Sep 8, 2017, 8:42 am
Last edit by: flyerby
E+ members receive two upgrade vouchers per membership year that can be used as system-wide upgrades. Vouchers are not delivered to E+ status holders in physical or electronic form and only exist on the screens of TK agents.
It is advisable to call TK to verify the number of vouchers you have prior to and after the upgrade (unless you have no vouchers left).
Upgrades are done by calling TK CS or a local TK office (by phone or email).
One voucher is needed to upgrade per direction. For example, the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK will need one voucher to upgrade, and the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK-IST-LHR will need two vouchers. If an agent tells you otherwise, HUCA.
How to find itineraries with availability for a voucher upgrade?
Find an itinerary in any class in Y that has 4 seats left in J booking class on the same itinerary as the Y. To be extra cautious, you may also check the individual legs (when applicable) for 4 seats left in J booking class. For example, for the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK, check at least that LHR-IST-BKK has 4 seats left in J booking class, and in addition, check LHR-IST and IST-BKK individually too.
You can no longer check for upgrade availability without having an e-ticket number.
A relatively low-risk method of proceeding is therefore...
1) Reserve a ticket online with TK but don't pay for the ticket yet. Just put it on hold for 48 hours for free for E+ members.
2) Book an economy class ticket on the same itinerary with a reputable USA-based OTA that offers a 24-hour cooling-off / full refund period.
3) Once you have received your e-ticket number, go to Manage Booking on the TK website and check if TK has offered a business upgrade with miles for your intineray. Any segment eligible for an upgrade with miles on the website is also eligible for an upgrade with E+ vouchers.
4) Another option would be to call TK CS and ask an agent to check if the ticket in (2) is upgradeable with your vouchers. Do not upgrade this ticket; just check.
5) Once availability is confirmed for your itinerary, pay for the ticket in (1). Upon payment and ticketing, call TK CS to ask an agent to upgrade this ticket.
6) Cancel for free the ticket in (2).
Another even lower-risk method would be to skip (1) and just upgrade the ticket in (2). If unsuccessful with the E+ upgrade, you can proceed to cancel your economy ticket within the 24-hour cooling-off period. Going with this route, you would then have to be in contact with the OTA and not TK in cases of schedule change, cancellation, or IRROP, which is not usually advisable unless you really have to.
You might be asked to enter a PIN number via an automatic system to access your vouchers; this is the PIN you use to log on to your TK M&S account.
It is advisable to call TK to verify the number of vouchers you have prior to and after the upgrade (unless you have no vouchers left).
Upgrades are done by calling TK CS or a local TK office (by phone or email).
One voucher is needed to upgrade per direction. For example, the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK will need one voucher to upgrade, and the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK-IST-LHR will need two vouchers. If an agent tells you otherwise, HUCA.
How to find itineraries with availability for a voucher upgrade?
Find an itinerary in any class in Y that has 4 seats left in J booking class on the same itinerary as the Y. To be extra cautious, you may also check the individual legs (when applicable) for 4 seats left in J booking class. For example, for the itinerary LHR-IST-BKK, check at least that LHR-IST-BKK has 4 seats left in J booking class, and in addition, check LHR-IST and IST-BKK individually too.
You can no longer check for upgrade availability without having an e-ticket number.
A relatively low-risk method of proceeding is therefore...
1) Reserve a ticket online with TK but don't pay for the ticket yet. Just put it on hold for 48 hours for free for E+ members.
2) Book an economy class ticket on the same itinerary with a reputable USA-based OTA that offers a 24-hour cooling-off / full refund period.
3) Once you have received your e-ticket number, go to Manage Booking on the TK website and check if TK has offered a business upgrade with miles for your intineray. Any segment eligible for an upgrade with miles on the website is also eligible for an upgrade with E+ vouchers.
4) Another option would be to call TK CS and ask an agent to check if the ticket in (2) is upgradeable with your vouchers. Do not upgrade this ticket; just check.
5) Once availability is confirmed for your itinerary, pay for the ticket in (1). Upon payment and ticketing, call TK CS to ask an agent to upgrade this ticket.
6) Cancel for free the ticket in (2).
Another even lower-risk method would be to skip (1) and just upgrade the ticket in (2). If unsuccessful with the E+ upgrade, you can proceed to cancel your economy ticket within the 24-hour cooling-off period. Going with this route, you would then have to be in contact with the OTA and not TK in cases of schedule change, cancellation, or IRROP, which is not usually advisable unless you really have to.
