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upgrade... Coach Class fare that permits upgrades?
Originally Posted by Radiocycle
(Post 7929721)
Has anyone, here on the NW forum, reached 120K and chosen the SWU option, and actually redeemed them for travel. Just curious how easy it is to use them.
RC The disconcerting portion of the cert reads: This certificate entitles you to a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class or World Business Class with the purchase of a qualifying published Coach Class fare that permits upgrades. and:Qualifying Fares - See above. Non-Y or B international fares are not upgradeable -- does this mean we can only use these SWUs internationally on Y and B fares? So much for dreams of buying heavily discounted international tickets and sitting in J.The only good news appears to be that you can use these on KL flights, which I wasn't expecting. Of course, if its the equivalent of Y/B fares, that's something we already have, just with better availability. Anyway, would love some confirmation one way or the other. I probably won't be using these until next winter. FYI, here's the full text from the PU465 template: Upgrade - WorldPerks System-wide Any Fare Customer Information Customer Name: Customer ID: Certificate Details Reference Code: PU465 Certificate Number: 012 XXXX XXXXXX Redemption Code: Must Begin Travel By: dd-mmm-yyyy Booking Class: C, P, R Cabin Of Service: First / World Business Class Valid on NW, KL Designated Flights Operated by NW, KL, XJ, WA, CP, 9E This certificate entitles you to a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class or World Business Class with the purchase of a qualifying published Coach Class fare that permits upgrades. Travel can be on Northwest Airlines or Northwest Airlink flights numbers 1-1999 or 3400-3699 as well as KLM flights number 1-999/6000-6900. VOID IF SOLD, BARTERED OR EXCHANGED FOR COMPENSATION Redemption Instructions You may book your Coach Class e-ticket using any channel, including: nwa.com, nwa.co.jp or nwa.com/asia, by calling NWA Reservations (Call Center Ticketing Fee may apply when booking the Coach Class ticket), contacting your Travel Agent, or using CorpNet Direct. If you are booking travel via MLT or NWA WorldVacations, you must redeem this upgrade with MLT (800-800-1504 or Travel Agents call: 800-727-1111). To redeem this upgrade, you will need the Reference Code, Certificate Number and Redemption Code specified above. Upgrade must be redeemed at least 48 hours (in Asia, including Japan, as well as Micronesia, allow 3 working days) before the originating flight departure by using one of the two following channels: - Travel Agent redemption: Give this certificate to your Travel Agent. Travel Agent: please see the Travel Agent Instructions below the Terms & Conditions. - Direct NWA redemption: Call NWA Reservations and advise the agent that you are redeeming this upgrade certificate (Reservations booking fee will not apply if you already have a coach class e-ticket). In the U.S. and Canada, call 800-225-2525. In Japan, call 0120-120-747 or 0476-31-8000. In all other countries, please contact your local NWA Reservations office. This certificate may not be redeemed at any airport. Terms & Conditions Upgrade Redemption - This certificate is valid for upgraded one-way travel as stated above. All upgrades must be redeemed at least 48 hours (in Asia, including Japan, as well as Micronesia, allow 3 working days) prior to originating flight departure. Paper tickets cannot be upgraded with this certificate. Tickets must be validated on NW/012 ticket stock. Travel not in conjunction with use of this upgrade may appear on the same ticket. Waitlisting for upgrade classes is not permitted. Redemption instructions are above. Validity - Upgraded travel must begin on or before the date stated above. Extensions will not be granted under any circumstances. Certificate offer - All rules of the fare purchased will apply, except as changed by this offer. Certificate has zero cash value, will be deemed fully used upon surrender and will not be honored retroactively or in connection with the exchange of any wholly or partially unused ticket. Certificate will not be replaced and cannot be requested. The use of the certificate offer embodied herein by anyone other than Northwest in any advertisement for any purpose, or the purchase or other acquisition of certificates by persons or entities in the travel service business is strictly prohibited and will render the certificate VOID. Limit of one one-way upgrade per certificate. Space is limited, and seats may not be available on all flights. Qualifying Fares - See above. Upgraded Booking Class - See above. Fare Basis Code - Fare basis code of purchased fare. Minimum/Maximum Stay - Per rules of fare purchased. Blackout dates - Per rules of fare purchased. Routing - All travel must be via the routes of NW/KL in which NW/KL publishes fares. Fares to/from Japan, Asia and Micronesia are valid via Northwest's transpacific flights only. KLM designated/operated flights are only permitted on flights to/from Europe, India, Africa and the Middle East. NW/KL schedules are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice. If passenger is rerouted to another carrier, the upgrade will not be honored. Transferability - The certificate is transferable only if it is not associated with an individual's name. Exception: If the certificate is issued in an individual's name, the certificate may be used by a different person as long as the original recipient is traveling with that