ChubbyPanda123

Hello all, this question has probably been asked already, but I am having trouble finding the answers. Anyway, my mother has a trip soon on Emirates, and I was planning on transferring in Amex points to use for the upgrade. I used the skywards calculator to look up the upgrade cost and it gave me 91260 for Flex fare and over 140k for Saver, so I specifically booked her a Flex fare in anticipation of upgrading her with miles. When I tried to upgrade her on her reservation, I am getting a different number of miles quotes for me. Is the calculator inaccurate? Do I have to look at the upgrade cost by segment? Any tips and tricks are appreciated as well!

I have booked her in Economy Flex for the time being. Flight is PNH-BOS via DXB, which the skywards calculator is showing as 91k miles to upgrade to business class. However, it appears that I am forced to upgrade by segment, if seats are available. Is it the case that upgrades are charged for by the segment?

ft101

Yes, if you upgrade each flight individually it'll cost you more in miles than if they were done together. The way round it is to secure one segment on line as soon it becomes available and if you see the other segment on line at a later date call in to have it combined and get the lower overall rate. Remember though, there's no guarantee that upgrades will be available (think peak season or popular routes) so she should be prepared to travel in the cabin booked if need be.

brenster21

Hello I was wondering if I book business special for myself and business saver for my spouse could we share the chauffer and then pay for lounge access?

ChubbyPanda123

So helpful! Thank you so much for your reply!

thijsseh

Yes, that would not be a problem, although �formally� I think it might not be allowed. Mrs t and I sometimes buy 1 J Saver ticket and 1 YFlex+ which we then upgrade with miles. That would also not qualify for CD but we have never ever been asked about it. I just tell the driver there is a second person. And similarly if we both have paid J tickets we never get a second car, always two people in �my� or �her� car�

You would just pay the lounge access for one person.

Remember that you will also not be able to pre-select your seat (not even paid) until check in opens. And if it is full, you may find that at that stage you struggle to find 2 adjacent seats (you can of course change your spouse�s seat as often as you want).

brenster21

So if the spouse and I are fighting we can avoid each other on the flight sounds like a potential win win.

Second question, if there are open seats in first can special upgrade with points to first with the cabin manager? I have seen conflicting information on that one.

thijsseh

Are you trying to �upgrade yourself away� from your wife?
I am almost 100% sure that even an on board upgrade from a J Special fare is not possible. To start with, there is no mileage requirement mentioned in the mileage calculator. It just says �not applicable�.

BA Humbug

This is going to be a combo mini-rant / genuine question, but does anyone find the premium check-in security in T3 to be completely arbitrary on its actual security?

Over the last 3 weeks I've had the most random things that I've carried through T3 premium security likely 100+ times previously, confiscated recently. These include:

- Wooden chopsticks (the cheap kind you get with sushi takeout) --> apparently they are "weapons". I normally carry them as I like to order western takeout during business trips that I feel more comfortable eating with chopsticks.
- Nonelastic shoelace samples, 20 cm in length with aglets on both ends. Apparently I could "strangle" someone with that, although I have yet to see anyone with a neck that size ?? Made for an interesting excuse at my meeting ...
- Packing tape. I was quoted a document (www.gcaa.ae/su/?QVLYI) of prohibited items by security so I combed through it and showed them that this was NOT on the list, and they said it was prohibited regardless of what the document said. Why show me this document, if it wasn't on the list and if they were not going to follow it anyway??
- Pack of 50 seaweed-based tag fasteners (the kind used to attach a paper tag to an article of clothing that's normally plastic). No reason given other than "I can't bring it"
- Pack of 12 generic black hair ties because "they don't belong to men". Completely ignored a sports bra sample I had in the same bag ...

Utterly bizarre experiences, and never have any issues when I use the economy security when traveling with my colleagues, including (accidentally) bringing both measuring tape and a swiss army knife through security, which are both truly prohibited items.

Kidrah

Hello there,

We have an upcoming flight ad want to book seats for our long journey. I see an option to pay for the seats using cash + miles. However, it wont show me how many miles, since i don't have enough in my account. I can always transfer in from other rewards programs. However, before doing that, does anyone know how many? The pricing in cash for the seat is 33 USD.

brenster21

Or her away from me. Probably depends on our mood during the flight. :P well it was worth a shot.

OriginalOats2019

Hey all, looking to book 2x Saver in J for my 30th birthday on ether the JFK>MXP or EWR>ATH (either works, heading to Croatia once we reach Europe) route for mid-September 2025 and trying to get a better sense of availability so I can try to reduce total points cost and make sure I have the necessary points in my account ahead of time.

1. Does Emirates release J Saver fare (RT booking only of course) every day, and is there a set amount of seats?
2. At white time (in EST) do they release seats?
3. Last, could I do a dummy booking (similar to how book ANA) and just call in to adjust my return trip when seats open up?

Sorry in advance if this has been asked and answered before.

Thanks!

thijsseh

Hi OriginalOats2019, welcome to FlyerTalk and the Emirates forum.

It is not clear from your post if you are looking at paid or reward seats. In your first point you mention the word 'fare', which suggests paid tickets. But earlier you talk about points which suggests an award booking?
Also, it is not clear to me what you mean with a dummy booking (referring to ANA).

But in general, Emirates will in paid fare buckets make seats available depending on what they can sell. So on a popular route in high season, you will find no seats in the cheaper buckets available, even a long way out. But if sales disappoint you may suddenly see lower fares becoming available. It's called revenue management.
For award seats it is a similar process. Often a small number (maybe between 1 and 4) award seats are made available early on, but not for flights where they think they can sell the seats. And again, if later on the load looks light to the algorithm they use, more award seats may be made available.

The general rule is: the airline rather sells seats for cash than for points. And if they can sell a seat at Flex or Flex+ fares, they'd rather do that than for Saver or Special rates. It's a business and EK's revenue management is pretty good (and unknown to anyone I know....)

I guess this does not help a lot, but it's all I can offer.

OriginalOats2019

Hello, thanks for the quick response. I realized after the fact my original message wasn't completely clear, so sorry about that.

1. I am looking to book award tickets through points.
2. By dummy booking I meant the following: I could lock in a 9/1 departure and 9/2 return at the 108k points Saver rate as soon as booking those dates becomes available. Then, 11 days later, I could call to swap my return to my actual desired return date of 9/13.

My main question was if there was a specific pattern or set amount of Saver J rewards every day on these routes (EWR>ATH and JFK>MXP) or if it is based on seasonality.

Thanks!

so3003

I have a 9hr30m connection at DXB - I'm in First but apparently not eligible for Dubai Connect as there's an earlier connection option (which I don't want as it's 1) very tight timings and 2) 777 rather than A380. I don't want to leave the airport under my own steam as 9h30m is perhaps a bit tight, but wondered if there's a sleeping area within the first class lounge +/- alternative options? Coming in from GLA and departing to BNE if that helps with the likely areas of the airport I'll be getting into/out of. Thanks.

thijsseh

There are recliners in a quiet space in the FLounges. Not all that comfortable for a longish stay to me, but it depends on how you sleep.
Best choice would be to book a room in the Dubai International Hotel, which is airside and easily accessible. They cater for these sorts of short stays, for instance you can book a room for 4-6 hours and spend the rest of the time in the lounge,