FlyerTalk Forums - Best FF program for International upgrades?

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Quote:

Originally Posted by DCAMIA (Post 9119874)

OK...show me an approach that gets you consistent international upgrades to C on the cheap. I'm all for it.

I don't think any airline is going to guarantee you upgrades from cheap fares, particularly at peak times, if that's what you're looking for. I have four Europe trips in Jan/Feb that have all been upgraded with AA systemwides, but this is off season and there's plenty of upgrade inventory if you can pick and choose among dates and flights. I've cleared every upgrade request since I started flying them in 2002 and I'm happy there, including SFO-FRA this week on a $321 base fare.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunderroad (Post 9093989)

You get 6 SWUs each year you reach 1K. They're good for 13 months. For example, if you accumulated 100,000 elite qualifying miles (EQMs) in 2007 you'd have 6 SWUs that you can use from Jan. 1, 2008 through Jan. 31, 2009.

That's another area where UA and AA are slightly different. AA gives you 8 systemwides when you qualify/requalify, so you could conceivably stretch those systemwides out to as much as 26 months and beyond. For instance, if you flew 100,000 miles this month, you'd immediately get systemwides good until the end of February, 2010, so 25 months of use. In reality, if you have systemwides that are expiring, AA has been allowing upgrades past the expiration date if you can get at least one segment to clear up front, so you could be stretching some of them out over 3 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCAMIA (Post 9119794)

...A good strategy is to purchase full fare B/Y, upgrade using 30K miles. You then get an 50% EQM fare bonus. If you flew 67K miles this way, you would have already reached 1K status.

This might be a good strategy if you're rich! Of course, if you can afford these fares you could likely afford Z or D fares (or any discount business fares whatever carrier).

Quote:

Originally Posted by lavalyn (Post 9120002)

Buying UA Z-fares when they show up? Z is sometimes cheaper than B, and saves you the miles to boot too. Of course, 50-day advance purchase and tight availability count against me, but upgrades to J are capacity controlled too. And there's no risk of losing an upgrade due to equipment change; Z is paid business class.

Sample: SEA-FRA on UA
ZSPECE: $3202.00
BEE: $3675.00

Honestly, if you want consistent (near 100%) upgrades, you buy the class you want, or have some checking of inventory before you begin booking. The SWU/miles from discount economy route is not bad. Expensive on the miles, but miles are comparatively cheap to dollars.

Sorry..isn't this the thread called "Best FF program for International upgrades?" Not "which airline has the cheapest C?"

The OP asked about regular upgrades. I work for a company that doesn't allow C. So I pay B/Y and go from there. On top of that..I don't get 3 months notice to plan my trips.

So if you have all year to plan your trips, then yep..my approach sucks. If you buy relatively last minute, and C and Y are a 2-3K difference. My approach might work.

Last I checked there was no single type of flier, so there is no single best approach.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom911 (Post 9120222)

Agreed..I paid my dues last year with enough FF miles and enough EQM's where I can buy cheap fares and still use whatever upgrade instrument works. But that required an investment to get there. There is no quick way to get to that level other than paying your way there.

Do the UA upgrades work for other Star Alliance members? I've got a friend willing to give me a couple of upgrades and just wondering if I'm locked into UA.

THanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlsf (Post 15783025)

Do the UA upgrades work for other Star Alliance members?.

I dont think they do

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlsf (Post 15783025)

Do the UA upgrades work for other Star Alliance members?

There's something in place where they can be used on Lufthansa, but that may be on a last minute space available basis. If you pop over to the UA forum there are a number of threads there about using systemwides. Here's one thread I noticed:
Consolidated "Lufthansa Upgrade With UA SWU Questions/Experiences" Thread [Archive]