jankay

..... I booked a reward flight going out upper class and - because the points didn't allow anything better at that time - return in economy. However since booking we managed to find some extra points from an Amex card and transferred them over to Flying Club which meant we had enough points to upgrade return flight to premium. Called the Flying Club line and confirmed availability - happy days. Except this is where I could now kick myself. For some stupid reason (well I was due somewhere else at that particular time), I said I'd call back later on that evening and pay the taxes etc. One thing led to another and I ended up leaving it for 3 days - I know - that's stupid of me!!

Anyway - you've guessed - called back today and they have all gone, surprise, surprise!! The very nice lady I spoke to checked the numbers on the manifest and the cabin is only 50% full at the moment and she said that there is a good possibility that reward flights may well open up again nearer the time - mid-June.

My question is, has anyone any experience of this? I don't mean doing a stupid thing - I mean experience of an unavailable reward flight being reopened up at some stage later? I don't want to keep my hopes up if it's unlikely to happen. I'd rather just accept my fate in economy and move on.

Thanks v much!

Jan

craigthemif

Seats can open up - whoever booked those seats might also cancel - but don't hold your breath. You might also find a reasonable offer to upgrade using cash.

Knowing the destination can also help some VS experts opine about the likelihood of more Upper Class seats becoming available.

But yeah... you can't leave it for three days if you've got the miles and found the space...

MSPeconomist

Keep checking, and don't forget to check slightly different days, different flight times, or different routings (connections) if you have some flexibility.

Mark1976

Hi Jan

As Homer Simpson might say..... DOH, I tend to be like that with EBay auctions and never notice they're finishing.

You wrote "I mean experience of an unavailable reward flight being reopened up at some stage later? I don't want to keep my hopes up if it's unlikely to happen. I'd rather just accept my fate in economy and move on."

Yes I've definitely had that experience, I've seen reward seats open up, 6 months out, 3 months out, 1 month out, to a week out, to just after check-in closes, to just as you're boarding the plane (and everything in between) so don't give up hope just yet but don't picture that champagne and flat bed just yet either!

Best advice I could give you is join expert flyer (the only service I know) and set some alerts on reward availability (aka when the correct booking class shows availability which I 'think' is G that you're waiting for). With this service you can have ExpertFlyer automatically email you when it sees availability.

The times i've done this I find a loud obnoxious alarm tone on my phone and specifically assign it to that the Expert Flyer email address (or the specific address their alerts come from), that way when I hear that Alarm, I know I need to jump on the phone to Flying Club IMEDIATELY. If you really want to torture yourself you can also set expert flyer alerts to be sent when other booking classes on that flight get sold off... i.e. "Alert me when there are only 6 seats left" as opposed to the 8 when you started looking!

Also as @Craig says, cash can also be an alternative, the best deal I ever scored was a £100 Premium to Upper upgrade the day before I flew DXB to LHR . I called up FC to ask if there were mileage seats available, the FC rep did some tapping and said "you could do this....", as you might expect I jumped at the chance. I've never found it that cheap again but you never know!

Good luck, I know from bitter experience it can be a tense wait!

Mark

jankay

Hi all

Thanks so much for your advice - thanks Mark for the great advice. I'll join Expert Flyer and set my alarm. Strangely its DXB to LHR I'm after too so I'll just keep my fingers crossed for £100 upgrade

I'm not heartbroken, I'll see how it pans out. I'll come back and update if anything to report.

Thanks again all

Jan

Mark1976

Actually the most recent time (December 2017)

On the outbound flight LHR - DXB I used the method above and about 2 weeks before the flight I got an expert flyer email to say 2 seats had been released. I got straight on the phone at about 5 am.... I GOT THEM !!!

On the return flight Virgin didn't release any seats in the month run up until the flight (I was watching the unsold seats on expert flyer right up and including when travelling to the airport to fly home. Over this time there were 8 seats, then a few days later there were 7, then 5. so Knowing there were still some unsold on the morning of the flight I called FC and they too said no so I made sure I got to the airport early so I was first in the check-in queue...... success...... I was able to secure upgrades for my wife and I.

Mark "the ever hopeful optimist"

Stephen Morris

Sealink

Yes I have had experience of this. Revenue Management will toss frogs or whatnot into their cauldron and you might get lucky.

jankay

Morning

Just to complete this thread. Thank you Mark1976, I did as you advised and bingo this morning at 6.00am the alarm went off! I was straight onto the Flying Club and the upgrades secured.

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm a very happy bunny

Jan

Mark1976

Hi @jankay,

Glad to hear you were successful (and my tip helped a little bit).

I just hope that one day we're not going for the same upgrades on the same flight, it'll be a race to the phone

Enjoy your holiday and enjoy the flight.

Mark