Best use of miles / targets
 

This a mine of information for someone new to the scheme trying to get to grips.
There is one area where I would appreciate a steer.

Which are the optimum mileage amounts to collect which provide the most useful value for money redemption(s)? Is there an argument best use is miles for upgrades, say Y to J, or use of miles for a full award ( for one of the front cabin(s) )?

Does the scheme permit use awards for one ways, whether for a full ticket or for a one way upgrade ( for half mileage )?

A typical routing I would anticipatee with Emiates = London to Dubai, or London to SE Asia ( SIN )

Is 50k a useful amount, or 100k? or something else?

I would say upgrades, based on collecting miles on flex tickets. Redemptions are very poor value on the EK program, especially the flex or one way rewards.

Then, Europe (LON) is a good deal at 25k vs Singapore at 32.5k given flight time is similar. You can do the entire thing for 52.5k though. Dubai to Australia is probably good value at 45k.

Does anyone know what the cheapest upgrade is on Emirates from the UK?

Thanks - so, just to be clear, Europe (LON) to Dubai is a good deal at 25k is for one way?
Given I read that rewards tend to open up T-48 hours, is that normal rule to upgrade one leg ( one way ) then the other leg ( the return ) 2 days before coming back?

If you can build up the miles and want to upgrade both legs, yes. There is sometimes availability in advance as well, so it's worth checking. And yes, that is the one way mileage required.

Having said that, I wouldn't bother upgrading a 7 hour day flight (more so if you can do it on an A380). I'd rather keep the miles for upgrades on the long hauls to the US/ Australia, simply because the earning levels on EK aren't enough to upgrade very frequently.

HI there

Need some quick assistance please! :) I am on a disastrously long haul flight tomorrow from MEL to Budapest. My route is MEL-DXB-MUC-BUD (the MUC-DUB leg is via Lufthansa though)

My question is - I have silver status, and am really hoping for an upgrade, at least on the MEL-DXB leg. However I have been checking on MMB religiously all week and whenever I do, it says "Sorry, there are no reward seats available in the next higher class for the flight(s) chosen. Please try again closer to departure.". My flight is at 9.25 pm tomorrow though!

So does this mean that there are no options for an upgrade. Seats are almost filled up on the seating map (in economy I mean), it looks like a packed flight. I haven't received any email about a cash upgrade or anything. Does it look good for an op-up tomorrow or should I try a cash upgrade at the ticketing counter?

Thanks for any advice!

While ExpertFlyer is not 100% accurate, the flight looks "heavy". I can see 5 seats unassigned in J, Y looks full and there is as yet, no one in F.

My guess is that they will work the Y list until J is full (and push any J customers into F). Could be good for an op-up (depending on how many Golds and Silvers in Y). I doubt it if EK's Inventory Management will release any D class award seats at this point, given the oversold nature of the flight. And you are unlikely to receive the upgrade email at this point either.

Get to the airport early - secure an exit row at least. The MEL staff do everything by the book. If you do receive an op-up, remember no lounge access.

Great thats helpful!

How do I secure exit row seats if I haven't been able to do it via MMB? Can I just ask at the counter?

Thanks again :)

They will allocate them at check-in on a first come, first served basis. Good luck. Let us know how you get on...

somehow i never get them... but then maybe i am never there on time :D

Remember that flights out of UK are charged an air passenger duty. (NB: There is no APD on flights INTO the UK!!!). If you do an upgrade you will have to pay an additional APD for a London--- Dubai flight in addition to the 25K miles(assuming that your original ticket was a FLEX economy).

If you have a business class ticket then the maximum APD is already included in the price of the ticket, so there is no extra money to be paid for an upgrade to F using miles.

Better value is to upgrade on flights from Dubai to UK and avoid the APD altogether.

Bit more info on APD. As I mentioned in the earlier post this Applies to flights departing the UK and not flights coming to UK. APD is lower for economy seats and so when you upgrade to business using miles, Emirates will ask you to pay for the difference between the Business Class APD and the Economy class APD.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Passenger_Duty

i found out the hard way! :(

me too !!!!. :(

Does anyone know the likelihood of receiving an upgrade offer (email/check in/ at the gate) from Y to J flying BAH-DXB-AMS?

This will be the first time that I've flown this route with EK, so no idea how busy it is or its main demographic. I've only just signed up for Skywards (i.e. Blue) as I normally fly KLM or EY.