And Why They Beat Discount Upgrades
The cash “co-pay” that airline mileage programs charge in addition to miles required to upgrade to Asia are expensive—in some cases $1,200 (as of June 15 on Continental and United)—which raises doubts about the value of upgrading from the lowest economy fare.
Is it better to go for a full-fare upgrade in the current airline-co-pay environment? (See chart below to the right.) That’s the question at the root of this month’s report card.
There are two classes of “full-economy fares,” which go by the code letters “B” and “Y,” odd as that may seem. (The difference between B and Y is that often times B fares can be less expensive, in dollars, than Y fares.) Both fares have fewer fare restrictions and require fewer miles to upgrade than discounted fares normally do.
Key points about full-fare—B and Y—upgrades to Asia
- At times, they cost only a few hundred dollars more than the lowest upgradeable fare.
- They can save up to 20,000 miles as compared to upgrades valid with discount economy.
- They often earn more redeemable and/or elite miles—up to 50% bonuses.
- Often they have fewer restrictions, such as advance-purchase requirements or change fees.
- They are often exempt from co-pays, which can save up to $1,200.
- They are often perfect for business or last-minute leisure travel, when paying a higher fare is inevitable anyway, and come with all the above advantages and savings.
Surprise: “Alliance Upgrades”
In recent years, airlines have come together to offer mileage upgrade award charts at the “alliance level,” independent and beyond their own respective upgrade program. This means that you can upgrade an economy ticket on a partner airline of your preferred airline program.
Often alliance upgrades are allowed only on full fares—not discounted fares—mainly because alliance upgrades, same as full-fare upgrades, require no co-pays.
What is really surprising is that alliance upgrades can sometimes be better than non-alliance ones. The winner in this category is Star Alliance. Continental’s OnePass or United’s Mileage Plus actually offers a better deal on mileage upgrades for travel on their partners—among them All Nippon and Asiana—rather than on the two airlines’ own program.
[aside headline="Discounted Versus Full-Fare Upgrade Comparison" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
From Los Angeles to Tokyo, American’s B fare is $2,281 (plus taxes and fees) plus 30,000 miles round-trip. AA’s lowest upgradeable fare averages about $1,100 (V booking class), but requires a $700 co-pay, bringing the tab to $1,811—plus 50,000 miles. By paying about $470 more, you save 20,000 miles.
Sample Upgrade Comparison: Los Angeles-Tokyo on American
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Summary: Now that may not seem like much of a savings considering that it costs about $500 to buy 20,000 miles (@ 2.5¢ per mile). But with the B-fare, you also earn 50% more elite qualifying miles. EQMs are valued highly by elites, because most airlines don’t sell them. Moreover, if you cancel your trip, you only pay a $300 penalty, whereas with the V fare you get no refund at all!
Getting the 30,000 miles needed for an upgrade is easy even if you don’t have any credit card points to transfer, as American lets anyone buy 40,000 miles annually, more than enough for a full-fare upgrade (30,000 miles), but not enough for a restrictive upgrade (50,000), unless you buy 25,000 from two different accounts.[/aside]
Ground Rules
The marks are based on our standard three criteria: ease of earning miles without flying the carrier, number of credit-card-transfer partners, and return on miles. For this Report Card, we also factored in three other metrics: miles saved, miles earned, and a half grade bonus for extra elite credit
The Grades
American Airlines (oneworld member) / AAdvantage: C
Offers full-fare upgrades on both B and Y fares for 30,000 miles round-trip to Japan and China. Disadvantage: Doesn’t offer oneworld alliance upgrade to Asia.
Continental & United (Star Alliance members) / OnePass & MileagePlus:
There are two options: each carriers’ traditional upgrade award chart developed by their own programs, and another that the Star Alliance members created, that works with many of the alliance partners. Each has different rules: see below for a comparison.
Option #1: “United/Continental (merging programs) Award Chart Upgrade”
Using the upgrade from within their respective OnePass & Mileage Plus programs: D-
We combined the two airlines because, as of June 15, both will offer the same full-fare upgrade, which varies depending on region and fare paid. A Central Asia B fare costs 70,000 miles and a Y fare is 50,000. To Japan, North & South Asia a B fare is 60,000 miles, and a Y fare is 40,000. This is the only airline that charges the same amount of miles for a full-fare upgrade as it does for its low-fare upgrades.
Option #2: “Alliance Upgrade Award Chart”
Star Alliance Upgrade (All Nippon & Asiana) / OnePass & MileagePlus: B+
On the flip side, Continental/United offers the best deals on All Nippon (E, B, and Y fares) and Asiana (B and Y fares) via its Star Alliance upgrade program. On LAX-Tokyo, the Star Alliance upgrade costs only 50,000 miles—10,000 fewer than United charges—and is valid with fares from $1,950 to $2,050 (depending on the airline you choose). That’s $1,600 less than United charges.
Delta (SkyTeam member) / SkyMiles: D-
Charges 25,000 miles round-trip for upgrades on Y fares, which are expensive ($4,300 and up), but 25,000 miles less than the lowest fare upgrade. SkyTeam alliance upgrade offered on Y fares only.
Japan Airlines (oneworld member) / JAL Mileage Bank: D-
Offers full-fare upgrades only on Y fares (50,000 miles roundtrip to Japan). To other Asian countries the cost is 55,000 to 60,000 miles. We included JAL because it offers more destinations than AA, and often undercuts published Business Class fares.
Sample Full-Economy Upgrade Awards to Business Class
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