Use points to upgrade Econ to Bus?
 

What are your thoughts on using points to upgrade Economy tickets to Business class?

I like United's direct flight PEK-SFO. Last year we flew this and upgraded to business with points. We will most likely fly this route again, so I'm doing some pre-planning to review the previous trip and see how any future trip might be done differently.

Last year:

Ticket price: $993.50 / person
Upgrade price: 60,000pts + $1,200 / person
Earned points value: ~$257 / person

Total biz ticket: 60,000pts + $1,936.50 [sounds like a lot! :D]

I justified/rationalized this as follows:

1) All cash biz ticket: $5,556 - So our pts value at $0.060
2) For an additional $1,200 + pts / person the wife is much happier. ^
3) We didn't have enough points for 3 biz tickets
4) I don't think there was econ award availability for the dates we wanted.
3) Last year business was excellent so this was a reward.

The other side of the coin

1) For the price of points and cash for the 1 flight we could have flown 3 times in economy. I'm having some difficulty getting over this fact.

We again have a total of 220,000 points among the 3 of us. So we have enough to either spend ~$1,936.50 each to fly in business class or fly for free in economy.

I guess it now really boils down to the question:

Is it worth $1,936.50 to fly business class versus fly for "free"?

I think if I put is to the wife this way, she may agree to tough it out in economy.

Did I figure that all out correctly?

It generally sucks as a value proposition. Buy the C award outright or fly in the back for much more reasonable value. Just one opinion...I'm sure you'll hear others. :)

+1 especially if you can get E+ for $0.

In the past year Ive flown NY to SIN,NRT,KIX,SYD,HKG.TLV in Y and Im 6'2 and still ticking.TLV no E+ but did it on US which is 1000% better then CO

Its 1 thing if there was no co-pay but the miles & co-pay I feel isnt a good deal. Heck I think its 100k in Biz to Asia, I still cant do it since I wouldnt earn the tons of EQMs. Once I cross the 1MM marker then no problem as I wont be chasing 1k every year

What do you mean by "Buy the C award"? Do you mean pay $5,556 for the business ticket or purchase the 120,000 miles needed for an award ticket?

I had forgotten about E+. Thanks.

The traditional thing to do is buy your seat for cash so you get the EQM and spend your miles for her seat as a pure award (depending on how "traditional" you are you may want to swap that around of course). That works out to fewer miles but even more cash.

You could just buy the missing 20k for $750 and then get two awards. You would be out 220k miles and $750 instead of 120k and $4400. So you would be getting 3.6cpm on the extra 100k.

Alternatively, depending your ethics you could purchase SWUs from a stranger on the web for not much more than the copay and save all your miles.

Or for $1,575 you could buy 90k US Airways miles (with their current 2x perennial promo) which is enough for a return flight to China on their programme. But coordinating two rewards with two different programmes can be a pain.

I meant redeem for a C saver award. If you're time or route constrained that might be more difficult. But I still wouldn't pay the upgrade versus either flying in Y or redeeming outright in biz.

zkzkz, this is exactly the type of creative thinking I was looking for. I hadn't even considered this option. From what I understand this would cost more $, save miles and earn EQM. Right now I value $ more than miles and EQM, so will probably pass on this option.

Another great idea. I don't even know what an SWU is, though I assume it is some sort of upgrade certificate. Also, not sure how I might find one of these strangers, though I hear there is a place on the web were many of them hang out, I guess I could check there. ;)

Wow, three great ideas. My first reaction to the thought of spending $1,575 to purchase points is "What are you crazy?!" Though of course, when I use the rational part of my brain, I have to realize that I already paid $2,000 for a business class ticket, but then of course that is round trip and $1,575 is one way, so maybe it is still is a little crazy.

Though the idea of combining two one way tickets is something to keep in mind.

Thanks for participating. ^

If you are flying economy through SFO you do not need to upgrade to the bus. It is complimentary :D

Kind of like the onboard announcement "Enjoy complimentary entertainment by purchasing a $3 headset" :D

Depending on your dates of travel you might find business class specials that make the $ticket less expensive and be able to afford 2 $tickets and one mileage ticket (maybe a standard award)

It really depends upon what meets your needs, if any, to obtain EQMs. For many of us, EQMs are a more-precious commodity than cash. There are few ways to get them outside of flying, unless you want to pay the really big bucks and use elite maximizer.

In my case, anytime someone else from the family travels with me (wife to China last November, my son to France next month), the routine is the same. I buy a seat in Y and they get whatever is available as a saver award. Preferably in Y like me, but in my upcoming trip to France, I'm in Y and my son? He's in F.

I've covered my bet my applying for an upgrade to C in both directions, with my son kicking in the cash ($550 & $600 each way) and I supply the miles. So far, only the domestic leg has cleared. Sigh.

What I should have done was watched for a biz-class sale. I likely could have gotten a biz class roundtrip for about $3k, just about the same price as my Y ticket plus the upgrade fees. Yes, I was dumb! Don't make that mistake yourself.