so I may miss some details.
Background: Y class is overbooked, PEY and J are not full.
What happened is: Most (or all) PEY passengers were op-uped to J. All Y class passengers during my fam's check-in (They had to deal with overweight luggage so it took them a lot of time) were offered a cheap AM upgrade (1k or 2k miles, not sure) to PEY, and most passengers took the offer. They are definitely not OW/MPC silver or above because they are in the Y/PEY check-in counter. However, my family (BA/OWR, but travelled on CX metal mostly) on revenue ticket were not offered anything including an op-up or cheap upgrade. I understand avios cannot be used for upgrade, but should they be offered an op-up or something ahead of cheap AM upgrade for non status members? Also, I don't think I've heard of a cheap upgrade in the past, so is this a new policy? Thanks!
Background: Y class is overbooked, PEY and J are not full.
What happened is: Most (or all) PEY passengers were op-uped to J. All Y class passengers during my fam's check-in (They had to deal with overweight luggage so it took them a lot of time) were offered a cheap AM upgrade (1k or 2k miles, not sure) to PEY, and most passengers took the offer. They are definitely not OW/MPC silver or above because they are in the Y/PEY check-in counter. However, my family (BA/OWR, but travelled on CX metal mostly) on revenue ticket were not offered anything including an op-up or cheap upgrade. I understand avios cannot be used for upgrade, but should they be offered an op-up or something ahead of cheap AM upgrade for non status members? Also, I don't think I've heard of a cheap upgrade in the past, so is this a new policy? Thanks!
Last edited by thomas164; Dec 23, 2019 at 2:30 am Reason: Clarify some details
Dec 23, 2019, 12:38 am
#1184
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,765
All Y class passengers during my fam's check-in (They had to deal with overweight luggage so it took them a lot of time) were offered a cheap AM upgrade (1k or 2k miles, not sure) to PEY, and most passengers took the offer. They are definitely not OW/MPC silver or above because they are in the Y/PEY check-in counter. However, my family (BA/OWR, but travelled on CX metal mostly) were not offered anything including an op-up. I understand avios cannot be used for upgrade, but should they be offered an op-up or something ahead of cheap AM upgrade? I don't think I've heard of a cheap upgrade in the past, so is this a new policy? Thanks!
i wonder were AM Y redemptions also offered a further opportunity to opup? Or was it revenue pax only?
Dec 23, 2019, 12:51 am
#1185
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: BA Bronze
Posts: 49
Unfortunately I have no idea. Maybe someone else faced a similar situation can share here? But a side note I guess CX549 won't have many Y class redemptions due to the popularity of the route?