Hello folks,
This is a bit long, please bear with me and hear me out.
I'm looking to travel LHR - LAX for a conference. The conference has 2 options, which means I have the following options to fly, and their current reward availability:
Option 1:
LHR - LAX 2023-07-01 (Econ only). PE available 1 day earlier.
LAX - LHR 2023-07-08 (Econ and PE)
Option 2:
LHR - LAX 2023-07-08 (Econ only). PE available 1 day earlier.
LAX - LHR 2023-07-15 (Econ, PE and UC)
Points to note:
- I have a UK credit card rewards voucher that I really want to use (expires Jan 2024)
- I really want to go UC, but of course if no availability I will fly Econ or PE
- Edited to add: I really really want the LHR - LAX leg to be UC because lounge, and also I'd really appreciate the lie flat on the 11 hour flight...
I can think of 4 approaches, but not sure if they will be allowed, and also call centre is now closed until tomorrow. Would really appreciate the wisdom of the hive mind here!
Approach 1: Book Econ outbound (1 day earlier) and PE inbound for option 2 (62500 points), apply voucher, so I'll potentially travel PE outbound and UC inbound. Question: If availability appears, can I call up to add points differential (between Econ and PE, 12500 extra points) to upgrade the first leg to UC? (total points 75000) (But this also means I need to add 1 extra day to the plan)
Approach 2: Book Econ for both outbound and inbound as there is availability for the exact dates I want for either options. Wait for UC availability if it will ever appear, and call up and request them to take more points out of my account and apply voucher.
Con: I risk the existing inbound availability for option 2 disappearing and the outbound not ever appearing
Approach 3: Book Econ for outbound and UC for inbound for option 2 (102500 points). Question: If availability appears, can I call up to add points differential for the outbound (between Econ and PE), take off points differential for the inbound (between PE and UC) (to bring the spend back down to 75000 points), and then apply the voucher? I'll at least get to do UC inbound, but sad that the voucher will go to waste.
Approach 4: Book Econ for outbound and PE for inbound for option 2, apply voucher on one leg only to guarantee I take that UC seat for 15 Jul. But does this then allow me to upgrade the outbound leg if availability appears, or would I actually forfeit the 2nd half of the voucher?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
(My calculations may be a bit off now I think about it, because of the UC 50% voucher thing which I still don't totally understand. I have 180k odd in my account which should still be able to cover the entire trip though and I'm really keen to use it up.)
This is a bit long, please bear with me and hear me out.
I'm looking to travel LHR - LAX for a conference. The conference has 2 options, which means I have the following options to fly, and their current reward availability:
Option 1:
LHR - LAX 2023-07-01 (Econ only). PE available 1 day earlier.
LAX - LHR 2023-07-08 (Econ and PE)
Option 2:
LHR - LAX 2023-07-08 (Econ only). PE available 1 day earlier.
LAX - LHR 2023-07-15 (Econ, PE and UC)
Points to note:
- I have a UK credit card rewards voucher that I really want to use (expires Jan 2024)
- I really want to go UC, but of course if no availability I will fly Econ or PE
- Edited to add: I really really want the LHR - LAX leg to be UC because lounge, and also I'd really appreciate the lie flat on the 11 hour flight...
I can think of 4 approaches, but not sure if they will be allowed, and also call centre is now closed until tomorrow. Would really appreciate the wisdom of the hive mind here!
Approach 1: Book Econ outbound (1 day earlier) and PE inbound for option 2 (62500 points), apply voucher, so I'll potentially travel PE outbound and UC inbound. Question: If availability appears, can I call up to add points differential (between Econ and PE, 12500 extra points) to upgrade the first leg to UC? (total points 75000) (But this also means I need to add 1 extra day to the plan)
Approach 2: Book Econ for both outbound and inbound as there is availability for the exact dates I want for either options. Wait for UC availability if it will ever appear, and call up and request them to take more points out of my account and apply voucher.
Con: I risk the existing inbound availability for option 2 disappearing and the outbound not ever appearing
Approach 3: Book Econ for outbound and UC for inbound for option 2 (102500 points). Question: If availability appears, can I call up to add points differential for the outbound (between Econ and PE), take off points differential for the inbound (between PE and UC) (to bring the spend back down to 75000 points), and then apply the voucher? I'll at least get to do UC inbound, but sad that the voucher will go to waste.
Approach 4: Book Econ for outbound and PE for inbound for option 2, apply voucher on one leg only to guarantee I take that UC seat for 15 Jul. But does this then allow me to upgrade the outbound leg if availability appears, or would I actually forfeit the 2nd half of the voucher?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated!
(My calculations may be a bit off now I think about it, because of the UC 50% voucher thing which I still don't totally understand. I have 180k odd in my account which should still be able to cover the entire trip though and I'm really keen to use it up.)