Upgrade for Gold in INTL

[ragazzo]

Do any other airlines offer CONCIERGE service like CO on their BF cabins? I only fly with CO.

[merchanb]

Quoting the fine print at the bottom of the latest Continental brochure "Continental flights with a BusinessFirst cabin are not eligible for an Elite Upgrade."

Spend the miles if you have them . . . BusinessFirst is lovely.

[Optimist1125]

With CO Intl [Asia] upgrades, the killer is the $400 up-front deposit each way, with no guarantees. For the non-business traveler, even Gold, I don't find this reasonable.

Have I missed the boat on something? --L

[merchanb]

Depends on the ticket you buy.

Y, H or K fare no cost, just the miles.

B or V fare $300 each way plus miles.

Q or T fare $400 each way plus miles.

The cheapest way to go is K fare, followed by H fare.

Less expensive than buying a cheaper fare and paying the "non refundable service fee."

[Optimist1125]

Thanks for the info. Next time I shop more carefully.
This time, decided to take row 44 to be able to move around as much as possible. Live & learn. --L

[merchanb]

I always book H or K fare and have been hitting 100% on trans-Pacific mileage upgrades for years.

You might want to call your elite priority line and ask them how much it would be to change your ticket to K fare. There's generally not too much difference. It's Y fare that's the killer.

[Optimist1125]

Will do that when I return home. [I only paid $558 RT]. --L

[merchanb]

Wow, $558 is a really good deal; 16,110 miles for 3-1/2 cents a mile. But 16 hours in coach . . . hope you have short legs.

Q fare shows as $657.16 and would cost $400.00 extra each way for the "non refundable service fee" to try to upgrade (total cost $1,457.16!) and no guarantee you'll get it.

K Fare, which costs nothing to upgrade, is $924.16. It would have cost you almost $370 more for an upgradable ticket.

I would have scraped around and found myself another $370. somewhere (1) had about a week's bout with DVT (emergency room and all that) and besides (2) decided to pamper myself in my old age anyway.)

Enjoy Hong Kong.

[Optimist1125]

Much thanks for the research...
I think I will still call CO for the potential upgrade to the fares that will allow upgrade. Regardless, will still do the compression socks...

Today, I have to say they were GREAT about getting a companion upgraded on an IAH-CLE flight, prime time, Labor Day USA, in spite of a broken seat on a usually unavailable upgrade route... and who knows -- possibly others waiting in premium coach space.

But, as is always the case, I still have lots to learn... again, thanks for the heads up. Happy travels. --Linda

[Optimist1125]

Today's the 25th & flight to HKG is 10/22... called Elite line over the weekend. No changes. ITN shows some Zseats available both ways...
What -- if anything -- to do other than wait [im]patiently? TIA... --Linda