Using Miles to Upgrade

Hi everyone.
Myself and my wife who will be 5 months pregnant are planning a trip in November to LAX.
I have about 55000 fc miles and my wife just under 20000.
Would like to upgrade to U/C on the return flight to LHR. If all is well my best mate (F/O) is rostered to fly the outbound so might get a comp upgrade.
Would I be best to book cheapest economy ticket for the outbound and an up-gradable P/E ticket for the return. If so what class of P/E do I need.
At the mo, VS are doing LHR-LAX £608.00 return in P/E but don't know if you can up-grade with this fare.
Any advise would be great.
Thanks, Paul

[mitchja]

Paul

You will need to book an 'S' or a 'W' PE fare. W fares are the top fully flex (expensive) fares but 'S' PE fares can be quite reasonable.

In order the book the correct fare type, you might be better phoneing VS as they will be able to select the correct fare you need. It can be difficult to find S fares online. VS can also process the miles upgrade at the same time if space is available in Upper. The miles upgrade can be done nearer the time though.

If you do book another lower PE fare ie a 'K' you can pay the difference to upgrade this to an 'S' PE fare although you will have to pay an £50 change fee on top as well.

£608.00 sounds like a 'K' fare to me.

Regards

Originally posted by mitchja
Paul


If you do book another lower PE fare ie a 'K' you can pay the difference to upgrade this to an 'S' PE fare although you will have to pay an £50 change fee on top as well.

£608.00 sounds like a 'K' fare to me.

How strict are VA with regard to upgrading 'non upgradeable fares' ? I know on occassion they have bent/broken the rules, are instances like this becoming rarer ?

[ChuckC]

mitchja has given you the right course of action.

If you don't want to pay for an upgradeable fare, your chances of an upgrade are poor. Of course you can always inquire at the airport; if the flight is wide open, the gods could be smiling and you might be accommodated. If you were VS Gold or Silver your chances might be increased.

That said, the rules are very clear so be forewarned not to be too upset if your request is denied.

Chuck

Thanks for all your quick reply's. Spoke to VS reservations this evening and got a good deal (I think!!!)
Had to buy 6000 miles to take my balance to just over 60K. Booked an up-gradable economy ticket to PE using 20K for the 2 of us LGW-LAS and up-gradable P/E to U/C for 20K each LAX-LHR all for £748 each.
Thought that seemed fare. Checked the web later on and these would cost £2250 each approx.
Any comments welcome.
Once again, thanks. Love this site!!!
Cheers, Paul