Where to place your bet for a mileage upgrade from the lowest economy fare to Business Class and lowest Business Class fares to First.
Mileage upgrades are very often the best way to get to Asia in comfort. That’s because Business and First Class fare sales are scarce on most routes; fares are expensive, in general, starting at $4,000+ in Business, $8,000+ in First; and the savings potential and return-on-miles can be high.
Calculating the Grades
The grades are based on three objective criteria, not my personal preferences. FCF has no stake in recommending one mileage program over another. Each criterion accounts for 33% of the grade, to keep it simple. Note that in the past we had a fourth criterion, Ease of Getting the Miles; but going forward we will grade airlines on this separately in order to focus exclusively on the specific Upgrade Instrument.
- Lowest Upgradeable Fares: One of the main reasons to use miles for an upgrade is to spend less cash. Here, FCF compared each airline’s lowest upgradeable fare, including the co-pay, which only one airline (American) charges, on four different routes that are good proxies for each airline’s route network.
- Number of Miles Needed: Ranking based on lowest number of miles charged.
- Savings: An important point, considering that on some airlines using an upgrade award offers very little savings; so why bother?
Note that this ranking doesn’t indicate if an upgrade yields the best return on miles; in general, upgrades are superior in this regard to free awards.
How Anyone Can Get These Upgrade Currencies Fast and Easy
American: AA is a credit card transfer partner with Starwood. Separately, the airline allows you to purchase 80,000 miles annually at a cost of 2.9¢ per mile, and when miles are on sale can be as low as 2.3¢ per mile.
British Airways: BA is a credit card transfer partner with Amex Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Starwood. You can purchase 27,000 miles directly from the airline annually at 2.8¢ per mile.
Cathay Pacific: CX is a points transfer partner with Amex Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Starwood. The airline will let you purchase miles to “top off” up to 30% of the miles needed for an award at a cost of 3¢ per mile.
Japan Airlines: JAL is a credit card transfer partner with Starwood and does not sell miles.
[aside headline="Upgrade Award Availability" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Availability has not been included in the grades as it is too difficult to measure accurately. That said, it is very important to note that American offers significantly more upgrade seats than free seats.[/aside]
Comparing Upgrades: Economy to Business Class
American Airlines / AAdvantage: A
AA allows Business Class upgrades on any published fare for 25,000 miles each way, plus a $350 surcharge each way. It has the lowest upgradeable fare and the net savings is high on Business Class fares. That’s why it scored an A.
British Airways / Executive Club: B-
BA allows upgrades on Premium Economy fares (W, T, and E) for 25,000+ miles each way and doesn’t impose surcharges.
BA’s Business Class upgradeable fares are expensive (usually more than $2,500), which is why it scored a C in this category; and miles required vary, depending on flight distance, netting it a B in this category. It got an A for savings, though, because its fares to Asia from the U.S. are so high, that it could be an option for some from the Northeast, since flights are routed via London.
Cathay Pacific / Asia Miles: B+
Japan Airlines / JAL Mileage Bank: B+
JAL allows upgrades to Business Class on six published economy fares (E, W, Y, B, H, K) for 25,000 (or more) miles each way, with no surcharges, yielding a B in this category. Upgradeable fares start at $2,000, which is why JAL also scored a B in this category. The savings on Business Class fares is high (an A).
Rating Oneworld Loyalty Programs Based On Economy/Premium to Business Class Upgrades
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Comparing Upgrades: Business Class to First
[aside headline="" alignment="alignright" width="small" headline_size="default"]This is the latest in our series that ranks upgrade programs. We focused on upgrades with U.S. carriers to Europe in August and Asia in September. On deck is coverage to South America and the South Pacific, as well as intra-alliance and international airline loyalty program Business to First upgrades. Stay tuned.[/aside]
American Airlines / AAdvantage: B
AA got high marks for allowing upgrades on discounted Business Class fares (even with the $550 surcharge each way, it can still be a good deal) and miles required (25,000 each way). But it received a C in the savings category because its First Class fares are so heavily discounted much of the time; on many routes the savings is low, often only $1,600 to $2,000, when compared to other airlines on which the savings can be $12,000+.
British Airways / Executive Club: C-
BA’s grade stems from the fact that upgradeable Business Class fares are expensive (more than $6,000) with a substantial number of miles required (50,000+ each way), each category receiving a C. But BA got an A in the airline’s savings category because BA’s First Class fares are priced high, so the savings are high.
Cathay Pacific / Asia Miles: C-
Cathay gets a D for upgradable Business Class fares (more than $7,500) and a D for miles required (52,500+ each way). It got an A in the airline’s savings category because First Class fares are so high. Side note: Cathay also allows upgrades to Asia on partner airlines AA, JAL, and others; miles required vary by distance and are not part of the grading system used for this report card. Sample upgrade, LAX-Tokyo on AA flights requires 42,500 each way, which is 17,500 more miles than AA; but Cathay does not charge a co-pay (AA charges $550 each way) and upgrades are allowed on I fares, which start at $4,115, on this route. Bottom line is less cash out of pocket, but more miles.
Japan Airlines / JAL Mileage Bank: B
JAL gets a B for upgradable Business Class fares and a D for miles required (40,000+ each way), and an A in the savings category.
Rating Oneworld Loyalty Programs Based On Business to First Class Upgrades
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