KeenKiwiFlyer

Hi everyone,

I am a Emirates Gold member with 60.3k Skyward miles.

This weekend I am flying Auckland > Dubai (Via Melbourne) > Paris.

I was hoping to get your thoughts on upgrading to First using my Skywards miles. I have two options available:

1) I can upgrade Dubai > Paris for 30k points.

2) I can upgrade Auckland > Dubai for 63k points. I will need to buy 3k more points for $120USD.

Questions:

A) What would you recommend? I should get approx 65k more points this trip.

B) Do I get access to the Dubai first lounge in Dubai? The connection is only 2.20 hours so I doubt I would get much use if any but it is good to know.

C) From what I have quickly researched, you make better use of your points by upgrading flights. New flights departing Auckland cost a lot of miles. Also, redeeming miles for giftcards etc is ridiculous. $100 mitre 10 (dept hardware store) costs over 30k miles!!

D) Is the difference between Business and First big or small? I presume its the "suite" and the shower which makes the difference. I am thinking I am likely to be asleep for a good chunk of the Melbourne to Dubai leg as well.

Thanks!!

edy4eva

A) Definitely upgrade AKL-DXB* it makes so much difference from J. The daytime flight to CDG may be ok in J.

B) Only if you upgrade DXB-CDG or AKL-CDG. IMO the F lounge is not worth it for that short transit period, will probably get about an hour real time there.

C) I would never exchange miles for gift cards. Worst value ever.

D) In my view, and seat wise EK's J on the A380 is closer to premium economy than to F. I find it cramped. And the service is typically slow with a full cabin. I would upgrade to F on the longer sector in in a heartbeat. F has a lot more shoulder and elbow space, signifcantly wider seat when fully reclined. Plenty of storage space.

*Upgrading both legs is the better value as it will cost 70k miles and is def worth it, so if somehow you could get the additional Skywards miles perhaps through AMEX NZ (20k AMEX MR points) that would be ideal. Otherwise ~400USD is a small price to pay for the upgrade.

m3red

Agree with that except the bit in bold which is laughable. You clearly haven't flown Y plus in a long time...

edy4eva

TBH J on QR/RJ/ME/EY narrow bodies (they all use the same seats pretty much, which compare to PE on some carriers) feel less cramped than EK's J on the A380. And EK's J on the 77W, despite its slippery slope when flat feels that bit more spacious. I don't mean to compare the overall service, seat recline, entertainment, just how airy it feels.

And yes I haven't flown PE or Y in a very long time

ioto1902

I also find edy4eva comment quite hard.
I'm not sure that, in Y+, you can have a lie flat bed, a big screen, and no neighbor (unless you want to).
Now, it's true that A388 J lacks width, and if you have a rather large body, you can feel like sitting in a sport car.


Finally, edy4eva admitted no to have flown Y+ for a long time, which probably explains partly his comment.


(no harm intended to anyone)


Last time I flew Y+, was a 4 hour flight on AF two months ago. It felt like flying Y ... 35 years ago. And I'm pretty sure I had more space back then ...

KeenKiwiFlyer

Thanks for the advice.

I did not know the full journey to Paris would be 70k! I thought it would be much more than that.

I am most likely going to purchase the 10k miles needed for $620 NZD and go the full way to Paris in first. A once in a lifetime experience.

Unless someone wants to gift the 10k points, (which I will return once I complete the trip in a weeks time!).

edy4eva

That's how it starts usually, the addiction to EK F

m3red

Unfortunately you'd need all the miles in your account - gifting or transferring is possible but at terrible rates.

Remember to get the "good" rate of 70k you need availablity available for both legs. I would upgrade this in a heartbeat as for the second longer leg first would be far better than j in my view.

edy4eva

If you have a NZ AMEX with MR points I suggest you call them as they might allow the purchase of 20k MR points for 500NZD (25NZD per 1k points). Other alternatives exist such as SPG to EK transfer - provided you have an account already.

KeenKiwiFlyer

Unfortunately I only have a VISA Premium. Also, no other programs or points apart from Air NZ.

Will purchase in an hour or so.

Interestingly, I contact the twitter support team to see if they would advance points. No luck...

skywardhunter

hehe nice idea... maybe a business model for EK, advance up to 20% of your miles from your flight to upgrade that same flight, but you have to pay back 30%... could be very innovative and lucrative for them