Virgin Atlantic - Bid for Upgrade (Master thread)
Aug 30, 2022, 10:20 am
#1
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Virgin Atlantic - Bid for Upgrade (Master thread)
Hi all,
I'm due to fly SFO to LHR with Virgin Atlantic in mid Sept.
First time flying Virgin Atlantic, normally fly BA. Anyway, I'm currently I'm in Premium Economy, but had a query about upgrades to Upper Class. In the App it's showing an upgrade to Upper Class for $5,918.17 (very precise!), however logging into the website I can see they have a system which lets you bid for upgrades.
This currently shows a scale from $3,215 (Strong) to $3,740 (Excellent), so a fair saving on the 'guaranteed' upgrade but it still sounds quite punchy but keen to know if an upgrade at the airport is something that comes up much with Virgin (had it offered by BA previously (even from SFO in the past).
It's VS42 so a night flight so it would have been a nice treat. It doesn't seem to let me bid any less that $3215 so I guess that's the kind of ball park it needs to be! To be fair at north of £3k GBP per person it doesn't feel like it's quite worth it, anyone got any recent experiences of the upgrades or the bid system?
I'm due to fly SFO to LHR with Virgin Atlantic in mid Sept.
First time flying Virgin Atlantic, normally fly BA. Anyway, I'm currently I'm in Premium Economy, but had a query about upgrades to Upper Class. In the App it's showing an upgrade to Upper Class for $5,918.17 (very precise!), however logging into the website I can see they have a system which lets you bid for upgrades.
This currently shows a scale from $3,215 (Strong) to $3,740 (Excellent), so a fair saving on the 'guaranteed' upgrade but it still sounds quite punchy but keen to know if an upgrade at the airport is something that comes up much with Virgin (had it offered by BA previously (even from SFO in the past).
It's VS42 so a night flight so it would have been a nice treat. It doesn't seem to let me bid any less that $3215 so I guess that's the kind of ball park it needs to be! To be fair at north of £3k GBP per person it doesn't feel like it's quite worth it, anyone got any recent experiences of the upgrades or the bid system?
Aug 30, 2022, 10:44 am
#2
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VS might offer much cheaper upgrades at the airport. Since SFO-LHR is a route with strong premium traffic, they don't want to fill J seats prematurely.
Much depends on whether Upper Class is empty and/or PE full - in which case VS will attempt to extract some added value before giving out free opups.
Much depends on whether Upper Class is empty and/or PE full - in which case VS will attempt to extract some added value before giving out free opups.
Aug 30, 2022, 10:47 am
#3
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Join Date: Aug 2018
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VS might offer much cheaper upgrades at the airport. Since SFO-LHR is a route with strong premium traffic, they don't want to fill J seats prematurely.
Much depends on whether Upper Class is empty and/or PE full - in which case VS will attempt to extract some added value before giving out free opups.
Much depends on whether Upper Class is empty and/or PE full - in which case VS will attempt to extract some added value before giving out free opups.
Aug 30, 2022, 7:37 pm
#5
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 351
FWIW I've had some success doing AUP with VS from PE to UC in the last 12-18 months, although flying in/out of MAN and during mid-week so YMMV with SFO-LHR. As I recall prices for ATL or JFK-MAN were about $1200 for the AUP and MAN-ATL or JFK was 800GBP.
Sep 5, 2022, 9:53 am
#6
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Sep 22, 2022, 2:03 am
#7
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To update the thread, the upgrade bid price dropped to $960 USD - circa 48 hours before departure. I ended up bidding this amount but was sadly unsuccessful.
I think this may in part be due to the fact that the earlier flight to mine (VS20) was cancelled forcing more passengers onto VS42. Still had access to the Clubhouse at SFO courtesy of AMEX (a pleasant surprise), so had some nice food and a shower and then had a decent experience in Premium Economy.
I think this may in part be due to the fact that the earlier flight to mine (VS20) was cancelled forcing more passengers onto VS42. Still had access to the Clubhouse at SFO courtesy of AMEX (a pleasant surprise), so had some nice food and a shower and then had a decent experience in Premium Economy.
Sep 22, 2022, 6:01 am
#8
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Thanks for the update - I’m still not convinced that upgrade bargains on VS are commonplace.
I would happily be proved wrong though.
Nick
I would happily be proved wrong though.
Nick
Oct 23, 2022, 5:20 pm
#9
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My bid of $550 was accepted for VS104, I’m sat in 3K on 350-1000 typing this 😁
Original PE ATL-LHR-ATL purchased in Jan ‘22 for $1k, upgrade return using miles for total cost of $1.4K. Add successful bid upgrade resulting in round trip UC for +/- $2K = VERY HAPPY.
Adding a data point … UC was less than half full, as was the rest of the plane.
Last edited by BritBoyInFL; Oct 24, 2022 at 2:18 am
Nov 18, 2022, 3:05 pm
#11
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 45
my thinking as well, until today !
My bid of $550 was accepted for VS104, I’m sat in 3K on 350-1000 typing this 😁
Original PE ATL-LHR-ATL purchased in Jan ‘22 for $1k, upgrade return using miles for total cost of $1.4K. Add successful bid upgrade resulting in round trip UC for +/- $2K = VERY HAPPY.
Adding a data point … UC was less than half full, as was the rest of the plane.
My bid of $550 was accepted for VS104, I’m sat in 3K on 350-1000 typing this 😁
Original PE ATL-LHR-ATL purchased in Jan ‘22 for $1k, upgrade return using miles for total cost of $1.4K. Add successful bid upgrade resulting in round trip UC for +/- $2K = VERY HAPPY.
Adding a data point … UC was less than half full, as was the rest of the plane.
Also, when you upgraded with miles were you charged additional surcharges?
Nov 18, 2022, 11:20 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 45
Additional Surcharges on Bid to Upgrade to Upper Class?
I am considering entering a bid to upgrade to Upper Class on my LHR-BOS premium economy award ticket booked directly with Virgin Atlantic. The upgrade bid starts at 400 pounds, which I think is a good deal, but mentions additional taxes/surcharges would be charged also but doesn't indicate how much these may be.
When booking a new award ticket the taxes for premium and upper class are the same at 272 pounds but the YQ difference is 250 pounds.
Has anyone done a “Bid to upgrade” on an award ticket that could confirm what (if any) additional surcharges would be charged in addition to the upgrade bid itself? Should I expect to pay the upgrade bid + 250 pounds in additional YQ surcharges?
When booking a new award ticket the taxes for premium and upper class are the same at 272 pounds but the YQ difference is 250 pounds.
Has anyone done a “Bid to upgrade” on an award ticket that could confirm what (if any) additional surcharges would be charged in addition to the upgrade bid itself? Should I expect to pay the upgrade bid + 250 pounds in additional YQ surcharges?
Nov 19, 2022, 12:06 am
#14
Moderator, Virgin Atlantic
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IIRC - If your bid for upgrade is successful you are charged the taxes and surcharges applicable to your new booking in addition to your bid cost - having said that it’s a long time since I have done it, so I stand to be corrected by anyone with recent experience.
The process does appear better. Recent reports indicate some good deals, which haven’t been common in the past few years.
Nick
The process does appear better. Recent reports indicate some good deals, which haven’t been common in the past few years.
Nick
Nov 19, 2022, 7:50 am
#15
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: UK
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I bid £500 for a PE-UC upgrade on LHR-BOS last month. The charge was authorised on my card a day before I received notification of the upgrade but confirm I only paid the £500 (no extra taxes or fees).