sow40

Hi guys

I've currently got just over 250k miles which by the end of the year this will be around the 300k mark

I am currently in the process of booking 4 return flights bhx - dxb for next May

So what is going to best to do, buy a saver ticket and chance upgrading when OLCI opens or buy flex tickets and upgrade immediately.
Or buy all the flights with miles?
Also if I buy the flex ticket can I upgrade at time of booking?

Thanks for your help

kq747

Personally I think the best best value is using skywards miles for upgrades as award ticket redemption is terrible value. That being said, mile upgrade space is not guaranteed so I would get on the phone with an agent and ask if there is space on your flights and then book accordingly in flex then upgrade immediately.

skywardhunter

You cannot upgrade Flex at the time of booking, and upgrades are subject to availability, so you may be able to upgrade immediately after booking, or at a later point before OLCI opens, or only at the airport/on-board if you have Silver+ status. If you buy Saver you can only upgrade once OLCI opens or on-board if you have Silver+ status.

Will08

If you have flexibility in your booking you can ring and ask what flights currently have upgrades available on a specific date or a day or so either side. If there are any you can purchase the flights there and then and the agent can also process the upgrade on the same phone call.

sow40

Thanks all.

Daft question but who do I call?

skywardhunter

Emirates:

https://www.emirates.com/za/english/...tact-emirates/

Obviously select the country you're in (top right if it doesn't automatically detect it). EK are incredibly good on the phone, calling is not a pain like with some other airlines.

sow40

Thanks for this, I called them and found that there are only 3 available upgradeable seats on the flight I want.
Is there anyway of checking online what seats are available for upgrades without me having to ring up and ask?

Thanks

Flaneurs

Yes, Experflyer.com will give you the information that you need. There is a monthy fee but also a free trial, I beleive. It is a great resource for many things!

ft101

For Y to J upgrades do a dummy booking for reward flights. If J Saver Reward flights are available, then so are Y to J upgrades as they come out of the same fare bucket (D).

sow40

Cheers guys but you are talking to an amateur here!! I've logged on to expert flyer and couldn't make head nor tails of it... I've also gone through the rewards booking and can't seem to fathom that either.
Any you can give me more of a so called idiots guide please!!

Flaneurs

Sure, sow40. Expertflyer can be a little hard to understand in the beginning but you will quickly get the hang of it. Basically you choose "Award and Upgrade Availability" from the left menu then enter your Departure city, Arrival City, Date, Airline (EK is Emirates), and then number of seats (4 in your case) and the fare bucket you need (D Bucket for Y to J upgrades) and it spits out a result saying that for instance (I just picked a random day in the month you mentioned) on May 18th EK 40 Departing at 2:20PM has at least 4 seats in that bucket so you would be good to go. Neither of the other non-stops that day to DXB from BHX have enough availability to upgrade 4 people from Y to J. You do the same in reverse on the date you want to come home, assuming you want to upgrade both ways.

You want to look for the column that says "Seats". It will even show you a current seat map if you want so you can see which seats are available. Quite powerful, expertflyer.

Hope that helps!

sow40

ONce again you guys never fail to come up trumps!! I'm all over the expert flyer now.... do I pay any extra costs regards departure tax for upgrades? I.e. If I upgrade is it going to cost me anything other than miles?

Cheers again!!!

skywardhunter

Out of the UK only if upgrading from Economy to Business (Y>J), I think 65 or 75 GBP (HelloKittysMum just posted this somewhere IIRC)

HelloKittysMum

it was £75 and I was given the choice of pay on the phone or pay at the airport.

HelloKittysMum

it was £75 and I was given the choice of pay on the phone or pay at the airport.