Miles upgrade shambles
Aug 18, 2022, 6:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Virgin Flying Club Red; IHG Spire
Posts: 65
Miles upgrade shambles
What a shambles QR miles upgrades are - despite seats being available, unsuccessful on all attempts between MEL and LHR and back.
1. Tried to upgrade from MEL to DOH - flight was credited to BA with BA frequent flier number in the booking. Agent refused to take the miles from my QR account telling me that to use miles from QR and credit to BA would be 'double dipping' which was total BS.
2. On return, tried to upgrade both sectors at LHR (seats available). Despite QR showing pricing for upgrading both sectors, they could only upgrade LRH-DOH, telling me I'd have to do DOH-MEL in Doha. Wanting the upgrade for the overnight and not bothered for first flight due to having exit row, I passed.
3. LHR-DOH flight delayed, giving me 35 minutes connection time in DOH. Went straight to service desk in the C-Gates section. The agent processing my upgrade called to confirm the upgrade to be told no meals available and therefore I couldn't upgrade. Protested that I wanted the seat, not meals (and would happily have meals from economy) but told not possible as too close to departure. Palmed off by him to speak with supervisor at gate who surprise surprise didn't exist and couldn't help.
Having book B/H fares and with seats available throughout to upgrade to, the whole thing felt like a total shambles particularly as online upgrades with miles pre 2 hours before departure either weren't available or on the MEL-DOH flights were being offered for something like AUD 3K+ / 250k+ avois (can't remember the exact price).
After trying to follow the airport upgrade process, what did I miss here?
1. Tried to upgrade from MEL to DOH - flight was credited to BA with BA frequent flier number in the booking. Agent refused to take the miles from my QR account telling me that to use miles from QR and credit to BA would be 'double dipping' which was total BS.
2. On return, tried to upgrade both sectors at LHR (seats available). Despite QR showing pricing for upgrading both sectors, they could only upgrade LRH-DOH, telling me I'd have to do DOH-MEL in Doha. Wanting the upgrade for the overnight and not bothered for first flight due to having exit row, I passed.
3. LHR-DOH flight delayed, giving me 35 minutes connection time in DOH. Went straight to service desk in the C-Gates section. The agent processing my upgrade called to confirm the upgrade to be told no meals available and therefore I couldn't upgrade. Protested that I wanted the seat, not meals (and would happily have meals from economy) but told not possible as too close to departure. Palmed off by him to speak with supervisor at gate who surprise surprise didn't exist and couldn't help.
Having book B/H fares and with seats available throughout to upgrade to, the whole thing felt like a total shambles particularly as online upgrades with miles pre 2 hours before departure either weren't available or on the MEL-DOH flights were being offered for something like AUD 3K+ / 250k+ avois (can't remember the exact price).
After trying to follow the airport upgrade process, what did I miss here?
Aug 19, 2022, 2:36 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: MEL
Programs: DL, QF, QR Gold, MR Lifetime Gold
Posts: 7,008
Lots to unpack here....
1. This is fairly standard practice. While unfair, the reality is that wanting to upgrade using program X currency while crediting to program Y doesn't happen very often. This is a matter of priority: if the UG is important to you, then make that the priority and not earning on a given program.
2. This is standard practice. At the airport, you can only UG the segment leaving that airport, not the whole itin. Chuck this one to lessons learned.
3. "No meals, no UG" is also a standard practice.
A lot of this has to do with understanding the process and managing the expectations accordingly. I understand that this experience was disappointing. Buying a higher fare to UG with miles does not guarantee the UG. What do you mean by "availability throughout"? If U was available, you could have upgraded ahead of time. If seats are available in J (but not allocated to the U bucket), it does not guarantee that you can actually get the UG. Again, if the UG is your ultimate goal then you need to get all your ducks in a row and play the game accordingly, while also being mindful of the risks involved (i.e. you may or may NOT be able to actually upgrade)
1. This is fairly standard practice. While unfair, the reality is that wanting to upgrade using program X currency while crediting to program Y doesn't happen very often. This is a matter of priority: if the UG is important to you, then make that the priority and not earning on a given program.
2. This is standard practice. At the airport, you can only UG the segment leaving that airport, not the whole itin. Chuck this one to lessons learned.
3. "No meals, no UG" is also a standard practice.
A lot of this has to do with understanding the process and managing the expectations accordingly. I understand that this experience was disappointing. Buying a higher fare to UG with miles does not guarantee the UG. What do you mean by "availability throughout"? If U was available, you could have upgraded ahead of time. If seats are available in J (but not allocated to the U bucket), it does not guarantee that you can actually get the UG. Again, if the UG is your ultimate goal then you need to get all your ducks in a row and play the game accordingly, while also being mindful of the risks involved (i.e. you may or may NOT be able to actually upgrade)