I’ve blogged previously on how to upgrade your flights under the new business class regime, and so I was surprised to find out that some of my research wasn’t quite right. I’m currently booked on a 9+ hour flight from Chicago to Rome in early August. The nice folks at Carlson Wagonlit went ahead and ticketed the flight so I could request an upgrade from American Airlines. I knew I was ticketed in YCA, and was stupid to assume that that fare was “full fare.” After looking at their website, I thought I’d be out 20-30k miles for the upgrade. Turns out I’d be out 50k + $600 (termed a “copay”) for two tickets, as YCA counts as “discounted economy class” as far as upgrades are concerned. Assuming a value of ~ $.02 per airline mile, the upgrade would set me back $1600, 4x more than the $400 I was expecting to pay. That said, it’s still cheaper than cost constructing, as the difference between a YCA fare and a regular Y fare is running ~$2400 for two tickets. Plus, if you flush with miles, the $300 copay might not seem all that bad.

Nell asks if miles for a US carrier can be used to upgrade on codeshare flights operated by the foreign carrier. As John Dinkelman liked to say, “it depends.” Nell specifically asked about using Delta miles on Air France, and the answer is “yeah, if you book last year.” Sadly, the loophole that let you use Delta miles to upgrade on CDG-bound AF flights closed in 2007. Delta operates two flights out of ATL to CDG (I think they’re DL 22/23) that can be upgraded. The only international partner that Delta upgrades with is Singapore Airlines (due to an earlier agreement). Many airlines have bilateral agreements to allow each other’s upgrades on codeshares, so you’ll have to check the rules or do a search on the FlyerTalk boards for your specific pair.

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