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
Jan 24, 2019, 6:09 am
#436
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
So do I... At least I do my research to double and triple check for J space on the TK website, but I would go ballistic if I dropped £1k on an economy ticket and was then told I couldn't upgrade...
Jan 25, 2019, 1:30 pm
#437
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Central Europe
Programs: DL GM, TK Elite+, ITA Executive, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Silver, Accor Plat
Posts: 196
Just use a US OTA then to buy tickets, which will give you a 24 hr refund...also, it seems to be that if "J" bucket is available (married segment logic!), they can process upgrades. I didnt find the process stressful at all.
Jan 25, 2019, 2:28 pm
#438
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Does that OTA show you the fare bucket your ticket books into? Which OTA did you use?
Jan 25, 2019, 3:46 pm
#439
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
Good idea though....
Jan 25, 2019, 5:04 pm
#440
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Central Europe
Programs: DL GM, TK Elite+, ITA Executive, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Silver, Accor Plat
Posts: 196
Jan 26, 2019, 2:12 am
#441
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
I used Priceline. Use matrix with the ITA Matrix Powertools extension to price these in the correct fare bucket - most often, cheapest 100% credit fare is Q, which in most (all?) cases is restricted. E is always semiflex if I'm not mistaken. Price difference between cheapish L or V or W stuff and Q is usually 200-300 USD, sometimes less.
And yes the cost difference is usually in the range where the added status miles are worthwhile.
Will have to dig more into Powertools next time, even though I try to avoid OTAs as much as possible.
Jan 26, 2019, 3:03 am
#442
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: TK Elite, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver
Posts: 967
Last Wednesday while checking in for our outbound flight ARN-IST-BKK, my partner found out that his inbound BKK-IST disappeared from the booking. We were helped by a friendly agent in Arlanda Airport and after about 15 minutes, he was able to rebook the BKK-IST segment in business class. He was not sure what caused it to disappear tho. He also mentioned that on Amadeus and other GDS, booking class I should be available for us to use the Elite plus voucher. Re our IST-ARN segment which didnt have availability in business class, he advised us to ask the agent in Bangkok Airport while checking in for our inbound if they could open up space for us (which others have also reported on this thread)
Jan 26, 2019, 3:31 pm
#443
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Central Europe
Programs: DL GM, TK Elite+, ITA Executive, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Silver, Accor Plat
Posts: 196
The TK website books into Q (when available) when you choose the semi-flex fare option.
And yes the cost difference is usually in the range where the added status miles are worthwhile.
Will have to dig more into Powertools next time, even though I try to avoid OTAs as much as possible.
And yes the cost difference is usually in the range where the added status miles are worthwhile.
Will have to dig more into Powertools next time, even though I try to avoid OTAs as much as possible.
Jan 29, 2019, 7:43 am
#445
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: DTW
Programs: TK E+, WY, Radisson R
Posts: 2,360
LAX-IST-anywhere else is probably the hardest to get in J, you might need to be flexible and fly through SFO. Check TK's website and see if there's tickets like LAX-SFO-IST-DXB, LAX-SFO will most likely be UA. I have same issue with YYZ-IST where I need to go with YYZ-YUL-IST to find J bucket.
Jan 31, 2019, 3:00 pm
#446
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles Elite Plus, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 22
I was wondering...
For OTA purchases (since they reissue tickets): When using the E+ upgrade certificates to upgrade from Economy to Business class, do you get miles as if you booked in J class?
For OTA purchases (since they reissue tickets): When using the E+ upgrade certificates to upgrade from Economy to Business class, do you get miles as if you booked in J class?
Jan 31, 2019, 7:57 pm
#447
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Jan 31, 2019, 8:35 pm
#448
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: TK Elite, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver
Posts: 967
Feb 24, 2019, 4:12 pm
#449
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: YOW
Programs: TK E+, AC 25K, A3 S, UA S, BoNVoY TE
Posts: 103
A word of caution to all....
I just had a terrible experience trying to upgrade using miles on DXB-IST-BOS without success. I initially put the reservation on hold and called TK reservations to check the upgrade availability. The call center said they could not check availability of an upgrade without a ticket being issued. After HUACA with 4 different agents, they all gave me the same answer: "the new computer system cannot check availability of an upgrade without a ticket issued".
I checked ExpertFlyer, which showed J4 on the individual segments as well as on the married-segment journey. In addition, the TK website was selling J on the same routing, so I felt reasonably comfortable that the upgrade should be available. I went ahead and purchased the tickets in O-class. Once the ticket was issued, TK was unable to confirm the upgrade on the DXB-IST segment, only on the IST-BOS segement was available. This was confirmed across multiple calls/agents. I pushed the agent to ask if J class was required and informed them that J-class was showing for sale on the web-site. The agent said the system is restricting availability for upgrades, it is not enough that J-class is available for sale!!! Apparently the same applies for using E+ upgrade vouchers. I am now out $130 in cancellation fees! I should have used a US based OTA to mitigate the risk with 24-hr cancellation. Incidentally, there is I-space on IST-BOS only (not DXB-IST), I wonder if I-space is a new requirement for upgrade?