person in the same reservation. The certificate may only be used by one person in a reservation. Certificates may not be transferred for cash or any other consideration. Purchased/auctioned certificates are subject to confiscation and travel will not be permitted. Fare/Tax/Total - Applicable Coach Class fare charged. Any tax liability or government-imposed fees are the responsibility of the user. (Please note: For certain destinations, additional taxes may apply for travel in Business Class). Changes/Refunds - Any refund or cancellation will result in the loss of the upgrade certificate. Voluntary itinerary changes are permitted per rules of the fare purchased, but upgrade is not guaranteed and will depend on availability and these Terms & Conditions. All reissues must be completed by NWA Reservations or MLT. If you are re-accommodated on another carrier, you will be seated in Coach Class. Combinability - This certificate may not be combined with any other discount, coupon, bonus, certificate, E-Cert, promotional fare also known as a web fare, or special status type fares such as: free, no-value, VUSA, standby, Round-the-World, joint, unpublished (programs indicated with a special ticket designator/reference code, e.g. BT000, unless the unpublished program permits upgrade certificates), agency/industry discount, group, (except - GV2 type group fares), senior, student, infant, child, WorldPerks Air Travel Awards, or any other fares/tickets which may later be specified by NW with or without notice. WorldPerks - WorldPerks mileage credit will be awarded based on purchased fare. Bonus mileage applicable to upgraded class of service will NOT apply. Miscellaneous - The standard agency commission will be based on actual fare collected. Northwest/KLM is final authority on the interpretation of these rules and certificate is subject to change without notice. If a non-permitted carrier accepts this certificate, such carrier agrees to pay NW/KLM, within 45 days of certificate acceptance, the sum of $1000USD per certificate accepted, and NW/KLM shall not be liable to such carrier for any reason whatsoever. Travel Agent Instructions - Confirm and e-ticket a qualifying Coach Class fare. End and retrieve the PNR and rebook the class of service to the applicable upgraded class. - You must add an OSI/SSR remark for each one-way upgrade for each passenger in the PNR. If you do not have enough upgrades for each passenger, you must divide the PNR. If changing a previously approved upgrade, skip the following steps and call NWA Reservations to reissue. - Enter the following information exactly - otherwise NWA will not receive the request. Only NWA can reissue an upgraded itinerary. If flight is NW designated and you're using Amadeus: OS NW UPGD. 01209xxxxxxxx 99999999X XX999 ORGDST If flight is NW designated and you're using another GDS: OSI NW UPGD. 01209xxxxxxxx 99999999X XX999 ORGDST If flight is KL designated and you're using Amadeus: SK UPGD KL HK1-01209xxxxxxxx 99999999X XX999 ORGDST If flight is KL designated and you're using another GDS: OSI KL UPGD. 01209xxxxxxxx 99999999X XX999 ORGDST Note: 01209xxxxxxxx is the Certificate Number, 99999999X is the Redemption Code, XX999 is the Reference Code, ORG is the origin of the first segment that is being upgraded, DST is the destination of the last segment that is being upgraded. - Once you send this request, you will receive an SSR OTHS from NWA within 24 hours (in Asia, including Japan, as well as Micronesia, allow 2 working days) with either the new ticket number or a reason the request was denied. If the request is denied, NWA will rebook the passenger into Coach Class. © Northwest Airlines 2007 |
Manoa Chris
I've been reviewing the terms as well and havent had the time to call and confirm, but what I think NW meant by "This certificate entitles you to a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class or World Business Class with the purchase of a qualifying published Coach Class fare that permits upgrades" was more along the lines of... "This certificate entitles you to a complimentary one-way upgrade to First Class or World Business Class with the purchase of a qualifying published Coach Class fare that does not have a term in it which expressly prohibits upgrades." The reason I say this is that there are a ton of promo int'l fares that have an express prohibition (currently a few super cheap ones from SIN-SEA that I was looking at). One has to wonder why they put this prohibition in, the WP rules do not permit upgrading on these, unless they are looking out for the EE certs, the old PPpoints certs and other similar certs they may circulate to travel agents. The fare rules for H,V,T,K and other standard coach fares do not have a similar clause (but they are not upgradeable with miles as per WP rules). One of the major limitations that I just noticed is "Fares to/from Japan, Asia and Micronesia are valid via Northwest's transpacific flights only. " I was hoping to use ours for SIN-AMS-SEA-AMS-SIN with a stopover in Europe on the way back home and a boat load of EQMs for cheap in the process. But it looks like if you use KLM ex-Asia you can only go to Europe, Mideast or Africa. Maybe we can do SIN-AMS-JNB... |
From nwa.com - System-Wide upgrades
Upgrades
