“If you want to get a room upgrade for your next hotel stay or just better service, nothing goes further than being polite and friendly to the person behind the desk. I see a lot of people with the “Do you know who I am?” attitude, and that won’t get you anything. It’s best to ask nicely.

• Get personal. Make your reservation over the phone. If you use the hotel’s website, you miss the chance to have a personal relationship. (Even if you book online, call the hotel after to confirm.) Tell the reservationist that it’s your first time in this city (if it is) and that you want to make this trip special, or gently remind him that you have a great relationship with the hotel (if you do). He’ll be more inclined to put a star next to your reservation.

• Time it right. All hotels have high seasons, low seasons, and days of the week that are slower. Generally, holidays and summer are the high season. Sunday and Monday are the quietest. If your schedule is flexible, book your trip during a slow period—you’ll be more likely to get a better room.

• Know what you want. Upgrades mean something different to everyone. Some people like a suite, while others want a view. Before you arrive, research the hotel’s features. That way, you can ask for something specific, such as a room near the spa or one with a fireplace.

• Be friendly. When you check in, be courteous. The person at the front desk is most likely to upgrade someone who hasn’t been demanding. If you’re planning on coming back, book a future reservation at check-in so they mark you as a repeat customer.” (via allure.com/magazine ) by Ross Klein former President of Starwood Hotels and Resort’s Luxury Brand Group

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“By James Gilden
Special to the Chicago Tribune

Scoring a free or low-cost upgrade from coach to business or first class is among the most coveted of traveler perks. And these days, airlines are offering fliers more ways than ever to fill their first- and business-class seats.

Frequent-flier miles, upgrade coupons and vouchers, last-minute paid upgrades and the ever more rare “operational upgrade” are some of the more common paths to a more comfortable flight. All these options and each individual airline’s policies around them have made winning the upgrade game a confusing and sometimes frustrating undertaking.

The rules of the game can change even when you are flying on the same airline.

A colleague of mine was flying from Chicago O’Hare to London’s Heathrow Airport in August on British Airways. She had purchased discounted tickets for her and her husband in World Traveller Plus, BA’s business-class lite, which comes with a bit more leg room than a regular economy class seat.


Four days before her flight she called BA to inquire about an upgrade to business class. For an additional $200 (cost to change the ticket) plus 15,000 frequent flier miles each, she secured business-class seats between Chicago and London.

Upon arrival in London, she inquired at the BA service desk at Heathrow about doing the same for her return flight to Chicago. She was confused and disappointed when she was told no, that only the flights from the States offered that type of upgrade.

Despite repeated queries to a BA spokesman and visiting BA’s Web site, it is about as clear as mud what exactly my colleague paid for and why it was not available on her return flight.



Unraveling all the various rules regarding upgrades is a challenge, even for someone who devotes his life to it.

”Do I get confused? Yes,” said Matthew Bennett, a.k.a. “Mr. Upgrade.” He is the publisher of the Web site FlightBliss.com and the monthly newsletter First Class Flyer, which has about 15,000 subscribers, he said.

”It takes time to understand them,” he says, likening upgrade policies in their complexity to insurance policies. “That’s our job to unravel them.”

The newsletter is written more for the frequent flier and business traveler, not the average leisure traveler. A one-year subscription costs $97. But FlightBliss features a free blog where Bennett weighs in with some of the latest news and tips on upgrades.

My colleague’s upgrade from the States was actually typical if unusual in that it was unavailable on her return flight.

Most airlines these days will not allow passengers who have purchased many types of discounted tickets to use miles to upgrade, especially on international flights. Some, like BA and American Airlines, charge an added fee to upgrade. Others, such as United, only allow upgrading on certain types of fares.

If you are booking tickets on United’s Web site, there is an option to book an upgradeable fare. But for the uninitiated, the array of seven choices is confusing.

