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 12, 2017, 4:26 pm
#601
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
J went from J7 yesterday to J0 today, what does that mean in the grand scheme of things? Could it mean they're planning to op-up from PEY? Oddly, looks like it's still W9 even though the seatmap shows otherwise. Trying to gauge odds of an upgrade from PEY as a OWE on JNB-HKG on 4/19.
Thanks!
Thanks!
J0W9 means almost no chance of PEY->J op-up for anyone, even GO, DM or DMP. There is even almost no chance of mileage upgrade. There is plenty of availability in PEY and none in J, but that may change in the next few days too.
Apr 19, 2017, 9:12 pm
#602
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: #1 LGA, #2 JFK, #Never EWR
Programs: Riteaid wellness+ Gold, PlanetFitness Preferred Black, Hyatt Cubic Zirconia, Hallmark Crown Platinum
Posts: 203
Hi guys - I have a really newbie question:
1. So my ticket is JFK-HKG-xxx ticket where JFK-HKG is booked into PE and HKG-xxx is booked into J. Would trying to upgrade JFK-HKG/ HKG-JFK be considered 2 one ways or 1 roundtrip? And will they just consider the JFK-HKG portion or will they look at the full flight even though second leg is booked into a discounted J fare?
2.If I want to use my asia miles to upgrade but want to accrue AA miles (need to hit that 100k!), what would be the best way to do it? Call/hold/ get it upgraded.
3. Two of us are travelling. Can all the upgrade miles come out of my account or do I need to get my traveling companion their own AsiaMiles account as well?
Thank you!
1. So my ticket is JFK-HKG-xxx ticket where JFK-HKG is booked into PE and HKG-xxx is booked into J. Would trying to upgrade JFK-HKG/ HKG-JFK be considered 2 one ways or 1 roundtrip? And will they just consider the JFK-HKG portion or will they look at the full flight even though second leg is booked into a discounted J fare?
2.If I want to use my asia miles to upgrade but want to accrue AA miles (need to hit that 100k!), what would be the best way to do it? Call/hold/ get it upgraded.
3. Two of us are travelling. Can all the upgrade miles come out of my account or do I need to get my traveling companion their own AsiaMiles account as well?
Thank you!
Apr 20, 2017, 5:50 am
#603
Join Date: Nov 2006
Programs: MPC,CA,MU,AF
Posts: 8,171
1. So my ticket is JFK-HKG-xxx ticket where JFK-HKG is booked into PE and HKG-xxx is booked into J. Would trying to upgrade JFK-HKG/ HKG-JFK be considered 2 one ways or 1 roundtrip? And will they just consider the JFK-HKG portion or will they look at the full flight even though second leg is booked into a discounted J fare?
If your companion is on your redemption list, his/her upgrade can be from your account.
Apr 24, 2017, 8:12 pm
#604
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 1
Hi all - I have a question regarding upgrades to multi city flights.
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
Apr 24, 2017, 8:18 pm
#605
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
Hi all - I have a question regarding upgrades to multi city flights.
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
Apr 25, 2017, 8:29 am
#606
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: HKG
Programs: CX DM, SPG Pt, Le Club Accor GO, Shangri-La GC Jade
Posts: 1,327
Hi all - I have a question regarding upgrades to multi city flights.
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
I'm looking to book in December a multi city flight from YYZ-HKG and then HKG-JFK. I'd like to have the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip in J class and the HKG-JFK portion in the cheapest class available (if they had a cargo hold option, I'd take it!).
Given CX's upgrade policy, would it be possible to book a the whole trip in PEY in W or R and upgrade just the YYZ-HKG leg of the trip using AM?
Thanks!
p.s. YYZ J upgrade availability changes rapidly... I called to check the availability for upgrade last Wed, tried to ticket one on Fri but it's already turn from "wide open for redemption" to "need to waitlist"... At last it took me two days to get the waitlist cleared (which I didn't expect so as it only took them 6 hours to clear my HKG-JFK upgrade...)
Apr 29, 2017, 12:24 pm
#607
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Zealand
Programs: QF Plat (OWE)/NZ Gold (*G)
Posts: 166
just an additional data point for this thread
seems that the elusive double op-up remains possible these days
I flew with my father on CX197 on 28/4/2017
I was flying in J (on a discounted I class ticket) and my father was flying in Y (ticketed in V).
Quite an overbooked flight it seems and in the lounge he was upgraded from Y directly to J (seat 15G). He's only a SL these days too so was a nice surprise for him!
seems that the elusive double op-up remains possible these days
I flew with my father on CX197 on 28/4/2017
I was flying in J (on a discounted I class ticket) and my father was flying in Y (ticketed in V).
Quite an overbooked flight it seems and in the lounge he was upgraded from Y directly to J (seat 15G). He's only a SL these days too so was a nice surprise for him!
May 1, 2017, 4:18 am
#608
Join Date: Sep 2016
Programs: AAdvantage, BAEC Blue, CX GR
Posts: 36
And another additional data point for this thread.
My other half just got an op-up to PE on the outbound leg of her HKG-BOS-HKG flight. Underlying fare was V (economy core). She's AM only; no MPC membership.
