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Which of these airlines offer the smoothest "upgrading" process?
The title sounds a little weird, but hear me out.
I was awarded a full scholarship and my university will cover the cost of my flights, but only in economy class. What I plan to do is buy an economy ticket (so I have an economy class receipt to present to my university for reimbursement), and then upgrade to business class and personally pay the fare difference. My concern right now is that I will buy an economy ticket and then find out that there is no upgrade availability, or that the upgrade deals cost far more than what it would cost to buy the same business class ticket at the outset. I am also concerned that I won't have the checked baggage allowance or lounge access as someone who paid for business class at the outset. How easily can I change my entire itinerary to business class (and receive the associated perks) immediately after booking my economy ticket, just by paying the fare difference? Airlines I am considering:
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Originally Posted by tortenjoyer420
(Post 37188541)
The title sounds a little weird, but hear me out.
I was awarded a full scholarship and my university will cover the cost of my flights, but only in economy class. What I plan to do is buy an economy ticket (so I have an economy class receipt to present to my university for reimbursement), and then upgrade to business class and personally pay the fare difference. My concern right now is that I will buy an economy ticket and then find out that there is no upgrade availability, or that the upgrade deals cost far more than what it would cost to buy the same business class ticket at the outset. I am also concerned that I won't have the checked baggage allowance or lounge access as someone who paid for business class at the outset. How easily can I change my entire itinerary to business class (and receive the associated perks) immediately after booking my economy ticket, just by paying the fare difference? Airlines I am considering:
While I have no experience with your direct question, I do have experience with both being reimbursed by a university for flights and participating in approving the flights of others for university reimbursement. To the helpful comments made above I would add that you would be wise to check with your university before you purchase any flights. Not all economy tickets are equal, no matter what airline you choose. The most expensive economy tickets may be the easiest and least expensive to upgrade, but they may also cost far more than lower fares, and you would do well to know what limits your university may impose before you act further. |
Check also whether your university requires that you submit boarding passes for reimbursement. In fact, does your university permit the purchase of upgrades (at your own expense) for tickets the university reimburses?
Are you required to purchase the tickets through some university travel office or a particular on line travel agent? If this is a group experience, you might be expected to travel with the other students, on the same flights and in coach with the others. On many airlines, it's easier to upgrade tickets that are purchased directly from the airline operating the flight, with no codeshare segments. |
I did this with the approval of the supervisor at the organization who was paying for the ticket.
You can buy a ticket on most US airlines, cancel with 24 hours, and have the ticket refunded. I bought a ticket, printed out the receipt, and immediately canceled. I used points in business class for the carrier on which I wanted to fly |
Where are you traveling to/from?
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