TravelUp - Insane "penalty" to upgrade

zagfles

malkie76 wrote: »

I never understand this logic???? Why would spending extra on flights limit your ability to ‘make memories’ at the destination?

The OP is getting diddled buying tickets via a third party which limit the flexibility to make changes - you might not be in this situation had you booked direct.

Other option is to wait until you are at the airport and ask for a cash upgrade then which (subject to availability) could be extremely affordable.

I think the point is that other extravagances are generally far better value than a flight class upgrade, and would create better memories.

When we went on honeymoon I was determined to go first class, but when I looked into the cost (flights to LA) it would have been £3200 rather than £400 each, ie an extra £5600 for the 2 of us :eek:. We did consider it, could have afforded it, but in the end decided it would be far better to spend that £5600 on 2 weeks of luxury rather than a few hours, inc a flight through the Grand Canyon plus an extra week for a side trip to Hawaii.

Of course YMMV, and there are probably ways to get cheap upgrades using airmiles etc, but in general flight class upgrades seem to represent very poor value, and money is better spent elsewhere IMO.

meer53

malkie76 wrote: »

I never understand this logic???? Why would spending extra on flights limit your ability to ‘make memories’ at the destination?

The OP is getting diddled buying tickets via a third party which limit the flexibility to make changes - you might not be in this situation had you booked direct.

Other option is to wait until you are at the airport and ask for a cash upgrade then which (subject to availability) could be extremely affordable.

It's obvious ! Spend more on flights means less money to do and see things once you're there !

malkie76

The OP doesnt suggest any financial constrains. That’s my point - why not fly in whatever class you want and spend whatever you want while on holiday.

If you are strapped to a budget then you’ll need to make choices, which I guess is your point? Personally I’d prefer to save and travel in comfort and be at liberty to do whatever I liked at the destination.

Pollycat

I agree it's not a 'penalty'.
We were invited to bid for an upgrade to the next class - economy to premium economy - on flights with Singapore Airlines.
There was a bid range that started at the amount we'd paid for the tickets.
We declined to bid.

OP:
What was the saving between booking with Travelup and direct with the airline?
Not sure about Travelup but lots of online 3rd party ticket sellers have poor reputations.
e.g. booking flights without hold luggage then charging more than the airline would to add it
big problems if you need to change any element of your flight
not passing on any changes the airline makes

zagfles

malkie76 wrote: »

The OP doesnt suggest any financial constrains. That’s my point - why not fly in whatever class you want and spend whatever you want while on holiday.

If you are strapped to a budget then you’ll need to make choices, which I guess is your point?

Everyone has financial constraints and is "strapped to a budget", the only difference is the size of it. Would you travel there by private jet with your favourite band to entertain you on the way? If not why not?

Personally I’d prefer to save and travel in comfort and be at liberty to do whatever I liked at the destination.

Which one of these would you stay at? http://www.galeriemagazine.com/9-of-the-most-expensive-hotel-suites-in-new-york-city/

Back in the real world, unless you are a multi-billionaire, you will have a budget for your holiday, and so need to compromise on some aspects of your holiday. Even if it's just having your second favourite band on your private jet as they're a bit cheaper, so you can afford the extra $25,000 to stay at the The Mark instead of slumming it at the Four Seasons.

And if you are a multi-billionaire, you won't be reading MoneySavingExpert

proformance

Pollycat wrote: »

I agree it's not a 'penalty'.
We were invited to bid for an upgrade to the next class - economy to premium economy - on flights with Singapore Airlines.
There was a bid range that started at the amount we'd paid for the tickets.
We declined to bid.

OP:
What was the saving between booking with Travelup and direct with the airline?
Not sure about Travelup but lots of online 3rd party ticket sellers have poor reputations.
e.g. booking flights without hold luggage then charging more than the airline would to add it
big problems if you need to change any element of your flight
not passing on any changes the airline makes

This sounds pretty much aligned to what I've experienced with these guys.

My missus has learnt a lesson - never book with these small time untrusted agents!

EssexExile

zagfles wrote: »

And if you are a multi-billionaire, you won't be reading MoneySavingExpert

Of course I will, how do you think I got to be a multi-billionaire?

zagfles

EssexExile wrote: »

Of course I will, how do you think I got to be a multi-billionaire?

I suppose those savings from switching your energy supplier, stoozing credit cards and getting good deals on foreign currency soon add up

malkie76

I shouldn’t expect to hold a conversation on MSE without it quickly devolving into extremes to try and make a point.

If everything you want to do on holiday costs £6k, and flights in business cost £4K then your holiday budget is £10k. If you don’t have £10k then save until you do - if doing everything is important to you. If not, then compromise - clearly flights is an obvious way to save, while still getting from A to B.

I look at holidays as a total event then work out how much it will cost, rather than start with a set budget and work out what I can get with my money. Two camps, and people will sit in one of them.

As someone who has flown TATL in a private jet I would thoroughly not recommend it - scheduled airlines offer a far superior service. Of course, you could charter a wide bodied airliner from any main airline and create any service you wanted. I have been on a privately chartered BA 747 on a TATL (clearly I wasn’t paying) which was fun, but just a regular service was paid for. The advantage was a direct flight to where we wanted to go outside of the network.

Pollycat

proformance wrote: »

This sounds pretty much aligned to what I've experienced with these guys.

My missus has learnt a lesson - never book with these small time untrusted agents!

I hope your flights go perfectly and that you love New York (I did).
I think there might be a thread on all things New York on MSE.
Check out the air travel board on TripAdvisor for nightmare stories about lots of 3rd party airline ticket booking companies.