I'm guessing there are barely any elites on that flight?
Flight is CX812, HKG-BOS, 1st May 2017.
My other half just got an op-up to PE on the outbound leg of her HKG-BOS-HKG flight. Underlying fare was V (economy core). She's AM only; no MPC membership.
I'm guessing there are barely any elites on that flight?
Flight is CX812, HKG-BOS, 1st May 2017.
May 2, 2017, 4:27 am
#609
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Programs: Many. Too many. I came here to cut them down. I failed.
Posts: 2,999
Flying BKI-HKG (Y) - LGW (PE). Have a few hours spare in HKG. Would be prepared to pay for a PE-J upgrade if reasonable from HKG-LGW.
I cannot upgrade ticket at moment as the BKI-HKG flight has no seats left from BKI-HKG, but HKG-LGW does. With a willingness to pay, and expecting availability, all I can read from this thread is that CX would not want my money? Is this correct?
Is there a ticketing desk - airside or landside in HKG I can investigate the possibility of paying for a J upgrade? (I've a few hours on the connection so can go landside if needbe).
Thanks!
I cannot upgrade ticket at moment as the BKI-HKG flight has no seats left from BKI-HKG, but HKG-LGW does. With a willingness to pay, and expecting availability, all I can read from this thread is that CX would not want my money? Is this correct?
Is there a ticketing desk - airside or landside in HKG I can investigate the possibility of paying for a J upgrade? (I've a few hours on the connection so can go landside if needbe).
Thanks!
May 2, 2017, 5:37 am
#610
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
Flying BKI-HKG (Y) - LGW (PE). Have a few hours spare in HKG. Would be prepared to pay for a PE-J upgrade if reasonable from HKG-LGW.
I cannot upgrade ticket at moment as the BKI-HKG flight has no seats left from BKI-HKG, but HKG-LGW does. With a willingness to pay, and expecting availability, all I can read from this thread is that CX would not want my money? Is this correct?
Is there a ticketing desk - airside or landside in HKG I can investigate the possibility of paying for a J upgrade? (I've a few hours on the connection so can go landside if needbe).
Thanks!
I cannot upgrade ticket at moment as the BKI-HKG flight has no seats left from BKI-HKG, but HKG-LGW does. With a willingness to pay, and expecting availability, all I can read from this thread is that CX would not want my money? Is this correct?
Is there a ticketing desk - airside or landside in HKG I can investigate the possibility of paying for a J upgrade? (I've a few hours on the connection so can go landside if needbe).
Thanks!
You can just go to the transit desk airside, no need to go landside. I've paid to upgrade my ticket at the airside transit desk on a number of occasions before. The agents are very helpful. Just tell them hi, heres my itinerary, I want to upfare my HKG-LGW sector, can you please price it. Expect to wait perhaps 5-10 minutes, they might have to call to ticketing to get the exact difference. I think the longest it took me once was 15 minutes or so and that was an outport. Not a big problem and you have plenty of time to do it.
Their logic is fairly straightforward. You don't raffle off J and F class to the highest bidder at the airport. Theyre also trying to incentivize folks to buy up to the higher PEY (and Y) subfareclasses in advance. They make the argument letting EVERYONE get the same bidding price at game time discourages advance purchase of more flexible fares. You may or may not disagree with their logic, but at least speaking from experience they have happily accepted my upfare purchases every time! You just gotta be ready to pay.
If you're in W class, then it will really be reasonable I think. Some of the W and even R fares are pretty pricey, and I think more folks should inquire about upfaring because they'd be surprised at how it can be somewhat reasonable at times. The same arbitrage exists from J to A class (full fare J vs A). If A still exists on sectors the upfare is minimal! Sometimes quite well worth it.
Last edited by QRC3288; May 2, 2017 at 5:43 am
May 2, 2017, 6:03 am
#611
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Programs: Many. Too many. I came here to cut them down. I failed.
Posts: 2,999
"CX will not want my money...". No, this is incorrect. They'll almost always happily take your money and let you upfare. What they won't do is play let's make a deal and give it to you on the cheap if that's your meaning. Depending on your PEY sub fareclass, the upfare is going to look somewhere between astronomical ie a few thousand+ USD and probably not too attractive (if you're in E class) to pretty reasonable, maybe 1k USD or even less and possibly quite attractive (if you're in W). Plenty of folks pay up. What they WILL do is be okay if J goes out with empty seats, than raffle/bargain it off. They tried an expirement before which is supposedly coming back at some point, bidding for upgrades, but the first trial was a failure so CX isn't really in a hurry.
You can just go to the transit desk airside, no need to go landside. I've paid to upgrade my ticket at the airside transit desk on a number of occasions before. The agents are very helpful. Just tell them hi, heres my itinerary, I want to upfare my HKG-LGW sector, can you please price it. Expect to wait perhaps 5-10 minutes, they might have to call to ticketing to get the exact difference. I think the longest it took me once was 15 minutes or so and that was an outport. Not a big problem and you have plenty of time to do it.
