Help with flight reward
 

Hi guys I wonder if anyone can help with this dilemma I have. It’s driving me nuts trying to choose the best option and I’m just going round in circles!

I need to get back to the UK in Sept, and was thinking of using my partners miles to do so. They have more than enough at over 340,000 for just this year and still more to come. I on the other hand am a little short of what I need, and would prefer to keep them. I have used quite a few miles to upgrade after buying an Economy ticket.

Now the miles need for a rtn in Business from KUL to the UK is around 186,000 for a flex reward ticket. I understand you can also change the dates without having to pay a penalty as well which is good for me.

But I’m also wondering if I get a Economy rewards ticket which is about 103,000 and hope to get an upgrade as the DXB-NCL route esp. is filled up most of the time in Business with upgrades both ways. Take the chance or if not, upgrade using miles before if I know if no op- ups are forthcoming, but I cannot find out how many miles would be needed to do that, maybe at the gate or on board (I will have enough miles of my own to do that)

Or another option is... I have a flight booked for October (which I will have to change anyway to maybe January), should I pay the admin fee of £200 to bring that forward go to the UK and then book a reward to get back to KL from the UK?

Hope this makes sense!!!??? Sorry if I have not used all the correct terminology! Any help would be most appreciated. Just trying to find the best way back, using the least miles.

You can't upgrade reward redemptions, neither using miles, nor paying cash. I tried doing that several times, it's simply impossible.

The change fee for saver rewards is only $25, so it's nothing to worry about. If you can a saver reward in business that'll much much better than the flex if your reason was the $25.

Now if your reasons are staying longer than 3 months then you have no option but the flex.

Thanks edy4eva, or your reply on the upgrade issue, I was not sure if it could done, now I know!

The reward flights am looking at are only available on a flex, but that does give me the freedom to change my rtn flights as I dont have an exact date (long, long story) to rtn.

Still dont know weather to take the chance and just book Economy and hope for an op-up or just bite the bullet and go with Business.

This will be the last year of flying with Emirates as come next year we will have more options to fly with other carriers due to moving, and to be honest sick to the back teeth of booking flights only for the plane to be changed yet again and the further detaritiond of service.

I wouldn't take the chance if I was you with an op-up.

The only way you might be able to tell is if you can ascertain the flight load prior. You could call the KUL ticket office and politely enquire. I've always been able to get the flight load info from the SIN office, where I'm based. But as you say, its a gamble, as EK will only op-up if the flight is oversold.

Once ticketed in Y, you can keep monitor the seat map via the EK website and also refer to seatcounter.com. But remember, these provide indications only.

That means the flight could go out 99% full in Y, and you'd still be stuck down the back.

If your partner has the miles, I would use them. Then you can relax. And you can change dates.

The miles you are quoting (186,000 in J and 103,000 in Y) are not the miles for a full flex reward redemption. Be careful if you have a mix of fare categories as the most restrictive fare conditions may apply.