Upgraded at check-in without confirmation
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 6
Upgraded at check-in without confirmation
Please tell me if I’m being pedantic here.
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
#3
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
Please tell me if I’m being pedantic here.
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 6
It just sucks that is the first time I’m flying emirates less and also saving up for a long haul reward ticket.
#5
Ambassador, Emirates
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LGW / AMS / CPT
Programs: SA KL BA EK
Posts: 4,269
I did the same thing in the DXB J lounge once (although it was a Y to J upgrade). I knew what the cost in miles would be, asked for the upgrade, the man behind the Skywards desk checked something on his screen (I presume my miles balance), asked me to wait whilst he went to check availability and returned a bit later with my new BP and told me he had taken 42600 (or something like that) miles. I was a bit surprised that he did not ask for my agreement before processing the upgrade but as I knew what I was in for, I did not really mind. Whilst waiting in the lounge I also received an email confirming the upgrade and miles taken and urging me to contact the call centre if it was not me. So I deduct that it can be reversed. But the message is clear: do your research before starting the process.
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 6
I did the same thing in the DXB J lounge once (although it was a Y to J upgrade). I knew what the cost in miles would be, asked for the upgrade, the man behind the Skywards desk checked something on his screen (I presume my miles balance), asked me to wait whilst he went to check availability and returned a bit later with my new BP and told me he had taken 42600 (or something like that) miles. I was a bit surprised that he did not ask for my agreement before processing the upgrade but as I knew what I was in for, I did not really mind. Whilst waiting in the lounge I also received an email confirming the upgrade and miles taken and urging me to contact the call centre if it was not me. So I deduct that it can be reversed. But the message is clear: do your research before starting the process.
Mine was also Y to J, but I’m Platinum so tend to use First Class counter. I went to the Skwyards part of the lounge to try and check after. She couldn’t tell me but assumed that I was probably given a free upgrade the way things went down.
Also no email received, and balance only updated a few days after. On board they could tell me the exact amount though.
#7
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: AU
Programs: EK platinum, ET, SAS
Posts: 542
Please tell me if I’m being pedantic here.
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
Approached First Class check-in in DXB and showed my final ticket (was on transit stopover) and asked If miles upgrade was available.
My ticket is handed back to me with ‘There you go’. I am slightly confused and asked ‘So is it possible?’ He says ‘yes, it’s done.’
’Erm, so how much did that just cost me?’
’That, I cannot tell you.’ *smile*
I walk away wondering if I just got upgraded for free. On board they tell me it was the majority of my balance, 67,500 miles, and it is certainly not airline policy to act in this way. Can I ask for a refund in this situation?
#8
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
Yes, you're being pedantic. You asked if a miles upgrade was possible, and the person rightly assumed you wanted it if it was available. Why should you be upset that they did it for you, let alone expect you're due some sort of compensation for not being told how many miles it took?
#9
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 581
Yes, you're being pedantic. You asked if a miles upgrade was possible, and the person rightly assumed you wanted it if it was available. Why should you be upset that they did it for you, let alone expect you're due some sort of compensation for not being told how many miles it took?
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 6
Yes, you're being pedantic. You asked if a miles upgrade was possible, and the person rightly assumed you wanted it if it was available. Why should you be upset that they did it for you, let alone expect you're due some sort of compensation for not being told how many miles it took?
Also maxed out the number of miles I can buy. I practically bought the miles which he used to upgrade me, so it feels the the same as taking it straight from my credit card without my say so.
#11
Ambassador, Emirates
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LGW / AMS / CPT
Programs: SA KL BA EK
Posts: 4,269
Because I didn’t want it at 67,500. I no longer have enough for a 16hr reward ticket I have been saving for and have cancelled the trip purely because of this.
Also maxed out the number of miles I can buy. I practically bought the miles which he used to upgrade me, so it feels the the same as taking it straight from my credit card without my say so.
Also maxed out the number of miles I can buy. I practically bought the miles which he used to upgrade me, so it feels the the same as taking it straight from my credit card without my say so.
Secondly, you could have insisted to know how many had been used when you learned that the deed had been done. It would almost certainly have been possible to revert the whole process.
But you took your seat in F and later decided to cry crocodile tears here. No wonder that you get little sympathy.
Again, I understand your frustration and I have been in a similar situation but that’s where it ends.
#12
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,605
I would have been really annoyed if this had happened to me. However, I'd have ensured that they *hadn't* taken my points before I left the Skywards desk. Hindsight at all that...
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2019
Posts: 6
Although I understand your frustration, there are 2 ‘issues’ here. Firstly, there are many ways to prepare for this ‘event’, you can look up the miles needed on the mileage calculator on the website and also the app will tell you how many you need, based on the fare group of your original ticket. If you actually purchased the miles with a different purpose in mind, I would have thought it logical to check before ‘squandering’ THE miles on a different ‘product’
Secondly, you could have insisted to know how many had been used when you learned that the deed had been done. It would almost certainly have been possible to revert the whole process.
But you took your seat in F and later decided to cry crocodile tears here. No wonder that you get little sympathy.
Again, I understand your frustration and I have been in a similar situation but that’s where it ends.
Secondly, you could have insisted to know how many had been used when you learned that the deed had been done. It would almost certainly have been possible to revert the whole process.
But you took your seat in F and later decided to cry crocodile tears here. No wonder that you get little sympathy.
Again, I understand your frustration and I have been in a similar situation but that’s where it ends.
I wasn’t in F unfortunately. I had purchased a Y ticket.
#14
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,831
I think the desk was being helpful - if he didn’t want the upgrade he should have said and cancelled it at the desk.