FirstClassFlyer

Headed for Europe this fall? Get out your wallet or get out your miles. With the end of summer and the resurgence of business travel, Business Class fare promotions dry up and fares go up.

In this article FCF reviews and rates mileage upgrade pro-grams. This article isn’t about if upgrades give you the best return on miles (in general you often get more value for your miles with an upgrade than with a free Business Class seat; more on this coming soon) or if airlines offer more up-grade or free mileage space (which, depending on the airline, you also get with upgrades; again more on this coming soon). FCF’s report card to Europe tells you what upgrade programs to use and which to avoid.

Save Up to $2,300 on United’s Business Class to Europe

It grades mileage programs on the basis of upgrading from the lowest economy fare to Business Class. We’ve included the mileage upgrade programs of international carriers if they offer a savings over a U.S. program.

The silver lining is that this is a perfect time to use miles, as the return on your miles in Business Class will usually be more than three cents per mile, which is the very minimum you should get whenever you use miles.

What’s Changed

U.S. carriers did not make major changes to their mileage-upgrade programs over the last year, but international carriers did. British Airways, for instance, changed from a zone redemption to a flight distance chart, and Singapore Airlines reduced the miles required for an upgrade.

Save Up to $1,900 on Singapore’s Business Class Fare New York-Frankfurt

Best Upgrade Programs

Those of international carriers because they usually don’t have a surcharge on mileage upgrade tickets. Every U.S. carrier except Delta imposes a surcharge on upgrade mileage tickets, and it can be as high as $1,100. (Delta’s trick is to allow upgrades only on high fares.)

Calculating the Grades
The marks are based on four criteria: price of lowest upgradable fares; ease of getting miles; number of credit-card-transfer partners; and the return on miles.

B+: British Airways (oneworld) / Executive Club

BA offers two upgrade fare options to Europe: Economy to Business Class and Premium Economy to Business Class. Upgrading any Premium Economy fare to London from the U.S. costs 20,000 to 25,000 miles round-trip. Upgrading from economy H, B, and Y fares costs 40,000 to 50,000 miles to London. Our research has found that upgrading Premium Economy usually offers the best return on miles, especially in the off-season when fares start at $1,200 (inclusive).

Getting an award ticket to cities on the Continent requires at least another 9,000 miles round-trip. We think it’s not worth, at times, paying for the upgrade for intraEurope flights, given the fact that BA’s Business Class on intra-European flights is not much more than economy—same seat, but the middle seat left vacant.

B: Air France (SkyTeam) / Flying Blue

Air France also offers two upgrade fare options to Europe: Economy to Business Class and Premium Economy to Business Class. From economy, it allows upgrades on U, M, B, and Y fares for 65,000 miles round-trip; and upgrades on Premium Economy fares (S and W) for 33,000 miles round-trip, both especially good values in the coming months, when economy and Premium Economy fares enter low season.

Save Up to $2,500 on Air France’s Business Class Seat to Paris

B: Virgin Atlantic (no alliance affiliation) / Flying Club

Virgin offers two upgrade options to Business Class from the U.S. to London: 20,000 to 25,000 miles round-trip on Premium Economy fares S and W, and 40,000 to 50,000 miles from H, B, and Y fares (which sometimes cost less, but require double the miles). Upgrading from Premium Economy usually offers the best return on miles.

B-: American Airlines (oneworld) / Advantage

AA allows upgrades on any published fare for 50,000 miles, plus a $700 surcharge. It is one of only two upgrade programs to have held the line on miles and surcharges since 2008, and with an average return on miles at about 5¢, this is one of the best mileage upgrade programs among U.S. carriers.

B-: Cathay Pacific (oneworld) / Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific has the advantage of offering upgrades on American (H, B, and Y fares for 50,000 to 70,000 miles, and no surcharge) and all British Airways’ Premium Economy fares (22,500 to 30,000 miles). In most cases, the return on miles is greater on BA because Cathay Pacific charges fewer miles for BA than it does for an upgrade on AA.

[aside headline="Sample Savings When Using Miles for an Upgrade: 67%" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]On the Chicago-London route, Virgin Atlantic’s upgradeable economy B fare is about $1,600 inclusive, plus 40,000 miles; whereas the lowest advance-purchase Business Class fare is $4,800 inclusive. If you use miles to upgrade the latter, you get a return of 8¢ on your miles. The math: $4,800 (Business Class fare) - $1,600 (economy fare) = $3,200/67% (savings) ÷ 40,000 (miles required) = 8¢.[/aside]

B-: United (Star Alliance) / Mileage Plus

United allows upgrades on any published fare, with surcharges levied inversely to the fare paid. They range from $1,100 for the lowest fares and drop to $600 for mid-range fares. B fares incur no surcharge. 40,000 miles required with most published fares.The major downside is the limited number of good credit card transfer partners.

B-: US Airways (Star Alliance) / Dividend Miles

US Airways allows upgrades on any published fare for 60,000 miles and $600. It gets high marks for this and for having the lowest surcharge of any U.S. airline, but lost ground because the miles required are higher than most other programs, which gives you a lower return rate on miles—a major factor when rating mileage programs.

