Greetings, All!

You are all such a travel-savvy group. Perhaps you can assist me with knowledge about using miles to upgrade from economy to business or first?

Keith and I are excited to be going on PUBS, but have opted to make our own air arrangements. We have found the perfect flights to Copenhagen and from Gatwick, but they are multiple carriers and we'd be purchasing from Orbitz.

Given that scenario, can we still use miles to upgrade from economy? The carriers are Delta and Northwest which are mile partners. We have only used miles in the past to purchase tickets, so no experience with upgrades.

Because we must fly to/from Philly we have no choice but to travel on different airlines. We are unaware of any company that flies direct to CPH from Philly or from LGW to Philly.

I guess my basic inquiry is: do we have to book directly with the airline to use miles, or can it be done when tickets have been purchased from a secondary site?

If it cannot be done, we have no problem with coach. We have the miles, however, so an upgrade bears investigation.

Thank you for your input! Hope more people join us all on PUBS!!! Stop by suite 646 and let's share a cocktail or two. (From the other thread, it looks like folks are dropping out like flies).

Cheers! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />
Ash

Ash, we've used miles to upgrade one way on AA. I'm assuming that any one way segment can be upgraded on any airline.

Carol and I are on PUBS and will not be dropping out.

I believe you need to book directly with the airline to use miles to upgrade. Before getting committed with orbitz I suggest calling either Delta or Northwest. I believe both are members of the same airline group so either should be able to book you on each others airline.

We look forward to meeting you and having a cocktail or two. Being all inclusive should make that easy.

Several years ago I tried to use Northwest points for a KLM ticket I purchased on Expedia. They said no.

Which airline do you have the miles available for upgrades? If it's either Delta or Northwest, start by calling them directly. I agree with Betty - don't buy tickets from expedia, orbitz, etc., until you've talked to the airlines directly.

Good luck! When you can score the upgrades, it sure makes the trip sweet.

Cheers, Anne

It has been our experience that airlines' websites have better fares than Expedia, Orbitz, etc. (the fare is the same, but no $5 add-on "processing fee" or whatever it is) - but I can see that if you are going on multiple carriers, these sites may provide a cheaper fare. What I have done in the past is call the airline who carries you from your point of departure and mention the fare you found on one of those travel sites - they should match it. Then, your upgrade should come much more easily. Best of luck!

US air has a different caveat. You must book a certain level (more money) in coach in order to use miles to upgrade. An example I am looking at to Europe is PIT - Venice, then Barcelon-Pit. The lowest coach (not upgradeable) is $727. The lowest coach that is upgradeable with miles is $1170.00, Ny point, check with the airlines and find out their restrictions. Good luck.
Lynn

One other word of advice - when looking for upgrades, book ASAP, especially to Europe. Often those seats go immediately - you can book 331 days in advance. Calling the carrier is the only way. Orbitz will not help you with upgrades, their fares are usually very restricted.

Good luck...let us know how it works out.

Delta requires minimum of "M" class which is expensive coach in order to use miles. I do not know for Northwest. However, Delta does not have a cheaper award for just one way travel. Like others have said, best to book directly with airlines than Orbitz. You can call Delta's international partner desk and they will check on flights available for upgrade. I believe you punch 9, 5, 2, 1 to get partner desk after dialing Delta. They would also be able to handle the Northwest flight as part of the itinerary.

US Airways flies non-stop from Philly to LGW. You can upgrade one way for 30,000 miles if you book a M, H, or Q fare. You can connect to CPH using their Star Alliance partner SAS.

If your points are with USAir, my experience is no upgrades on other Star Alliance carriers, just award travel, IF you can get it.

Thank you all for your informative responses!

I have copied the flight info from Orbitz and plan to call Delta this weekend. If we can use our skymiles to upgrade the European segments of the trip, that'll be great, but what will be better is if Delta can beat the $992/pp fee. I'd never considered approaching them with the rate and seeing if they'd give competition a go. Thanks, Kristin! And thank you - as always - Marc, for the easy navigation of the phone system to the international desk. Saves time for sure.

MilesJunkie, even though USAir has the non-stop home, they want to route us all over the east coast to get us to Copenhagen. Ick. So, for now, we'll stick with the Atlanta and Detroit layovers. No biggie & much more appealing than running from gate to gate.

