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Optiontown.com paid upgrades on SAS

Old Mar 25, 2013, 7:54 am
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Last edit by: oliver2002
Optiontown - Upgrade on SK flights
SAS Scandinavian Airlines offers, via partner Optiontown, all customers the opportunity to purchase an upgrade on SK operated flights, which will be confirmed 72-24 hours prior to departure, pending on seat availability.

SAS Go passengers can purchase an upgrade to SAS Plus on all flights and to SAS Business class on SASs intercontinental flights between Scandinavia, the US and Asia, while SAS Plus passengers also can buy an upgrade to SAS Business class on intercontinental flights.
Booking class Europe: A (SAS Plus)
Booking classes Intercontinental: Z (Business) and P (SAS Plus)
Note: All upgrades will be handled by Optiontown.
Contact to Optiontown

Phone: UK +44 (0) 203 371 7854
E-mail: [email protected]
Homepage: www.optiontown.com
Upgrade fees

Intercontinental flights:
Upgrade fees will range between EUR140 and EUR900, depending on availability, destination and service class.
European flights:
Upgrade fees will range between EUR30 and EUR75, depending on availability, destination and service class.
Sign up fee Optiontown

EUR 1 (one) for short haul flights
EUR 5 (five) for long haul flights.
Sign up fee is not refundable.
Note: During the period 10JUN15-31AUG15, no sign up fee will be charged.
Reservation

All upgraded PNRs will be updated with and include OS SK OPTIONTOWN UPGRADE.
Reservation for non 117-documents (only applicable on long haul flights)

Reservations for non 117-documents will be updated by Optiontown with the following information:

OS SK UTO
SR CKIN SK KK. ATTN CHECK-IN. UTO PSGR. PLS UPGRADE TO (CLASS) ACC TO PROC ON SKXXX (DATE), UPG ALREADY PAID BRGDS REV MNGT.
Note: Tickets will not be reissued and upgrade will take place at check-in counter.
Rebooking
If the passenger wants to rebook a flight with confirmed upgrade via Optiontown, always use the original ticket fare, found in TWD, to calculate the fare difference.
Change fee must be collected if applicable for the original ticket.

Refund

After requesting upgrade it is not possible to change or cancel the upgrade request.
Upgrade amount is not refundable.

If the passengers upgrade request is not successful, the upgrade fee will be refunded.
Optiontown must be contacted for refund.
Restrictions

Upgrade of the following passengers cannot be performed:

Travel Pass passengers
Groups (booking class G)
Passengers holding award tickets (booking classes I and X)
ID-passengers (booking classes R and N)

Irregularity

Rebooking procedures for passengers with an upgrade, affected by irregularity:

Rebooking to other SK-flight
If the same booking class as passenger was upgraded to is available - rebook the passenger in the upgraded booking class.
If the same booking class as passenger was upgraded to is not available - rebook the passenger in the same service class as originally booked and refund the upgrade.
Rebooking to other airline
Rebook the passenger in the same service class as originally booked and refund the upgrade.

Note: In case of refund in above cases, the passenger himself must contact Optiontown and request refund.
Benefits

The upgraded passenger is entitled to:

Baggage allowance according to the new class
Star Alliance Priority tag
SAS Business check-in
Fast Track security
SAS Lounge access
EuroBonus points earned according to the new class
Onboard service according to the new class

Passenger process

Passenger makes a reservation on an SAS operated flight. Reservation must be confirmed.
Passenger logs onto www.optiontown.com, creates an account and enters credit card info.
Passenger can register the upgrade request immediately after reservation is made
Sign-up must be made latest 36 hours before departure

Optiontown selects the passengers to be upgraded according to conditions set forth by SAS

If there are seats available and the upgrade request is successful, the upgrade will be confirmed 72-24 hours prior to departure.
Updated 03JUL15 08.57
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Optiontown.com paid upgrades on SAS

Old Jun 27, 2010, 1:54 am
  #76  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 358
Does someone have any experience about change date of flight with Optiontown ?

When buying economy class tickets AirBaltic offers a change of date of flight for 20 euros. What would happen with Optiontown were I to change date of flight after having entered and paid for a business class upgrade with Optiontown ?
vilntrav is offline  
Old Jul 10, 2010, 3:39 am
  #77  
jth
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: ARN/STO
Programs: SK EBS, BAEC blue, SPG
Posts: 586
Upon trying to enroll for an OT upgrade for the upcoming CPH-PEK flight, i found out the optiontown europe website does not accept Amex payment (only MC/VISA). They referred me to the US version, where prices were quoted in $.
The total price including signup fee for an upgrade came to $572, vs e402 at the european site. This means, with the current exchange rates, that i would have to pay about 600 SEK more to be able to use my SAS-Amex card. Plain stupid.