I decided to test United’s upgradeable fare options for a flight from O’Hare to Heathrow in mid-November (these fares are for comparison only and may no longer be available).

When I clicked the first category of upgrades using miles — an alphabet soup of 10 fare types — I received a message saying that option was not available. The second option, “miles-MH,” yielded a round-trip economy class “upgrade eligible” fare of $822, or $340 more than the lowest non-upgradeable fare of $482. That is in addition to 30,000 frequent flier miles each way.

But here’s the rub. Even if you pay the extra $340, you are not guaranteed an upgrade. And if your upgrade is waitlisted and does not go through, you are not entitled to a refund even though the only benefit to the higher fare is the ability to upgrade.

Knowing the ins and outs of a particular airline’s policies is key to increasing the odds of getting an upgrade.” [Via chicagotribune.com]

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“We’ve all heard stories from friends or colleagues who have received free upgrades to business class, but is there anything you can do to improve your chances of being upgraded? According to Emirates Airlines, there is no sure-fire way to get upgraded unless you’ve paid for it, or earned it through frequent flyer miles.

Being a member of a frequent flyer programme greatly increases your chances, as these passengers are usually the first to be offered an upgrade if economy class is overbooked. If no frequent flyer passengers are onboard, travelers who paid full price for an economy class ticket will have priority over those paying a discounted fare.

If your schedule is flexible and time permits, you can also volunteer to be bumped in return for an upgrade to business class on the next flight, rather than an airline voucher towards a future trip.

It is always a good idea to dress smartly and carry professional looking luggage if you want to get upgraded to business class. You might be passed over if you don’t look the part. It also helps to travel solo and light. The easier you are to accommodate, the more likely it is that the gate agent will make an exception for you.

Explore cheap business class fares
Don’t automatically assume that business class is out of your budget, advises Girish Deshpande, branch supervisor at Al Rostamani Travel and Holidays, a Dubai-based travel agency. Depending on special discounts or promotions that might be available, the difference between a full coach fare and business class might be less than a few hundred dollars. Try to get quotes from one or more business class consolidator specialists.

Also consider the new generation of all-business class discount carriers, such as Maxjet and Silverjet, which currently fly between the UK and the US, but are looking to expand their destination portfolio to include locations such as Dubai.

Consider premium economy
A less expensive alternative to business class is premium economy, which is offered by such carriers as British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. One step above basic economy class, premium economy offers more legroom, wider seats, and laptop connections. Prices for premium economy class tickets are about 30-40 per cent higher on average than full fare economy tickets. Also, because these seats are limited in number, any overbooking in economy class could mean you being bumped up to business class.

Choose your seat carefully
If economy class is your only option, you can help make your journey more comfortable by choosing the best available seat, Deshpande said. Customers can reserve seats online on most airlines up to 24 hours before boarding, and careful seat selection is critical because not every economy seat is the same.

Websites such as Seatguru.com, Seatexpert.com, and UK-air.net provide detailed seating information for most major airlines with regard to leg room, seat width, recline level, and pitch (the distance between rows). Finding a seat with just a few extra inches of legroom can make a huge difference on a long flight. (Here’s a tip: there is extra space in the final rows of a Boeing 747 because the tapering of fuselage means there is one less seat on each side.)

Unfortunately, not all seats can be booked in advance, Deshpande points out. Emergency row seats usually cannot be reserved because airlines need to ensure that these passengers are physically able to help out in an emergency. Also, bulkhead rows are typically set aside for frequent flyers and families with small children.

If seats in these rows have not been pre-booked, it is best to arrive early at check in because they will be issued on a first-come first-serve basis. Keep in mind that some airlines, such as Virgin, charge a fee of up to $100 to reserve an emergency row seat, while bulkhead seats are usually free.

If all else fails, keep an eye out for an empty row nearby and stake your claim once the flight doors are closed, then stretch out, relax, and enjoy your good fortune. .” [Via ameinfo.com]

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