Djw, Keith and I will look forward to meeting you and Carol on the trip! As the time gets closer, I'm sure the emails will fly between all of us with those last minute plans. For example, any interest in touring scotch whisky facilities not available as excursions?

I'll be sure and keep ya'll posted as to what finally happens. Thank you again for your timely advice. Keith and I are well-traveled, but only just beginning to do it with style. Learning from you is a pleasure.

Cheers! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />
Ash

Northwest has a similar upgrade policy to Delta (only higher coach fares are eligible for upgrades). If your $992 is roundtrip, you won't be able to upgrade to business, upgradable fares are $1800ish + 50,000 miles roundtrip to upgrade. Alternatively, discount Business class tickets are $2300ish.

Last year, when I was trying to get tickets for our British Isles cruise in August '06, I was being given a run-around. I finally got through to a man in the partner department at Delta who would tell me the facts. He told me flatly that I would never get the award seats because they could sell them at $2300-$2500 all day long. And that I could book them at that price almost up until time to fly. I waited a little while, then paid $2300 on Continental (at that point, something scary was going on at Delta). We liked the seats on Continental, and have booked them again for next May's trip to Edinburgh. Same price. It's worth it, for sure.

Like Kristin, I have always found that you can get lower fares by going to the airline directly. Another thought for you would be to drive to Newark and fly from there. I'm sure Newark has direct flights.

We are on Pubs too! We booked coach with Delta and upgraded to Business for one of us and the other got a free Business class ticket. We will fly to Berlin and home from Gatwick. Never had any problem booking directly through Delta (although, we do book 331 days out). Is anyone staying on in London? We will be there until the 17th of September. Need hotel recommendations!

Any of you tried the Amex Platinum card 2 for 1? I know that usually those companion fare offers are ridiculous when you find out how much you have to pay for the first ticket but we have had good luck twice with the amex program. we flew business on Japan Air last year for Tokyo to HK cruise for something like $9k for both of us and we are now sitting on 2 business class tickets to Sydney/Auckland on Air NZ for $8800. for both. Maybe its value is in direct proportion to distance travelled?
I recently looked into award seats on Delta to Barcelona next August and it was 250k miles for one ticket in businesss!! When did that go up so much? Didn't it used to be 90k to Europe?

Delta's 250k miles for Business to Europe is for "SkyChoice" which is when you get an award seat when a seat in Business is available and not otherwise capacity controlled. The 90k is capacity controlled "SkySaver".

Yes, we got the 90,000 award business seat from Vegas to JFK to Berlin and back from London to Vegas. We also have used the Delta companion ticket. We used it last summer to get to N.Y. with only 2 days advance. No problems at all with Delta. They always honor everything they promise. (The 90,000 was from AMEX Delta card)

Speaking of the Best Business Class Airlines....
(not one USA airline made the top ten!)

Top Ten Business Class Airlines

Why does that not surprise me Marcie? I doubt if a US airline would make the top 10 first class list either.

double - oops

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and happy Thursday to those who don't!

I would like to thank everyone once again for your advice about upgrade miles. Although the information is priceless and provided me with many questions for the airlines, we ended up just booking what I'd found on Orbitz. I did go through Delta, however, and was able to get a $10 savings. Hey, every little bit, right?

The problem for us with the Platinum card was that they could not offer us the companion ticket because the entire round trip wasn't with one airline. If we were in and out of Gatwick, no prob, but the Copenhagen leg causes some difficulty.

With regard to buying the highest class coach and upgrading (even just the overseas segments), we don't have 50,000 miles each.......YET ;)

2007 sees Keith and me having adventures in St. Maarten (Dutch side) for a week in April, the panhandle of Florida for a week in July, a week of scuba diving in August off Cayman Brac, and PUBS. If I get my way <img border="0" alt="[naughty]" title="" src="graemlins/naughty.gif" /> we will also be on the Regent Christmas/New Year cruise through the Panama Canal which departs, I believe, 22 Dec 2007.

So the ff miles should be piling up in '07.

Best wishes to all!
Cheers! <img border="0" alt="[vhappy]" title="" src="graemlins/icon_vhappy.gif" />
Ash