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#961656 by EstelleB
30 May 2023, 12:08
Hello, I was wondering if anyone had info on when VA typically release late-ish reward availability for UC?

We are currently booked return LHR-MBJ UC, but are considering options to add a few days in Orlando to the end of our holiday and return direct to MAN. Looking at somewhere around 6th August (flexible a few days after though), and currently there is decent PE availability but no UC - from experience do you think that they will release some? I've done dummy cash bookings and there are still quite a few UC seats available on most flights.

As it's not a simple as an upgrade, I can't really wait until the very, very last minute, particularly as we'll need connecting flights, but just wondering when it usually drops? Cheers
#961658 by CommanderB
30 May 2023, 16:02
It really depends on whether they think they will sell the seats.

From my experience (on the non-Caribbean routes) if they're still selling "cheap" Upper Class tickets, i.e. Z/I/C fares. Then there's a high chance of reward seats opening up. If they're only selling D and J class, that's a good indicator of the cabin being busy. However, you must be careful how you search because searching one-way cash fares will automatically put you into one of those expensive buckets even if cheaper buckets are available.

If the flight is quiet, I'd expect to see seats opening around 2 weeks prior to departure, maybe 1 week.

VS has an informal policy regarding points upgrades on the day. I've had VS staff tell me point blank, if there's a seat in Upper, they don't need to call revenue to get a G class added, they can just do the upgrade on the spot. (This was in the Clubhouse in London, outstations may be a different story).

I do a lot of on-the-day upgrades and I can say that if you want to do that, get to the airport early and hope there are free seats in Upper. If there are, you stand a pretty good chance. If they're offering cash upgrades, they'll do points too. You can also use your credit card vouchers (if you have any) on the day too. Remember the CC vouchers can be used for one-way travel and they effectively get split in two.

Theres no reason you can't book PE and upgrade later. That's a perfectly decent strategy.

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