Has anyone had any luck confirming upgrade availability (using miles or E+ certs) without a ticket first being issued in the last few weeks?
Going forward, this is going to be a serious pain to use E+ certs if we need to issue tickets and then confirm availability, with no indication that positive J space provides any assurances! Might need to re-consider FF programs if it will become too difficult to upgrade and use my E+ certs...
I just had a terrible experience trying to upgrade using miles on DXB-IST-BOS without success. I initially put the reservation on hold and called TK reservations to check the upgrade availability. The call center said they could not check availability of an upgrade without a ticket being issued. After HUACA with 4 different agents, they all gave me the same answer: "the new computer system cannot check availability of an upgrade without a ticket issued".
I checked ExpertFlyer, which showed J4 on the individual segments as well as on the married-segment journey. In addition, the TK website was selling J on the same routing, so I felt reasonably comfortable that the upgrade should be available. I went ahead and purchased the tickets in O-class. Once the ticket was issued, TK was unable to confirm the upgrade on the DXB-IST segment, only on the IST-BOS segement was available. This was confirmed across multiple calls/agents. I pushed the agent to ask if J class was required and informed them that J-class was showing for sale on the web-site. The agent said the system is restricting availability for upgrades, it is not enough that J-class is available for sale!!! Apparently the same applies for using E+ upgrade vouchers. I am now out $130 in cancellation fees! I should have used a US based OTA to mitigate the risk with 24-hr cancellation. Incidentally, there is I-space on IST-BOS only (not DXB-IST), I wonder if I-space is a new requirement for upgrade?
Has anyone had any luck confirming upgrade availability (using miles or E+ certs) without a ticket first being issued in the last few weeks?
Going forward, this is going to be a serious pain to use E+ certs if we need to issue tickets and then confirm availability, with no indication that positive J space provides any assurances! Might need to re-consider FF programs if it will become too difficult to upgrade and use my E+ certs...
Feb 24, 2019, 5:32 pm
#450
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: oneworld, * Alliance, Marriott Bonvoy, HHonors, WoH
Posts: 2,120
A word of caution to all....
I just had a terrible experience trying to upgrade using miles on DXB-IST-BOS without success. I initially put the reservation on hold and called TK reservations to check the upgrade availability. The call center said they could not check availability of an upgrade without a ticket being issued. After HUACA with 4 different agents, they all gave me the same answer: "the new computer system cannot check availability of an upgrade without a ticket issued".
I checked ExpertFlyer, which showed J4 on the individual segments as well as on the married-segment journey. In addition, the TK website was selling J on the same routing, so I felt reasonably comfortable that the upgrade should be available. I went ahead and purchased the tickets in O-class. Once the ticket was issued, TK was unable to confirm the upgrade on the DXB-IST segment, only on the IST-BOS segement was available. This was confirmed across multiple calls/agents. I pushed the agent to ask if J class was required and informed them that J-class was showing for sale on the web-site. The agent said the system is restricting availability for upgrades, it is not enough that J-class is available for sale!!! Apparently the same applies for using E+ upgrade vouchers. I am now out $130 in cancellation fees! I should have used a US based OTA to mitigate the risk with 24-hr cancellation. Incidentally, there is I-space on IST-BOS only (not DXB-IST), I wonder if I-space is a new requirement for upgrade?
Has anyone had any luck confirming upgrade availability (using miles or E+ certs) without a ticket first being issued in the last few weeks?
Going forward, this is going to be a serious pain to use E+ certs if we need to issue tickets and then confirm availability, with no indication that positive J space provides any assurances! Might need to re-consider FF programs if it will become too difficult to upgrade and use my E+ certs...
I just had a terrible experience trying to upgrade using miles on DXB-IST-BOS without success. I initially put the reservation on hold and called TK reservations to check the upgrade availability. The call center said they could not check availability of an upgrade without a ticket being issued. After HUACA with 4 different agents, they all gave me the same answer: "the new computer system cannot check availability of an upgrade without a ticket issued".
I checked ExpertFlyer, which showed J4 on the individual segments as well as on the married-segment journey. In addition, the TK website was selling J on the same routing, so I felt reasonably comfortable that the upgrade should be available. I went ahead and purchased the tickets in O-class. Once the ticket was issued, TK was unable to confirm the upgrade on the DXB-IST segment, only on the IST-BOS segement was available. This was confirmed across multiple calls/agents. I pushed the agent to ask if J class was required and informed them that J-class was showing for sale on the web-site. The agent said the system is restricting availability for upgrades, it is not enough that J-class is available for sale!!! Apparently the same applies for using E+ upgrade vouchers. I am now out $130 in cancellation fees! I should have used a US based OTA to mitigate the risk with 24-hr cancellation. Incidentally, there is I-space on IST-BOS only (not DXB-IST), I wonder if I-space is a new requirement for upgrade?
Has anyone had any luck confirming upgrade availability (using miles or E+ certs) without a ticket first being issued in the last few weeks?
Going forward, this is going to be a serious pain to use E+ certs if we need to issue tickets and then confirm availability, with no indication that positive J space provides any assurances! Might need to re-consider FF programs if it will become too difficult to upgrade and use my E+ certs...