Dear all,

Im really upset with Emirates and the so called loyalty program. My son is booked for the 30th of Dec to fly DXB-BNE (1 stop at Singapore) and I was talking to the SKYWARDS staff to get an upgrade (Economy to Business). They advised me that this is not possible over the phone/internet and guided me to my tickets additional information page and pointed out that its a CHECK IN UPGRADE ONLY (so 24 hours before the flight). But what he said next is the main problem. He said the upgrade will not be possible if I am not flying with him at all (WHAT?????). I've never heard of this rule before and I asked him to show me where this is in my sons tickets T&C's but he failed to do so. Even the skywards website doesn't say anything like that.

Now Im left with an unconfirmed rule and 65,000 miles. Please can someone help me out and give me a solution? I certainly can't fly with my son to Brisbane but really want to use my miles and get him an upgrade because I myself don't fly Emirates and will never ever use those miles.

Thanks in advance!!

I have also never heard of this rule. I upgraded my friend J-F on a DXB-JED a few months ago with no such problem. Maybe someone else can confirm. Try calling again to confirm the odd information, sometimes you just get a bad agent on the phone.

I have also heard of this new fare with the 24h upgrade rule, quite ridiculous TBH.

Good luck!

Thanks for the reply.

I should have mentioned, but Ive spoken to 3 different SKYWARDS staff and all of them said the same thing. I am quite surprised with this rule. They have read the statement 3 times for me with the exact wordings, so definitely this is not a play around.

What I don't understand is -

Why this rule is not mentioned on the website?
Why do I have to accompany him on the flight?

Ridiculous stuff.

I would suggest 24 hours prior i.e at check in time previous day to speak to EK and attempt to just go ahead and do the upgrade. If that doesn't work then just try at the airport. Alternatively gift him the miles albeit slightly more expensive way but it should be able to be done.

I think what they are referring to is that since the miles are in your account, you need to be present to use your miles for his ticket. However, you should be able to upgrade him online within the 24-hour window using your miles*, assuming that there is upgrade inventory available. Being there in-person would only be required if you are upgrading him at the check-in desk or on-board.


* Note that I tried this recently and the website kept giving me errors, which it should't have. If the website doesn't error for you, it should work.

He must be ticketed in one of those low fare buckets in Economy which doesn't allow upgrade before check-in. from my home airport this fare bucket is'T'. if I purchase my ticket in Saver 'B' fare or Flex 'W' fare then the ticket can be upgraded by any one at any time before departure

I suggest you ask EK if you are able to pay a little extra and change the fare class for DXB BNE sector (still Economy) you want to upgrade your son for. if this is done then you should be able to upgrade without any problems

Another thing to watch out for, although I'm not sure if it would affect you or not.

If you upgrade on-board (I know that's not the scenario here) it can only be done for one segment. In this case it would be DXB-SIN. SIN-BNE would require it to be done again.

If the same is true (and this is the bit I'm not sure about) for upgrading at airport check in, you wouldn't be able to achieve what you want anyway.

Far better to do it online at T -24 hours or pay to move into the next ticket bucket and do it now. Check upgrade availability prior to doing this however, as otherwise it could be money down the drain.

You can only transfer 25000 miles per year. That isn't enough to upgrade DXB-BNE.

Go with him to the airport and show your Skywards card to upgrade him if the 24-hour online upgrade doesn't work

Thank you guys!!

Yes the ticket I bought for him was in the 'SALE' period. Had I known its going to be such a big problem to upgrade, i wouldn't have paid for it.

I will wait T-24 hrs and try to upgrade from the internet. If that doesn't work i will go with him to the airport and see if it can be done there. Fingers Crossed. It will be my sons first time in business class and really wish it works out. (Its his B'day and its a surprise for him)

I have asked Emirates to change the class of the ticket, but that is coming upto $1000, which Im not ready to pay.

Thanks for all the help.

I will go with him to the airport now, but I definitely can't fly with him. What if they ask me to fly with him? Have you heard of this rule before? Its really silly.

This never occurred to me! How do you upgrade someone (especially online) with your miles when you are not on the PNR?
Could help me out... i have 200,000 points to use up
I always thought it was the 25,000 mile transfer limit with the charge per mile...

I upgrade my wife all the time using my miles. We hardly ever fly together. I've just bought her a Y ticket for January, and upgraded all sectors using my miles. Over the phone though. Never done it online.

It must be fare buckets. I always buy Flex.

First access their booking using their pnr and surname. Do not log in into either your or your friend/ family members skywards account before this!!!! .Then click on upgrade with miles. Now log in with YOUR skywards details and upgrade.

Ah. Ta. I'll use that.