After a couple of failures, I’m curious if anyone has any good ideas that I’m missing…
For example, a couple of years ago I shared my experience upgrading to SWISS first class, as my partner award ticket was eligible for a cash upgrade as soon as online check-in opened. However, it seems the policy on that has changed in recent times, and I believe it’s not even specific to planes with SWISS Senses cabins.
For example, a few weeks ago I booked a SWISS business class ticket using partner points, and at online check-in I wasn’t given any option to upgrade with cash, despite all three first class seats being available.
When I called SWISS, I was told the ticket couldn’t be upgraded at online check-in because it was issued through another airline. Then just last week, I decided to redeem Miles & More miles for a SWISS business class ticket from Frankfurt (FRA) to Zurich (ZRH) to Boston (BOS), since I figured maybe that would allow an upgrade in advance.
Well, once again I wasn’t offered an upgrade, despite two seats being available during online check-in. When I called, I was told that only revenue tickets issued by Lufthansa Group are eligible for upgrades at online check-in, and not award tickets, even through Miles & More. Grrr! That’s why I ended up canceling that ticket, and instead booking Lufthansa first class using partner miles (which at least allowed me to experience the new FOX soft product).
Now, it’s my understanding that all tickets are still eligible for upgrades at the airport (or more specifically, at the departure gate), but that’s a bit too risky for me:
- With just three first class seats, a majority of flights have full first class cabins
- If I can’t get first class on the flight I’d rather not take this route again, since I’ve reviewed it before
- I live in neither Boston nor Zurich, so just being on “standby” at the airport waiting for an upgrade opportunity isn’t really practical
That leaves the other option, which is… to just pay for a ticket. Bleh, what’s the fun in that? 😉 I’m trying to find the best fare for SWISS first class or business class, particularly on the Boston route, though I’m also open to Seoul Incheon (ICN), the other current SWISS Senses destination.
SWISS does allow confirmed upgrades from business to first class on revenue tickets at the time of booking, assuming the the “A” fare class is available.
Just as an example, one could book a roundtrip from Copenhagen (CPH) to Boston with the outbound in business class and the return in economy for around $2,283.
That could then immediately be upgraded to first class on the outbound at the cost of around $2,700. So in the end, I’d be paying around $5,000 for a one-way first class ticket. As someone who likes to maximize value, that’s more than I’d like to spend!
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