Save Up to $2,700 on Virgin Atlantic’s Business Class Fare to London

C: Singapore (Star Alliance) / KrisFlyer

Singapore allows upgrades on E, S, B, and Y fares for 60,000 miles and does not impose a surcharge. It gets high marks for a good upgradeable fare on its NYC-Frankfurt route ($1,500), but the overall grade came down because miles required for an upgrade are higher than other mileage programs, which gives you a lower return rate on miles.

D-: Delta (SkyTeam) / SkyMiles

Delta allows upgrades on M and B fares for 50,000 miles. It is the only other major U.S. program that has not changed in the past few years, and the only U.S. program that does not impose surcharges. The trade-off is that many upgradeable fares are well over $3,500 (inclusive) giving you a very low return rate on miles, which is a major downside of the program.

Comparing Round-trip Upgradeable Economy to Business Class Mileage Programs

[table_opt style="gray-header" id="1382 " width="" alignment="center" responsive="all" heading="thcenter" rows="tdcenter"]

[["Airline<\/strong>","Miles Needed R\/T<\/strong>","Booking Codes<\/strong>","Surcharge<\/strong>","Los Angeles - London<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#","New York - Paris<\/strong>","#colspan#","#colspan#","Credit Card Partners<\/strong>","Mileage Purchase Limit<\/strong>","Rating<\/strong>"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Upgrade Fare1<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>","Business Class2<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>","Return on Miles<\/strong>","Upgrade Fare1<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>","Business Class2<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>","Return on Miles<\/strong>","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["Air France","33,000","S, W","0","$2,200 ","$4,400 ","6.6\u00a2","$2,100 ","$4,600 ","7.6\u00a2","Amex, SPG","Up to 40,000 (Elite members unlimited)","B"],["American","50,000","all","$700","$1,800 ","$4,400 ","5.2\u00a2","$1,900 ","$4,600 ","5.4\u00a2","SPG","Up to 40,000","B-"],["British Airways3<\/sup><\/span>","250,003<\/sup><\/span>","E, T, W","0","$1,830 ","$4,900 ","12.3\u00a2","$1,350 ","$4,500 ","12.6\u00a2","Amex, Chase, SPG","Up to 24,000","B+"],["Cathay Pacific (for flights on AA)","500,004<\/sup><\/span>","Y, B, H","0","$1,700 ","$4,400 ","3.9\u00a2","$1,900 ","$4,600 ","5.4\u00a2","SPG","30% Max to top-up","B-"],["(for flights on BA)","225,004<\/sup><\/span>","E, T, W","#rowspan#","$1,830 ","$4,900 ","10.2\u00a2","$1,350 ","$4,500 ","14\u00a2","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","B-"],["Delta","50,000","Y, B, M","0","$3,690 ","$4,400 ","1.4\u00a2","$3,200 ","$4,600 ","2.8\u00a2","Amex, SPG","Up to 60,000","D-"],["Singapore5<\/sup><\/span>","60,000","E, S, B, Y","0","n\/a","#colspan#","#colspan#","$1,500 ","$3,400 ","3.2\u00a2","Amex, SPG","50% Max to top-up","C"],["United","40,000","S, T, K, L, G, N","$1,100 ","$2,200 ","$4,400 ","5.5\u00a2","$2,300 ","$4,600 ","5.7\u00a2","Chase Sapphire (SPG; bad exchange rate)","Up to 100,000","B-"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","B","0","$2,000 ","#rowspan#","6\u00a2","$3,000 ","#rowspan#","4\u00a2","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","#rowspan#"],["US Airways","60,000","all","$600","$1,680 ","$4,000 ","3.9\u00a2","$1,760 ","$4,600 ","4.7\u00a2","SPG","Unlimited6<\/sup><\/span>","B-"],["Virgin Atlantic","250,007<\/sup><\/span>","S,W","0","$2,200 ","$4,900 ","10.8\u00a2","n\/a","#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Amex, SPG","Up to 30,000","B-"]]

1 Airfares are based for Oct.1 travel dates, include mileage surcharges, and include average taxes and fees ($700 for economy) for the routes shown in the chart. 2 Airfares are based on a 50-day advance purchase promotional Business Class fare and include average taxes and fees ($1,200 for London and $1,000 for Paris) for the routes shown in the chart. 3 Upgrade in miles is to London only; miles required for upgrade varies from 20,000 miles for NYC-London when using E, T, and W fares; to 40,000 miles for Y, B, and H fares. 4 Miles required for upgrade varies, for example; 70,000 from LAX on AA, and 30,000 from LAX on BA. 5 New York-Frankfurt fare shown. 6 Up to 50,000 miles per transaction. 7 Miles required for upgrade varies, for example; 20,000 miles for NYC-London when using S and W fares; and 40,000 miles for Y, B, R, and L fares. Amex = American Express Membership Rewards, SPG = Starwood Preferred Guest.

Best Mileage Programs On Paper for Business Class Upgrades to Europe