Last edited by jth; Jul 10, 2010 at 8:45 am
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Old Jul 18, 2010, 8:55 am
  #78  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oslo
Posts: 448
Originally Posted by Shoes99
I have my boarding passes for both flights, I'll research and contact CO.
Thanks
Michele
Michele, any updates on this issue?
heakja is offline  
Old Jul 19, 2010, 8:57 am
  #79  
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Central NJ USA
Posts: 73
Originally Posted by heakja
Michele, any updates on this issue?
Originally Posted by Shoes99
I have my boarding passes for both flights, I'll research and contact CO.
Thanks
Michele
************************************************** *******
Update:
I was only able to get the 25% mileage posted to my CO account since:
1. I am not elite, and
2. my original fare class was the cheapest economy....
they said it didn't matter that I purchased an upgrade from optiontown.
Michele
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Old Jul 19, 2010, 12:43 pm
  #80  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Oslo
Posts: 448
Originally Posted by Shoes99
I was only able to get the 25% mileage posted to my CO account since:
1. I am not elite, and
2. my original fare class was the cheapest economy....
they said it didn't matter that I purchased an upgrade from optiontown.
Michele
Thank you for the info. I was disappointed to hear that CO didn't give you mileage for the upgrade, though. It really makes no sense getting only 25% from CO on original fare class when you a) get a lot more from SAS, a fellow alliance member, and b) you actually paid more than economy restricted.

I recently purchased an economy restricted ticket with SAS from Oslo to Chicago in September and went for optiontown as well (both to economy flex and business). I planned to register it as One Pass points since I travel a lot more with CO. But if I get an upgrade, I should probably register my EB number instead when checking in (I didn't registered anything upon booking).

Anyone else having inputs on CO's decision here?

(Edit; maybe this is something for the CO/One pass forum instead?)

Last edited by heakja; Jul 19, 2010 at 1:07 pm
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Old Jul 22, 2010, 3:52 am
  #81  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Flying Blue, Eurobonus
Posts: 186
I just purchased on Optiontown upgrade from W to E+ CHP->NRT which cleared. I got credited with the full miles. I actually put them on Lufthansa Miles&More, since I already made EBG this year, but was concerned that this would mean I would not have a chance for further op-up. But ping! when going through the gate in Copenhagen, I got a new seat in Business. Nice flight and very good value for money, both in comfort and miles.

It is of course quite likely that I would have been op-upgraded anyway, but the extra miles and lack of stress made the Optiontown worth it.
rumble is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2010, 4:24 am
  #82  
jth
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: ARN/STO
Programs: SK EBS, BAEC blue, SPG
Posts: 586
Originally Posted by rumble
It is of course quite likely that I would have been op-upgraded anyway, but the extra miles and lack of stress made the Optiontown worth it.
Nice! For EBG's, i think the optiontown upgrades are less useful since it seems you still have a decent chance of getting op-ups than us lowly EBS:s.
However, the C op-up might not have occured if you had been in Economy, who knows

For myself, i got a new Itinerary mailed from SAS today (6 days before departure, and looking at it, i am now OT upgraded to B class on CPH-PEK.
OT is still sending me emails about further upgrade to business, but i am going to take my chance on an op-up as well (or play it safe and do a point upgrade).
Flight is zeroed in economy since last week, and now almost in Extra as well. C still seem quite open though.
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Old Jul 22, 2010, 8:48 am
  #83  
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: SUV
Programs: UA *G MM
Posts: 7,017
That's bad news about CO.

I might be moving to Japan but want to primarily collect on UA, so it would be nice to use Optiontown for NRT-CPH and earn on UA.

I guess that I will have to purchase V to be safe, or do we have any volunteers for testing UA on this. Tommy??

At what point can you see the new class of service on the itinerary? I will have to remember to do it at the airport/lounge but I guess you can also do it on checkmytrip.com or on the SAS website in advance.
gnaget is offline  
Old Aug 4, 2010, 2:54 am
  #84  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Programs: SK EBG, LH SEN, TK Elite, FB Gold
Posts: 36
Smile Sucessfully upgraded ARN-ORD-ARN

Had an economy RT ARN-ORD 22.07.2010 and ORD-ARN 02.08.2010.
Registered for Optiontown upgrade on 18.05.2010.
Requested upgrade to Y on outbound and Y or C on return.
Prices was 132 EUR to Y and 488 EUR to C.

Outbound: Received confirmation of upgrade six days before departure. Was also op-upped to C at the gate. (As a EBS)
Return: Received confirmation of upgrade to C six days before departure. I had also registered for the finnish double points for business campaign, so this leg gave me 22,5k basic points, which made me EBG

Both flights were full
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Old Aug 4, 2010, 3:40 pm
  #85  
jth
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: ARN/STO
Programs: SK EBS, BAEC blue, SPG
Posts: 586
My first optiontown experience

So, i just came back from a (very nice) week in Beijing.
Ordered upgrade to Y both ways with OT and checked the flight loads regularly with seatcounter (while it worked). About 1 month ago, they started giving me "upgrade highly likely" mails. They came with regular intervals, about once every week, so i didnt feel "blastered" as someone earlier wrote this week.
But, after i had gotten confirmation, they continued sending emails wanting me to upgrade to business for "75% less" (than what?). But when checking their webpage, you cannot order further upgrades (guess you must call them?)

