Upgrades at check in

I am travelling LHR to IAD in November in EC with VH. I realise that my ticket won't be upgradeable as it is, but i have seen mention on this site of using some of my FC miles to upgrade to PE at check-in.

Can anyone help me with the following:

Is this possible?
How many miles would it cost?
If I do the online check in before arriving at the airport am I reducing my chance of being able to get an upgrade?

many thanks

What fare class is your VH ticket booked in? X class tickets are not upgradable by miles, and my gut would tell me that VH would have it booked in X.

I believe the redemption is 20,000 miles per segment EC-PE.

If its something you really want to do, I personally wouldn't wait until day of departure, call the FC number and they should be able to set you up.

Hi,

Virgin holidays books its economy tickets in fare class V which is specific to VH. You cannot (in theory!) upgrade these tickets with miles. It is also not possible (again in theory) to upgrade these tickets in advance with cash, except through VH. I have called flying club before with a V class seat and they phoned VH to check the upgrade cost and availability (it is complicated as VH have allocations of upgradable seats etc.) .

Your best bet is to call VH and ask the price. If you do not want to pay this then you only other real option is to wait until the airport and then ask at the ticket desk before you join the check in line and see what they can do for you (they might offer a better deal or none at all, bit of a lottery).

This has been discussed a lot on here, do a quick search and you may find better advice.

Hope this helps.

Neil.

Originally posted by webdes03
I believe the redemption is 20,000 miles per segment EC-PE.

It's 20,000 miles EC-PE for a return trip - 10k miles per segment - listing here

Cheers

Michael

Yes, 10,000 each way from E to P/E. If you fare class doesn't allow the upgrade, it's still worth asking at the airport. Sometimes they'll allow it if there's space available.