randywei

Hi,

I haven't done this type of an upgrade before, but my friends have and we could never find documentation on it.

My friends have purchased Y/B Economy fares from SFO-TPE and have used Infinityland miles to upgrade to PE and RL.

For the PE upgrade from a Y/B Economy it only cost ~10k (maybe it was 12.5k) points (one way)
For the RL upgrade from a Y/B Economy it only cost 30k points (one way)

According to EVA's site (Requirements - EVA Air | America) , for each one-way sector route, I believe the upgrade should have cost as follows:

For PE upgrade from Economy - 25k points (one way)
For RL upgrade from Economy - 60k points (one way)

So is there an undocumented rule that purchasing a more expensive Economy fare (i.e. Y/B) will require less points for upgrading?

foppishbum

I believe they sometimes have mileage redemption promotions such as reduced mileage requirements for upgrades and/or award tickets for Infinity MileageLands members.

hayzel7773

There is a promotion going for for Y/B fares to upgrade to PE/RL. They run these promotions all the time for BR FFs.

endy

Does anyone know if there's a way to check if there are upgrade availability prior to purchasing the ticket? I'm looking to fly PE/T class and upgrade to RL from LAX to TPE.

dgun25

I have found that the easiest way to check on availability is to simply call EVA and ask them if there is an upgrade available for the specific date/flights. They are very helpful. You will need a B/Y class econ fare or a L? (or K, I can't remember which) to be eligible for an upgrade. A T class ticket will not be eligible unless you want to pay cash at the desk when you check in (and it will be a lot).

mxqisit

Is it possible to pay cash to upgrade a few weeks out?

hayzel7773

Yes. They will quote you the fare difference over the phone or you can go into a local office to do it.

hayzel7773

You need to have an existing ticket for them to check. A good way to look is Expertflyer.

dgun25

I have called them before and politely asked if BR flights (X,Y,Z) had availability for upgrade with Infinity Miles for a Y/B class ticket without purchasing a ticket and they were able to tell me. Maybe I got lucky.

asiadxer

PE T-class is upgradeable to RL using EVA IML miles. However, usually you are put on waiting list since T-class is one of the last one to clear upgrade after K,L,M,Y class fares. I normally clear my T-class to RL 7-10 days before departure. Someone with no status was upgraded day before departure.

endy

Thanks, I can confirm that they were able to check for me by calling their office. Sadly, there are only waitlists for the dates I want. Since I don't have status with Eva, would you say the chances of my T-class ticket clearing close to 0? (4/18 BR11). The agent said that there are spaces on the TPE-LAX leg for upgrades, should I just take that? Or test my luck on the LAX-TPE leg?

skimthetrees

I do not have visibility into upgrade space but BR5 4/18 has an award biz seat available which means it is likely to have upgrades available too. If BR5 would work instead of BR11 and it has upgrade space (check with BR) I would consider switching flights to get a confirmed upgrade.

endy

Wow, I just booked my flight this afternoon. Looks like will be a charge if I try to switch my flights.

foppishbum

PE to RL upgrades are currently all wait list for 18APR LAXTPE flights.

endy

Just wanted to give an update that both my wife and I cleared the waitlist today. Thanks for all the help!