Their logic is fairly straightforward. You don't raffle off J and F class to the highest bidder at the airport. Theyre also trying to incentivize folks to buy up to the higher PEY (and Y) subfareclasses in advance. They make the argument letting EVERYONE get the same bidding price at game time discourages advance purchase of more flexible fares. You may or may not disagree with their logic, but at least speaking from experience they have happily accepted my upfare purchases every time! You just gotta be ready to pay.
If you're in W class, then it will really be reasonable I think. Some of the W and even R fares are pretty pricey, and I think more folks should inquire about upfaring because they'd be surprised at how it can be somewhat reasonable at times. The same arbitrage exists from J to A class (full fare J vs A). If A still exists on sectors the upfare is minimal! Sometimes quite well worth it.
You can just go to the transit desk airside, no need to go landside. I've paid to upgrade my ticket at the airside transit desk on a number of occasions before. The agents are very helpful. Just tell them hi, heres my itinerary, I want to upfare my HKG-LGW sector, can you please price it. Expect to wait perhaps 5-10 minutes, they might have to call to ticketing to get the exact difference. I think the longest it took me once was 15 minutes or so and that was an outport. Not a big problem and you have plenty of time to do it.
Their logic is fairly straightforward. You don't raffle off J and F class to the highest bidder at the airport. Theyre also trying to incentivize folks to buy up to the higher PEY (and Y) subfareclasses in advance. They make the argument letting EVERYONE get the same bidding price at game time discourages advance purchase of more flexible fares. You may or may not disagree with their logic, but at least speaking from experience they have happily accepted my upfare purchases every time! You just gotta be ready to pay.
If you're in W class, then it will really be reasonable I think. Some of the W and even R fares are pretty pricey, and I think more folks should inquire about upfaring because they'd be surprised at how it can be somewhat reasonable at times. The same arbitrage exists from J to A class (full fare J vs A). If A still exists on sectors the upfare is minimal! Sometimes quite well worth it.
Every airline has different formulas that they assume works for them. I've done a lot of MH/BA flying so probably have unrealistic assumptions based on MHUpgrade & Avios upgrades!
Thanks again, i'll feedback what they say.
May 9, 2017, 10:52 am
#612
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: MSY
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 5,926
First time CX flyer here. I'm in a similar position to Sam Bee, wanting to upgrade the EWR-HKG leg of a longer itinerary from PE (booked in E) to business class. I may call to see how astronomical the charge would be 
I do wonder though, as I see it's possible to upgrade BA tickets with AsiaMiles, can one upgrade a CX ticket with Avios? I have a boatload of those.
I do wonder though, as I see it's possible to upgrade BA tickets with AsiaMiles, can one upgrade a CX ticket with Avios? I have a boatload of those.
May 9, 2017, 11:15 am
#613
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
First time CX flyer here. I'm in a similar position to Sam Bee, wanting to upgrade the EWR-HKG leg of a longer itinerary from PE (booked in E) to business class. I may call to see how astronomical the charge would be I do wonder though, as I see it's possible to upgrade BA tickets with AsiaMiles, can one upgrade a CX ticket with Avios? I have a boatload of those.
I do wonder though, as I see it's possible to upgrade BA tickets with AsiaMiles, can one upgrade a CX ticket with Avios? I have a boatload of those.You have EWR-HKG in E. Your options are
1) Upfare to R (next PE bucket) and upgrade by asia miles subject to availability, 27,500 asia miles one way; or
2) Upfare to I (subject to your ticket fare rules) but the difference is likely to be astronomical.
3) Chance an op up as BA Gold.
May 9, 2017, 1:41 pm
#614
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: MSY
Programs: BA GfL
Posts: 5,926
No, you cannot.
You have EWR-HKG in E. Your options are
1) Upfare to R (next PE bucket) and upgrade by asia miles subject to availability, 27,500 asia miles one way; or
2) Upfare to I (subject to your ticket fare rules) but the difference is likely to be astronomical.
3) Chance an op up as BA Gold.
You have EWR-HKG in E. Your options are
1) Upfare to R (next PE bucket) and upgrade by asia miles subject to availability, 27,500 asia miles one way; or
2) Upfare to I (subject to your ticket fare rules) but the difference is likely to be astronomical.
3) Chance an op up as BA Gold.
Thanks!
May 9, 2017, 2:32 pm
#615
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
Before our other CX regulars (or those that don't fly with CX but somehow tend to masquerade as) chip in, just bear in mind that the statistical likelihood of that happening is going to be tiny.
In fact if you are going somewhere else (i.e. not terminating in HKG) the fare difference may not be as high as you think, it could be like $2-3k (roundtrip) so you can still try calling in.
And there's actually 'option 4)', another wildcard but I'll need EWR regulars to validate this, sometimes CX may sell you day-of-departure upgrades, not sure if this happens at EWR but sometimes I see offers at ORD, my regular outstation.
In fact if you are going somewhere else (i.e. not terminating in HKG) the fare difference may not be as high as you think, it could be like $2-3k (roundtrip) so you can still try calling in.
And there's actually 'option 4)', another wildcard but I'll need EWR regulars to validate this, sometimes CX may sell you day-of-departure upgrades, not sure if this happens at EWR but sometimes I see offers at ORD, my regular outstation.