Outbound: Got upgrade confirmed 6 days before departure. Flight was overbooked in M (they asked for VDB volunteers), but both Y and C had free seats 3 hrs before departure (the nice checkin agent at ARN gave me the numbers). As a happy surprise, i got op-up to C as well (as a lowly EBS). There was a fair number of upgrades to Y from M as well i think. M and Y full, about 5-6 free seats in C, so nobody got bumped eventually.

Inbound: Got upgrade confirmed 6 days before departure as well. Same situation here, M overbooked. No chances for VBD's though when i asked at checkin. Tried to wait out an op-up, but eventually i upgraded to C with points at the gate and got it immediately confirmed. Y and M full, about 6-8 free seats in C.

Overall: OT did it's job well - since i got what i wanted
But with the unclear system, their nonspecific mail offers, and their (imo) tacky webpage, my general impression is they run a kinda shady operation. Biggest negative is also no Amex payment (as mentioned earlier). But i suppose SAS can vouch for their legimity, so i will use them again.
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Old Aug 5, 2010, 8:23 am
  #86  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: here and there
Programs: EB*G, UA ex1K
Posts: 570
SK upgrades no longer get points for upgraded class!

Just flew USA-CPH on a discount economy (W) ticket with an optiontown upgrade to C and only received 25% points.

I've gotten points for the upgraded class the two other times I've successfully used optiontown, so I guess this is new from 1 august. I'd be curious to know whether other people have seen this for very recent flights.

I didn't try upgrade the outbound (it was already booked in Q so 100% points and I figured the flight would be overbooked anyhow). It was an open-jaw ticket, purchased on travelocity rather than SK website, though I don't see that this would matter.

For me, this pretty much makes optiontown useless, since I'd rather spend the money on making sure of 100% points than on getting the upgrade+25% points.

Last edited by neko; Aug 5, 2010 at 8:32 am
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Old Aug 5, 2010, 10:03 am
  #87  
jth
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: ARN/STO
Programs: SK EBS, BAEC blue, SPG
Posts: 586
Originally Posted by neko
Just flew USA-CPH on a discount economy (W) ticket with an optiontown upgrade to C and only received 25% points.
Sounds strange. Yesterday's flight has not posted on my account yet but i will let you know how much points i got. Could maybe be some glitch in the system?

Edit: It has now posted fine with the points for the upgraded class.

Last edited by jth; Aug 5, 2010 at 9:44 pm Reason: new info
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Old Aug 5, 2010, 1:13 pm
  #88  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: ARN
Programs: EBG, Hertz Five Star, A-club Gold
Posts: 72
Do optiontown deduct the money from your CC right away or do they only hold your CC number for security and charge it if the upgrade clears? Othwerwise on a IC flight you have to put out the money for a few months if you sign up early for OT.

If you have signed up for OT and paid, can you still decline a upgrade offer? I.e. if you think that there will be op-ups anyway?

Is there any good "seatcounter" site that works for SAS? Couldn't get www.seatcounter.com to work with SK.
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Old Aug 5, 2010, 1:19 pm
  #89  
jth
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: ARN/STO
Programs: SK EBS, BAEC blue, SPG
Posts: 586
Originally Posted by appfly
Do optiontown deduct the money from your CC right away or do they only hold your CC number for security and charge it if the upgrade clears? Othwerwise on a IC flight you have to put out the money for a few months if you sign up early for OT.
No, they charge you right away and then credit you if it doesnt clear. So yes, you have to put out the money. However, i don't think you need to sign up for OT that early. I waited until i was in the right billing cycle, to avoid this. (side note: i wonder what happens with he points if you use a EB credit card if OT re-credits you?)

If you have signed up for OT and paid, can you still decline a upgrade offer? I.e. if you think that there will be op-ups anyway?
No. It's in the conditions, you cannot opt out once you signed up.

Is there any good "seatcounter" site that works for SAS? Couldn't get www.seatcounter.com to work with SK.
seatcounter.com (and other ITN tools) doesnt work anymore for any airline. There are several active threads about this right now. This one has some good ideas:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...unter-com.html
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Old Aug 5, 2010, 3:26 pm
  #90  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Sweden
Programs: TK M&S Elite (*G), SK EB Silver, various more or less shiny hotel cards
Posts: 986
Originally Posted by jth
(side note: i wonder what happens with he points if you use a EB credit card if OT re-credits you?)
Nothing, you will have the same amount of positive and negative point earnings, the same as money debits and credits on the card. The only interesting situation is if you cancel the card after the purchase but before the re-credit, but then you will have issues about where the the re-credit should go.
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