2 One-Way Confirmed Hawaii Upgrades 2 One-Way Confirmed System-wide Upgrades 4 One-Way Confirmed Domestic Upgrades Upgrade Redemption -This certificate is valid for upgraded one-way travel as stated above. All upgrades must be redeemed at least 48 hours prior to originating flight departure. Paper tickets cannot be upgraded with this voucher. Tickets must be validated on NW/012 ticket stock. Transportation not in conjunction with the use of this certificate may appear on the same ticket. Redemption instructions will be provided via e-mail at time of reward selection. Validity - Upgraded travel must begin on or before the date stated in the confirmation e-mail provided. All upgrade certificates selected under this promotion will be valid for 12 months from the date of selection. Extensions will not be granted under any circumstances. Certificate offer - All rules of the fare purchased will apply, except as changed by this offer. Certificate has zero cash value, will be deemed fully used upon surrender and will not be honored retroactively or in connection with the exchange of any wholly or partially unused ticket. Certificate will not be replaced and can not be requested. The use of the certificate offer embodied herein by anyone other than Northwest in any advertisement for any purpose, or the purchase or other acquisition of certificates by persons or entities in the travel service business is strictly prohibited and will render the certificate VOID. Limit of one one-way upgrade per certificate. Space is limited, and seats may not be available on all flights. Qualifying Fares - Any published paid fare. Upgraded Booking Class - One-Way Confirmed Hawaii Upgrades and One-Way Confirmed Domestic Upgrades will be booked in F class. 2 One-Way Confirmed System-wide Upgrades will be booked in C class. Fare Basis Code - Fare basis code of purchased fare. Minimum/Maximum Stay - Per rules of fare purchased. Blackout dates - Per rules of fare purchased. Routing - All travel must be via the routes of NW/KL in which NW/KL publishes fares. Fares to/from Japan, Asia and Micronesia are valid via Northwest's transpacific flights only. KLM designated/operated flights are only permitted on flights to/from Europe, India, Africa and the Middle East. NW/KL schedules are not guaranteed and are subject to change without notice. If passenger is rerouted to another carrier, the upgrade will not be honored. Transferability - Certificates will be associated with an individual's name, therefore cannot be transferred to another passenger. Exception: The certificate may be used by a different person as long as the original recipient is traveling with that person in the same reservation. The certificate may only be used by one person in a reservation. Certificates may not be transferred for cash or any other consideration. Purchased/auctioned certificates are subject to confiscation and travel will not be permitted. Fare/Tax/Total - Applicable Coach Class fare charged. Any tax liability or government-imposed fees are the responsibility of the user. (Please note: For certain destinations, additional taxes may apply for travel in Business Class). Changes/Refunds - Per rules of fare purchased. Any change/refund/cancel will result in the loss of the upgrade certificate. Combinability - This certificate may not be combined with any other discount, coupon, bonus, certificate, E-Cert, promotional fare also known as a web fare, or special status type fares such as: free, no-value, VUSA, standby, Round-the-World, joint, unpublished (programs indicated with a special ticket designator/reference code, e.g. BT000, unless the unpublished program permits upgrade certificates), agency/industry discount, group, (except - GV2 type group fares), senior, student, infant, child, WorldPerks Air Travel Awards, or any other fares/tickets which may later be specified by NW with or without notice. WorldPerks - WorldPerks mileage credit will be awarded based on the purchased fare. Bonus mileage applicable to the upgraded class of service will NOT apply. Miscellaneous - The standard agency commission will be base on the actual fare collected. Northwest/KLM is the final authority on the interpretation of these rules and the certificate is subject to change without notice. If this certificate is accepted by other than a permitted carrier, such carrier agrees to pay NW/KLM, within 45 days of certificate acceptance, the sum of $1000USD per certificate accepted, and NW/KLM shall not be liable to such carrier for any reason whatsoever. |
There is a bit of fine print, but if NWA truly tries to weasel out of being able to use it on cheap fares then it will be a big hit to the Elite Extraperks program. I should get my first 120k cert email in a week or so, so I might experiment about using it coming back OTP-AMS-YVR, however, since it's a B fare it might actually be a waste.
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I will reach the 120k level next week and look
forward to look into all options to use the upgrade certs. 4 more coming with 160k Oct. Sometimes the Japan website will return an inquiry NRT-AMS with NW flights via the U.S. Clearly in my opinion one upgrade cert should suffice for such a trip or am I wrong? And any ideas about mileage accrual? I did not find anything but maybe overlooked it. So, actual miles only or plus 50% class bonus? |
Originally Posted by stephem
(Post 8136791)
The reason I say this is that there are a ton of promo int'l fares (currently a few super cheap ones from SIN-SEA that I was looking at).
SIN is a great alternative and we can spend a nice weekend there. Can you pls PM me with time frame? Appreciate it. |
Thanks for the point about going Asia-US-AMS, I think that will work because NW does publish some fares for this (one key requirement of the certs) and it doesnt violate the "must be via NW transpac" (another key requirement).