You might be asked to enter a PIN number via an automatic system to access your vouchers; this is the PIN you use to log on to your TK M&S account.
Elite Plus upgrade voucher
Apr 27, 2019, 3:51 pm
#541
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Hm, now that it seems that upgrades are somewhat unrelated to J and I availability, maybe it is worth exploring the "R class theory" again? @thefilipinotraveler, could you check R class availability for your flights, even though it is now after the upgrade?
Can’t remember ever seeing R.
Apr 27, 2019, 11:54 pm
#542
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
I know this is a long thread but prior posts have indicated I and R inventories have no correlation to your odds of getting upgrades. It's all about J, except make sure there's enough J so it will have seats available for upgrades, not just sales.
IMO the best values and also best odds of upgrading is the North America - Istanbul routes where revenue tickets are very expensive and there's plenty of J inventory (more than 4) when booking ahead.
IMO the best values and also best odds of upgrading is the North America - Istanbul routes where revenue tickets are very expensive and there's plenty of J inventory (more than 4) when booking ahead.
Apr 28, 2019, 9:48 am
#543
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: TK Elite, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver
Posts: 967
Hm, now that it seems that upgrades are somewhat unrelated to J and I availability, maybe it is worth exploring the "R class theory" again? @thefilipinotraveler, could you check R class availability for your flights, even though it is now after the upgrade?
ARN-IST-MNL for May 9, 2019
MNL-IST-ARN for May 28, 2019
MNL-IST for May 28, 2019
The availability has always been the same before and after using our vouchers.
Just want to add: The agent I spoke with last Friday evening who said that only inbound MNL-IST-ARN has availability (contrary to what the agent in the afternn said that IST-MNL has avail.) said that with J availability, sometimes they can upgrade using voucher, sometimes not. I asked how many J seats he could see on the inbound but he said it doesnt really matter and repeated his line: with J available, sometimes they can upgrade using voucher, sometimes not.
Last edited by thefilipinotraveler; May 3, 2019 at 5:57 am
Apr 30, 2019, 10:22 am
#544
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The KUL city
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, TK Elite+
Posts: 2,663
I have 2 E+ voucher that expires on 30 May. Can I use one of the vouchers for a booking beyond 30 May (1 will be used before expiration for outbound)? Are the vouchers expiration dates "use by" or "fly by"? Cheers 
Apr 30, 2019, 10:28 am
#545
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
Would be great if you could report back your experience using the voucher!
Apr 30, 2019, 10:30 am
#546
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The KUL city
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, TK Elite+
Posts: 2,663
May 2, 2019, 7:24 am
#547
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,048
Anybody know a US OTA that offers free, simple (online) 24-hour refund procedures AND accepts Paypal?
May 10, 2019, 4:21 am
#548
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: AMS, JFK/EWR/LGA
Programs: Flying Blue/Platinum, TK/Elite Plus, QR/Platinum, LH/FTL, Marriott/Platinum
Posts: 293
Beware, if you need to change your flights after the E+ vouchers are processed, it's extremely difficult. I'm going through this pain right now - why everything has to be so difficult with TK...
If you need to change the date of travel, they will need to first refund your E+ vouchers. However in order for this to happen, they will need to cancel your whole reservation - not a simple downgrade, meaning all your flights will be wiped out from the reservation. Now this is particular tricky if the ticket was purchased through a 3rd party (such as Expedia) as all the 3rd party agent sees is an empty reservation, they will then need to contact TK on your behalf to rebook the flights.
Also the refund of E+ vouchers are not instant, i was informed that this might take a few minutes, or as long as 72 hours.
How fun it is to deal with this airline...
If you need to change the date of travel, they will need to first refund your E+ vouchers. However in order for this to happen, they will need to cancel your whole reservation - not a simple downgrade, meaning all your flights will be wiped out from the reservation. Now this is particular tricky if the ticket was purchased through a 3rd party (such as Expedia) as all the 3rd party agent sees is an empty reservation, they will then need to contact TK on your behalf to rebook the flights.
Also the refund of E+ vouchers are not instant, i was informed that this might take a few minutes, or as long as 72 hours.
How fun it is to deal with this airline...
May 14, 2019, 2:48 am
#551
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
May 14, 2019, 3:19 am
#553
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
For example, if you become an E+ member today (May 14), you will be an E+ member for 2 years from today. Each of those two years you will get two vouchers on May 14 (plus a few days delay).
May 18, 2019, 7:42 pm
#555
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528