Transatlantic upgrade -- certificate vs miles
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Montreal
Posts: 655
Transatlantic upgrade -- certificate vs miles
Hi,
I've done a bit of poking around but did not find the answer to this question. I am flying to Europe next month booked in Q class. I've used miles to upgrade one of the legs but am only waitlisted. Planning to use miles to upgrade the other leg -- for which I'll also be waitlisted. Before I do that, however, I was thinking of acquiring a space available cert and trying to use that to upgrade. So my questions:
Is there an advantage to using miles over certs?
Am I likely to clear early with the miles? If I will only clear at the gate anyway, it probably makes sense to the the certificate, no?
I have gold status if that makes a difference.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I've done a bit of poking around but did not find the answer to this question. I am flying to Europe next month booked in Q class. I've used miles to upgrade one of the legs but am only waitlisted. Planning to use miles to upgrade the other leg -- for which I'll also be waitlisted. Before I do that, however, I was thinking of acquiring a space available cert and trying to use that to upgrade. So my questions:
Is there an advantage to using miles over certs?
Am I likely to clear early with the miles? If I will only clear at the gate anyway, it probably makes sense to the the certificate, no?
I have gold status if that makes a difference.
Thanks for your thoughts.
#3
Join Date: Sep 2002
Programs: HHonors Diamond USAirways CP Hertz Pres Cir
Posts: 549
I've asked the same question and had one agent tell me they would upgrade further in advance if I used miles, but then later I spoke with someone else who had 16 years of experience doing international flights and she told me there was no difference.
I was left unclear about the answer, but decided to use points on the way over (on the overnight flight) and a coupon on the return since it's most important to me getting a good sleep on the way to Europe -- just in case it would clear faster...as opposed to using them on the return.
I was left unclear about the answer, but decided to use points on the way over (on the overnight flight) and a coupon on the return since it's most important to me getting a good sleep on the way to Europe -- just in case it would clear faster...as opposed to using them on the return.
#4
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP MM, HHonors Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Ti, UA Silver
Posts: 5,035
Similar situation here. Flying PHL-LGW in a few weeks and am thinking about upgrading from a full Y fare using 10,000 miles but could also use a DS0087 cert. I think 10k miles is the better deal but I'm concerned about waitlist priority as well. So if anybody knows the upgrade order it would be appreciated.
Thanks
Thanks
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
Programs: AA CONCIERGE KEY & 1MM, HILTON DIAMOND
Posts: 11,970
Originally Posted by elbidercni
I've asked the same question and had one agent tell me they would upgrade further in advance if I used miles, but then later I spoke with someone else who had 16 years of experience doing international flights and she told me there was no difference.
I was left unclear about the answer, but decided to use points on the way over (on the overnight flight) and a coupon on the return since it's most important to me getting a good sleep on the way to Europe -- just in case it would clear faster...as opposed to using them on the return.
I was left unclear about the answer, but decided to use points on the way over (on the overnight flight) and a coupon on the return since it's most important to me getting a good sleep on the way to Europe -- just in case it would clear faster...as opposed to using them on the return.
No, I think it is true that mileage upgrades are done further in advance so that they can be deducted from the member's account.
#7
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 177
The mileage is deducted immediately even if you are only put on a wait list. They will be returned if you don't make the cut. Unless they have availabilty when you call, I would not want to be wait listed. At the gate, I believe all upgrades are equal, however upgrades still assigned to highest status first. When i couldn't upgrad in advance to LGW, i just used the SA certifcates. That was the international desk's advice
Originally Posted by fly747first
No, I think it is true that mileage upgrades are done further in advance so that they can be deducted from the member's account.
#8
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: BA GGL, A3*G, Mucci de l'expertise des Apps
Posts: 3,363
This time last year, a friend and I used certs (DS0085 as they were then), to upgrade LGW-CLT and return, on the A330. Neither of us had any status,and were surprised that they all went through so easily. Our English accents even managed to snag us 1A/1B for the overnight flight back