Purchase miles at Check-In
 

Hi there,

I have a question in regards to an award upgrade. I am missing a fair bit of miles to upgrade my family to business from SYD to DOH. I know, there are more pressing issues these days and I'm happy to have a flight at all. Doesn't mean, I can't dream :).

There are currently no award upgrades available. I am hoping they will become available next week at the check-in counter. Does anyone know how long it takes to purchase miles at check-in through my phone? I don't want to purchase them in advance with the risk that the upgrade won't be available at check-in. Also (and this question is less important), if according to expertflyer, there are seats available close to departure, will they be given away for cash and award upgrades on a first-come-first serve basis, I assume? Or is there a chance that they will be left empty and one can't upgrade either with miles?

Thanks for your time.

I can't help with the question about buying miles, but I can tell you my recent experience with empty business class seats.

When I flew from Dallas to Doha last January I was hoping to upgrade with miles at the airport. Airport staff confirmed that there were still seats available in business class but wouldn't upgrade me due to catering numbers. The last upgrade they had went to someone that beat me to the desk by five minutes!

Oh sorry to hear that. And thanks for responding.

I just got an email for an upgrade offer which I took. So happy not having to have hopes for upgrades which might not fulfill.

For future travel, I would still be interested to know about experiences of purchasing miles at check in.

Thanks community members for sharing your experiences, so helpful!

Can you share the amount offered for the upgrade?

$2700 AUD from Syd to Doha for 3 passengers.

I don't think it's possible to buy Qmiles at check-in.

What I found out so far, you can purchase miles at any time though the app. Question now is whether that’s instant or takes some time...