Paid upgrade on award ticket
Jul 23, 2019, 8:41 am
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,057
Given that you can purchase upgrades for tens of dollars (particularly C+), I see no reason why they "should" consider award tickets to be revenue fares eligible for MQM earning.
Jul 23, 2019, 8:49 am
#17
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
Well, it's not an award ticket, but rather a companion fare, so I can see how it could be a bit murky.
Jul 23, 2019, 1:29 pm
#18
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Tacoma, WA
Programs: Delta Platinum Medallion, Bonvoy Gold, Hyatt Explorist, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 495
You can pay to UG to FC on award tickets, but the amount fluctuates wildly depending on route. I recently booked main cabin on a JFK-SEA one way for like 11K miles, whereas the FC cost would have been around 16.5K. For some reason I elected not to use the additional miles, assuming I'd get a decent FCM offer. It never dropped below $858 for me, which clearly wouldnt have been a good value on a 5-hour flight. Wont make that mistake again!
Jul 23, 2019, 2:06 pm
#19
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
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AFAIK C+ doesn't earn a MQM bonus (doesn't this go by the underlying coach fare class?) while FC upgrades do earn MQM (presumably only for the primary traveler on a companion ticket offer) if they're done before OLCI or day of departure (which I suspect really means when the flight goes under airport control, typically at T-24).
Jul 23, 2019, 2:33 pm
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,057
AFAIK C+ doesn't earn a MQM bonus (doesn't this go by the underlying coach fare class?) while FC upgrades do earn MQM (presumably only for the primary traveler on a companion ticket offer) if they're done before OLCI or day of departure (which I suspect really means when the flight goes under airport control, typically at T-24).
Jul 23, 2019, 7:31 pm
#21
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
They would not do this because it still would not be a revenue fare. Paying for the upgrade does not mean that you paid cash for the ticket; an upgrade is just an upgrade. You are still sitting in that seat for a (usually substantial) discount over buying it outright.