As for COS bonus, you wont get this unless you have a Y or B (and I would check you head before you blow these on a Y/B when they can be used on a K fare). If you used it on a K fare, you only get credited for K. That's one thing the terms and conditions seemed clear about. The bummer is that they do seem to publish a fare to AMS thru US from NRT but I cannnot find one from SIN. I'd realy like to get the 7 hour SIN-NRT and NRT-SIN legs upgraded to drive the most value out of these. As for how many you need for these longer trips, I am hung up on the language, but I have to believe it's like UA SWUs where if you have a RT one cert gets you upgraded on all legs of one way and another cert gets you upgraded on the legs of the return. The directions to TAs in the rules really add support to this interpretation (it just mentions typing in the start and end of each direction, not each individual segment). I think this is true whether you have a stopover or not (but for cheapo fares the stopover is going to cost you). Where I think you may get into trouble is if you use a multi-city search to force a routing that NW does not publish a fare for. But who knows, maybe their systems are not sophisticated enough to pick this up. I think you are onto the same idea as me, I'm happy to spend a decent chunk of change finding the longest NW/KLM itinerary I can across three continents and cash 2 of these in for me and 2 for my wife. If SIN-AMS-SEA doesnt work than maybe SIN-NRT-SEA-AMS or SIN-AMS-JNB will. Heck, if they published a fare for SIN-BOM routing through the US and Europe I would take that for sure! It's clear that we should share our experiences with (trying) to book these as we start making phone calls. It would also be fun to have a contest to see who can get the most bang for the buck out of them.
Originally Posted by EXLEFTSEAT
(Post 8137280)
I will reach the 120k level next week and look
forward to look into all options to use the upgrade certs. 4 more coming with 160k Oct. Sometimes the Japan website will return an inquiry NRT-AMS with NW flights via the U.S. Clearly in my opinion one upgrade cert should suffice for such a trip or am I wrong? And any ideas about mileage accrual? I did not find anything but maybe overlooked it. So, actual miles only or plus 50% class bonus? |
The boilerplate TATL/TPAC fare rule these days seems to be some variation on this:
NOTE - MILEAGE MAY BE EARNED BUT UPGRADING USING WORLDPERKS OR OTHER FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS IS NOT PERMITTED FOR FARES BOOKED IN M/H/Q/V/K. Hopefully an SWU doesn't qualify as a WorldPerks upgrade. I would feel better if it specified mileage upgrades.In any event, the change in language from the website description to the cert is troubling since it's the cert that is governing. |
Originally Posted by Manoa Chris
(Post 8137821)
BUT UPGRADING USING WORLDPERKS
Originally Posted by Manoa Chris
(Post 8137821)
OR OTHER FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMS
Originally Posted by Manoa Chris
(Post 8137821)
IS NOT PERMITTED FOR FARES BOOKED IN M/H/Q/V/K.
I think the original T&C of the SWU are pretty clear: any paid published fare qualifies. Although I can see the confusion. Scoopy will probably drop by within a few days for clarification, though... :) |
I was wrong stating four more systemwide
upgrades coming. Japan members have a different choice : "4 One-Way Confirmed Upgrades for travel within Asia or Domestic U.S./Canada 2 One-Way Confirmed System-Wide Upgrades" In any case I have not yet received an E-mail from NWA and I am not sure if we get the same offer than U.S. based members. So in toto I have 4 One-Way upgrades to burn, good for one r/t with Mrs. Exleftseat. Gotta make the most out of it. Looking for SIN-US-Europe for maximum benefit. Any suggestions? |
Schmutzig,
I don't disagree with your common sense reading of this, but based on the terms, NW would certainly have a legal basis to go in the other direction. I have been down this path before on interpreting the use of Hawaii resident upgrade certs on the initial segments of non Y/B HNL-Europe trips. The language here is actually more restrictive. Chris |
does anyone know how long the SWU's are valid? ie: year from issue?
I'm gonna be close (107K) and wondering if I should push to 120K for these? |
Originally Posted by Manoa Chris
(Post 8138513)
Schmutzig,
I don't disagree with your common sense reading of this, but based on the terms, NW would certainly have a legal basis to go in the other direction. I have been down this path before on interpreting the use of Hawaii resident upgrade certs on the initial segments of non Y/B HNL-Europe trips. The language here is actually more restrictive. Chris I'm not near 120k yet, so I can't. I would if I could. |
Originally Posted by nroscoe
(Post 8138872)
I'm gonna be close (107K) and wondering if I should push to 120K for these?
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Originally Posted by SchmutzigMSP
(Post 8139162)
I guess someone is going to have to be the guinea pig and figure it out once-and-for-all.
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