Complete noob upgrade question
Dec 14, 2010 | 7:28 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2
Complete noob upgrade question
In March I'm traveling from Ohio to Beijing and back through my school. The tickets are already booked and purchased. Flying Continental.
I'd like to fly first class for the obvious benefits, and a friend of mine is getting into the whole "travel hacking" thing and recommended I check out this site.
I'm not sure where to start, or if I could even make this happen so quickly. I don't even fly much right now, so I have no idea how upgrades work for frequent flyer programs or how many miles it would cost.
If anyone has some tips or time to point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!
I'd like to fly first class for the obvious benefits, and a friend of mine is getting into the whole "travel hacking" thing and recommended I check out this site.
I'm not sure where to start, or if I could even make this happen so quickly. I don't even fly much right now, so I have no idea how upgrades work for frequent flyer programs or how many miles it would cost.
If anyone has some tips or time to point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!
Dec 14, 2010 | 7:59 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: UA, AA, SPG, HH
Posts: 682
In March I'm traveling from Ohio to Beijing and back through my school. The tickets are already booked and purchased. Flying Continental.
I'd like to fly first class for the obvious benefits, and a friend of mine is getting into the whole "travel hacking" thing and recommended I check out this site.
I'm not sure where to start, or if I could even make this happen so quickly. I don't even fly much right now, so I have no idea how upgrades work for frequent flyer programs or how many miles it would cost.
If anyone has some tips or time to point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!
I'd like to fly first class for the obvious benefits, and a friend of mine is getting into the whole "travel hacking" thing and recommended I check out this site.
I'm not sure where to start, or if I could even make this happen so quickly. I don't even fly much right now, so I have no idea how upgrades work for frequent flyer programs or how many miles it would cost.
If anyone has some tips or time to point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!!
Dec 14, 2010 | 8:01 pm
#3
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: D.R.E.A.D. Gold card holder
Posts: 53,184
Welcome to FT, DMBmelch!
Since you're flying Continental (CO), your best bet would to look at their program for upgrades. While it's possible to upgrade a CO flight using miles from other airlines, you would need to have booked a very expensive B or Y fare.
The cost of your upgrade on CO depends on the fare basis of your ticket. The mileage is the same for all fares - 30,000 (unless you have a Y fare where it's only 15,000) - but there is a co-pay that depends on the fare. The co-pays are
Since you're flying Continental (CO), your best bet would to look at their program for upgrades. While it's possible to upgrade a CO flight using miles from other airlines, you would need to have booked a very expensive B or Y fare.
The cost of your upgrade on CO depends on the fare basis of your ticket. The mileage is the same for all fares - 30,000 (unless you have a Y fare where it's only 15,000) - but there is a co-pay that depends on the fare. The co-pays are
B - no co-pay
M - $250
H, K - $350
Q, U - $400
V, G - $450
W, E, S, T, N, L - $500
If you decide you want to try for the upgrade, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to accumulate the miles you need as quickly as possible.
M - $250
H, K - $350
Q, U - $400
V, G - $450
W, E, S, T, N, L - $500
Dec 15, 2010 | 7:32 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: WN, DL, UA, AA, Hilton, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 1,303
After first being sure to find out what fare class you are flying. Don't be confused; sometimes Y is used as shorthand for ALL coach tickets, but given that you are booked through your school, I highly doubt you are flying Y. Probably one of the classes lower on the list but it's also possible that you are booked in a class that isn't on the list (if it's a group fare or something...).
Dec 15, 2010 | 8:41 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Dillon, CO
Programs: AA EXP 4MM
Posts: 496
The "hack" to getting upgrades is to have a lot of miles per year on a particular airline. That is, there's not really a secret that lets you get first class upgrades by the right magic incantation or code.
Be realistic; simply use this long flight as a way to start earning miles and start building status on one particular airline.
Be realistic; simply use this long flight as a way to start earning miles and start building status on one particular airline.
Dec 16, 2010 | 7:44 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2
Thanks for the info. Part of my confusion was all this B,M,H,Q....class tickets stuff. No idea what my ticket is. I might call them and see if I can find out how much it is to upgrade to first class. My thought was that if I needed x miles to upgrade, I could find a credit card/checking account to sign up for that would get me those miles for free.