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 6, 2016, 9:03 pm
#528
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,800
I explained to someone earlier this morning - loyalty isn't worth a HK cent if it is just the most convenient option ex-HKG. Esp w Hongkie getthereitis. Now if CX was the airline serving all our outports and we still stick with CX, that's something.
Dec 26, 2016, 5:44 am
#529
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: HKG, TXL
Programs: CX DM
Posts: 566
Quick question if you guys think this is worth it:
Got an upcoming trip LHR-HKG-HND + return booked in J.
Only the CX255 HKG-LHR on the return has an F cabin and currently it shows F3A4 and waitlist for the upgrade when I checked online. Is it worth it spending 50000 on this 1/4 legs upgrade for the long haul only?
Obviously the outbound would be better to maximise experience, but then again this isnt my first trip in F.
Just curious whether these 50000 are well spent, since the 20000 for a oneway PEY>J upgrade is probably the best deal out there.
On a sidenote, if HND-HKG had an F cabin, would upgrading HND-HKG-LHR (so the entire return trip) also cost 50000 and thus be a better deal? In that case, maybe rebooking to CX549 in the afternoon would make sense as theres also 'plenty' availability in the F cabin.
Got an upcoming trip LHR-HKG-HND + return booked in J.
Only the CX255 HKG-LHR on the return has an F cabin and currently it shows F3A4 and waitlist for the upgrade when I checked online. Is it worth it spending 50000 on this 1/4 legs upgrade for the long haul only?
Obviously the outbound would be better to maximise experience, but then again this isnt my first trip in F.
Just curious whether these 50000 are well spent, since the 20000 for a oneway PEY>J upgrade is probably the best deal out there.
On a sidenote, if HND-HKG had an F cabin, would upgrading HND-HKG-LHR (so the entire return trip) also cost 50000 and thus be a better deal? In that case, maybe rebooking to CX549 in the afternoon would make sense as theres also 'plenty' availability in the F cabin.
Dec 26, 2016, 6:05 am
#530
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: ORD [formerly] + HKG
Programs: CX Diamond, AA exExPlat, BAEC exGold, HH Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Starriott Titanium, GE
Posts: 2,966
Quick question if you guys think this is worth it:
Got an upcoming trip LHR-HKG-HND + return booked in J.
Only the CX255 HKG-LHR on the return has an F cabin and currently it shows F3A4 and waitlist for the upgrade when I checked online. Is it worth it spending 50000 on this 1/4 legs upgrade for the long haul only?
Obviously the outbound would be better to maximise experience, but then again this isnt my first trip in F.
Just curious whether these 50000 are well spent, since the 20000 for a oneway PEY>J upgrade is probably the best deal out there.
On a sidenote, if HND-HKG had an F cabin, would upgrading HND-HKG-LHR (so the entire return trip) also cost 50000 and thus be a better deal? In that case, maybe rebooking to CX549 in the afternoon would make sense as theres also 'plenty' availability in the F cabin.
Got an upcoming trip LHR-HKG-HND + return booked in J.
Only the CX255 HKG-LHR on the return has an F cabin and currently it shows F3A4 and waitlist for the upgrade when I checked online. Is it worth it spending 50000 on this 1/4 legs upgrade for the long haul only?
Obviously the outbound would be better to maximise experience, but then again this isnt my first trip in F.
Just curious whether these 50000 are well spent, since the 20000 for a oneway PEY>J upgrade is probably the best deal out there.
On a sidenote, if HND-HKG had an F cabin, would upgrading HND-HKG-LHR (so the entire return trip) also cost 50000 and thus be a better deal? In that case, maybe rebooking to CX549 in the afternoon would make sense as theres also 'plenty' availability in the F cabin.
Dec 27, 2016, 6:02 am
#531
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: LAS/DXB
Programs: LH HON
Posts: 1,193
ZRH-HKG from PEY to J as OWE (AA CK) during check-in and HKG-SIN, also PEY to J, upon boarding. As written in the other thread, that makes me 4/4 OpUp as OWE when booking CX PEY. EF showed both flights zeroed out a few days prior to departure.
Dec 29, 2016, 6:55 am
#534
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 5,451
Assuming we're not CX staff and/or have no access to internal systems, the best we can do is guess based on available inventory via ExpertFlyer or KVS Tool (how many seats CX is willing to sell in a given cabin/fare bucket) and on unselected seats on the seat map.
Jan 23, 2017, 9:27 am
#538
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,800
No need. Just a hugely oversold flight. My statusless brother's done it with T http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post22094304
Feb 11, 2017, 1:48 pm
#539
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Programs: AA Exec Plat, VX Elevate Gold, Hyatt Diamond, SPG/Marriott Platinum
Posts: 50
OpUp on MAA-HKG from Y to J (a330 sold as 2 class flt) as a OWE (AA ExecPlat) booked on an AA codeshare (AA 8946). EF showed J9 around airport checkin time (~3 hrs), ticket ctr agent told me there was a chance for an upgrade since Y was full (EF showed Y5) and likely oversold. CX app showed my seat assignment in J about 90 min prior to departure. J0 popped up shortly thereafter on EF.
Feb 12, 2017, 4:55 am
#540
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SIN
Programs: CX DM, SQ KF Gold
Posts: 980
Op-up SIN-HKG Y-J last week for CX Silver on CX650 (Equipment swap 359->772). Booked ticket two hours before departure, not sure if that had anything to do with it? Got comped to CX Silver from SQ Gold in early Jan and had accumulated 230CP before the op-up'ed flight... Did not get another op-up on the following daytime flight to London, loads were very light.
Booked to fly back Mon night on CX254 and CX715; checked in just now, still in Y. Any idea whether I might get lucky again?
Booked to fly back Mon night on CX254 and CX715; checked in just now, still in Y. Any idea whether I might get lucky again?