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 17, 2019, 11:32 am
#526
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
Apr 23, 2019, 12:46 am
#529
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: MUC
Programs: TK M&S Elite+, Qatar Platinum
Posts: 108
Just create a free account at www.expertflyer.com and check if your flights have Code: J and Seats: 4
Apr 23, 2019, 1:05 am
#530
Join Date: Apr 2019
Programs: Turkish Airlines
Posts: 6
Just create a free account at www.expertflyer.com and check if your flights have Code: J and Seats: 4
Apr 23, 2019, 2:51 am
#531
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: 13,047
Apr 23, 2019, 7:08 am
#533
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Apr 23, 2019, 10:16 am
#534
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
Apr 24, 2019, 1:10 am
#535
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: 13,047
So cheers for looking into it.
Apr 24, 2019, 11:31 am
#536
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
Agree re. the TK agent... Have not heard back from Nineville yet, will report back in case there is an update...
Apr 27, 2019, 1:16 pm
#537
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Programs: TK Elite, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver
Posts: 967
Just want to share my experience redeeming our Elite Plus vouchers:
Yesterday afternoon, we booked a trip to Manila which was ticketed in booking class L. I called TK Stockholm office and was told by the agent that there was no availabilty for outbound ARN-IST-MNL nor for the inbound MNL-IST-ARN for travel next month. I told her to check first the outbound. ARN-IST no availability, but IST-MNL has availability. I told her I´d use my 1st voucher for IST-MNL. Suddenly, I was told that my elite plus voucher hasn´t been issued yet so she sent an email to Customer Service to follow up the issuance of my voucher and I was told to call back later. Strange because it should have been issued on the first day of my membership year wc is April 1. I called again in the evening, no vouchers issued yet.
This afternoon, I called again and fortunately my vouchers have been issued. I was told all segments have availabilty but not the ARN-IST. I told her it´s okay so she proceeded using my 2 vouchers. After a minute, I called again to upgrade my partners ticket using his 2 vouchers. The agent said there´s availability on ALL the flights and proceeded with the upgrade. Suddenly my mobile rang and it was from Turkish Airlines. She confirmed about my recent upgrade and when I asked her why there´s no availability on my flight ARN-IST when my partner had just upgraded all the segments, I was told that availability changes from time to time. She said I would need to use miles if I want to upgrade and I said no.
Before and after booking these upgrades, the availability on Amadeus remained the same: ARN-IST-MNL is J4 I4. The MNL-IST-ARN is J0 I0 but checking only MNL-IST it is J4 I0. I was almost sure that the IST-ARN would have no availability but it was not the case.
Before choosing our seats on the TKs website, ARN-IST 2 of 18 seats were taken; IST-MNL 19 of 49 seats were taken; MNL-IST 19 of 49 seats were taken and IST-ARN 6 of 28 seats were taken.
Being told that availability changes from time to time (it changed in a matter of minutes in my case) was strange. I really hope TK can come up with a better system in using this upgrade vouchers.
Yesterday afternoon, we booked a trip to Manila which was ticketed in booking class L. I called TK Stockholm office and was told by the agent that there was no availabilty for outbound ARN-IST-MNL nor for the inbound MNL-IST-ARN for travel next month. I told her to check first the outbound. ARN-IST no availability, but IST-MNL has availability. I told her I´d use my 1st voucher for IST-MNL. Suddenly, I was told that my elite plus voucher hasn´t been issued yet so she sent an email to Customer Service to follow up the issuance of my voucher and I was told to call back later. Strange because it should have been issued on the first day of my membership year wc is April 1. I called again in the evening, no vouchers issued yet.
This afternoon, I called again and fortunately my vouchers have been issued. I was told all segments have availabilty but not the ARN-IST. I told her it´s okay so she proceeded using my 2 vouchers. After a minute, I called again to upgrade my partners ticket using his 2 vouchers. The agent said there´s availability on ALL the flights and proceeded with the upgrade. Suddenly my mobile rang and it was from Turkish Airlines. She confirmed about my recent upgrade and when I asked her why there´s no availability on my flight ARN-IST when my partner had just upgraded all the segments, I was told that availability changes from time to time. She said I would need to use miles if I want to upgrade and I said no.
Before and after booking these upgrades, the availability on Amadeus remained the same: ARN-IST-MNL is J4 I4. The MNL-IST-ARN is J0 I0 but checking only MNL-IST it is J4 I0. I was almost sure that the IST-ARN would have no availability but it was not the case.
Before choosing our seats on the TKs website, ARN-IST 2 of 18 seats were taken; IST-MNL 19 of 49 seats were taken; MNL-IST 19 of 49 seats were taken and IST-ARN 6 of 28 seats were taken.
Being told that availability changes from time to time (it changed in a matter of minutes in my case) was strange. I really hope TK can come up with a better system in using this upgrade vouchers.
Apr 27, 2019, 2:31 pm
#538
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
Before and after booking these upgrades, the availability on Amadeus remained the same: ARN-IST-MNL is J4 I4. The MNL-IST-ARN is J0 I0 but checking only MNL-IST it is J4 I0. I was almost sure that the IST-ARN would have no availability but it was not the case.
So even with "MNL-IST-ARN J0 I0 and MNL-IST J4 I0" you were able to upgrade all segments MNL-IST-ARN?
That's crazy - good for you but how's that possible if J=0 LOL
Apr 27, 2019, 3:00 pm
#539
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: LAX
Programs: TK M&S, LH MM, Global Entry, Hertz Gold, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 1,087
Apr 27, 2019, 3:24 pm
#540
Join Date: May 2016
Location: SFO, DUS
Programs: BA Gold (OW Emer), TK ELPL (*G), Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold
Posts: 528
I just noticed that ExpertFlyer shows an "R" class listed as a business-class fare category. I do not see R-class on the TK website as a revenue class, therefore I am wondering if this could be a new fare bucket relating to upgrades? I don't recall seeing R-class on EF in the past, but I could be mistaken.
From a very quick search of random flights and dates on EF, it would appear that availability of R-class is somewhat correlated to I-class. Any time R>0, I is greater than 2. On days where it is showing I=3, R was 1, and where I<=2, R=0. Does anyone have any insight or knowledge if this might be significant or is it a completely unrelated fare bucket? Does anyone remember seeing R as either a revenue fare on TK or previously posted on EF?
From a very quick search of random flights and dates on EF, it would appear that availability of R-class is somewhat correlated to I-class. Any time R>0, I is greater than 2. On days where it is showing I=3, R was 1, and where I<=2, R=0. Does anyone have any insight or knowledge if this might be significant or is it a completely unrelated fare bucket? Does anyone remember seeing R as either a revenue fare on TK or previously posted on EF?