using Etihad miles for upgrades
 

Hi,

after having used many different airlines and alliances for years, I have finally managed to earn about 50.000 miles on Etihad.

I now would like to use these miles to upgrade from Economy to Business. My intention is a "just because" flight, as I have never flown Business before. :cool:

My home base is DUS, so I would like to start from there. I have no particular destination in mind, probably it will be AUH with a 2 or 3 days turnover as it should be cost efficient.

I checked the Etihad website and got the following for DUS - AUH (one way)

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24126 Etihad Guest miles if booked in Y,B,H,K,M,Q classes.
30157 Etihad Guest miles if booked in L,U,V,E classes
=================================================

So if I book in Y,B,H,K,M,Q I could spend less than 50.000 miles for a return Business upgrade.
If I book in L,U,V,E I could only upgrade one way.

My questions:
Where can I see in which class I make my booking when using sites like Kayak or the EY Website?

How can I make sure that the miles shown above are correct and make sure that I actually can use them on the flight once booked?

I would highly appreciate if someone could give me some advice.

Thanks!

On the Etihad website, once you have selected your flight(s), click the link "View Fare Rules" below the total price:

http://i59.tinypic.com/sowwux.jpg

This brings a pop-up screen like this one:

http://i57.tinypic.com/15ppreu.jpg

The first letter of the Fare Basis Code is the fare class - in this case, "Q".

The various other online travel agents vary - some clearly display the fare classes, others allow you to discover it though it may not be obvious how to do so, and others do not disclose the fare class at all until after you have purchased and paid for the ticket.

Beware, however, that you are never guaranteed that you can upgrade your flight, so consider this before you pay extra for a particular fare class (if, for instance, you are considering buying a more expensive ticket than those offered to you in th cheapest available L,U,V,E fare classes. I could be wrong, but I expected that the L,U,V,E fares are the "Economy Saver" fares, while choosing "Economy Value" or "Economy Freedom" will always give you a fare class from those with the lower mileage upgrade requirements).

There has to be a free seat available for redemption in the business cabin before they can allow you to use your miles to upgrade. On very busy flights, this may not be the case. As a last resort, check with the airport ticket desk (or at checkin) in case any unsold seats may be available for upgrading with miles just before you travel.

@irishguy28: Thank you very much for all the information. So booking some just random flight and hoping that there is a free business seat is quite risky.

I hoped that you could upgrade instantly after booking using your miles, but Etihad seems to prefer to sell these seats to paying customers which I can of course understand....

Hi reglo

go to etihad website and chose to book flight using miles. Type in flights you want to travel on and if there are seats available in the first column then they are also available for upgrade. If you want to double check you can ask call centre to check availability. Once the flight is ticketed the call centre can process upgrade immediately.
Even if the award seats are gone you still have a chance to upgrade at airport if there are J seats available. However option 1 is better as you then qualify for chauffeur drive on departure and arrival at destination.

Hope that helps and enjoy the trip, maybe you can do a trip report on it!

I have not so much experience with EY Guest, but on their website they promote the "OpenSeat" compared to the "GuestSeat".
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/programme/features/

Am I correct, that the "GuestSeat" is the standard award seat, which can be limited in quantity, but there is at least 1 on every flight (as mentioned on their website) and the "OpenSeat" is every seat available on the plane, even if award seats are sold out. How many miles would the "OpenSeat" set me back on f.e. DUS-AUH?

They also promote miles + cash, which could be an option for OP, should the miles be not sufficient for the return flight.

I upgraded quite a few flight from Y to J and I had never any problems or unavailable flights, when I called the hotline. Usually they are pretty good in upgrading you with miles.

Good luck and enjoy your flight.

If you upgrade yourself don't forget to order the EY chauffeur service (which is for free)

I ended up booking FRA - NRT for 380,- € return which is a nice deal I think.

Before, I called EY in Germany (twice!) and asked if this specific fare is eligible for an upgrade and was told it was. I checked the fare rule and could not find anything which would prevent an upgrade either. I made the booking and called them to upgrade and all of a sudden I was told that the booking class is "T", which cannot be upgraded!... :td:

Not too bad as I would have booked it anyway but still strange that EY does not seem to know their own rules and conditions. I somehow had a feeling that this would not work out and I was right - but still looking foward to go to JPN ;)

380€ all in?
That'S quite cheap. Which date was it?

Yes, all in.
Good availability during the whole month. June, 9th - June, 13th works for example.
Booked with airfasttickets.de and used 30€ coupon JETZTFLIEGEN30.
Slightly more expensive on EY website.

Hm. I dont get those rates. Cheapest flight is 589€ with air china

http://www.airfasttickets.de/Flight/...tFlights=false

Try this one.

thank you. I am wondering why I couldn't find those rates with my phone.... tried exact the same dates

That's a pretty good deal ;)^

Enjoy Japan it's an amazing country

The promotion rate is in fare class "T". Does anyone knows if I will get status and guest miles?

No, you won't earn anything. T is not listed as an earning class on the Etihad Guest earning page for flights on Etihad, meaning that you will earn no miles.

This is the price you pay for getting such an incredibly cheap ticket. It's certainly not unusual that deeply discounted fares (and to me this looks like some special tour operator fare) do not earn miles or any form of credit in any Frequent Flyer Programme.

Enjoy Japan, amazing country!

EDIT: I found the fare rules on Expert Flyer for this fare - TAMSPL. The base fare is only €55!!!