May 3, 2017 The Upgrade Perspective
… to Business Class Using “Elastic Plastic” Points
One definition: Upgrade (noun) … a tangible ‘mechanism’ (i.e. status, reward, piece of intel, etc.) which enables the quality of something to improve.
So if you would have flown coach but now you’re flying Business, the way you did that could be described as an upgrade. It could simply be a “paid upgrade”, where you paid the difference in cash. That would be boring, however, of course.
Upgrade (verb) … the activities or processes related to improving the quality a situation. To some extent, you are doing this right now. It takes intel to upgrade the way we like to, and you are acquiring that intel, which will enable your situation to improve. Plain and simple.
Furthermore, in this context I quantify the “level of improvement” relative to the cost of the class beneath it.
So, a “free” Business Class upgrade opportunity is simply a way to book Business Class for what you might otherwise pay for coach. We talk about this all the time. Skeptics often miss out, sad to say.
Enough of definitions. Let’s get to some high-definition upgrade dealing.
How Delta Miles Collectors
Can Get Free Business Class Upgrades to Europe
Using “Elastic Plastic” Points
The baseline cost for the chart below is based on the lowest saver mileage cost for Delta: 60,000 miles for a coach round-trip to Europe, or 60,000 miles earned on your Delta co-branded credit card.
(Actually, one more definition: “Elastic Plastic” is what we call those wonderful credit cards that earn points that can be transferred to many airline programs—as many as 46. See here for more.)
Nine Ways to Upgrade to Europe for Less than Free or Just a Little More than Coach on SkyTeam Airlines
| To / From | Loyalty Program | Business Class Award Cost / Miles | Elastic Plastic Point Card/s | Deal: Net Cost After Elastic Plastic Point Transfer | Level of Deal—in FCF-ese |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston, New York, Washington, DC / Paris | Japan Airlines | 63,000 for Air France partner flights | SPG | 53,000 | Less than free upgrade—7,000 miles less than coach |
| Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis / Paris | 65,000 for Air France partner flights | 55,000 | Less than free upgrade—5,000 miles less than coach |
||
| Los Angeles, Houston, San Francisco / Paris | 80,000 for Air France partner flights | 65,000 | Almost free upgrade—just 5,000 miles more than coach |
||
| U.S. / Europe | Korean | 80,000 | SPG | 65,000 | Almost free upgrade—just 5,000 miles more than coach |
| Chase | 80,000 | Cheap upgrade—20,000 miles more than coach | |||
| U.S. / Italy | Alitalia | 80,000 | SPG | 65,000 | Almost free upgrade— just 5,000 miles more than coach |
| AMEX | 80,000 | Cheap upgrade—20,000 miles more than coach | |||
| U.S. / UK | Virgin Atlantic | 95,000 to 155,000 | SPG | 80,000 to 100,000+ | |
| 100,000 for Delta partner flights | 80,000 |
In other words: If you use a SPG Elastic Points Card, together with Japan Airlines mileage program—not only will you get a free upgrade from many U.S. cities, but also save up to 107,000 miles or 63% (Delta costs up to 170,000 to Europe with partners, if you can believe that)—you will pay 7,000 miles less for Business Class than the normal person with a Delta SkyMiles card will for coach. Why pay retail? Just upgrade for free.
What’s your perspective? Please email me at: mr.upgrade at firstclassflyer.com
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