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Luck was in the air!
In August, I went to a wedding in England, and to get home I booked a roundtrip leaving Stockholm that had a mix of FinnAir business and Club World. We llew FinnAir through Chicago to LA, and then the return would originate in Chicago on BA metal. Roughly 6 weeks before my flight, BA released a ton of award avail and I was able to upgrade my flight to first using 20k Avios. ( one of the best uses of Avios IMO). Then Dave and I did a weekend trip to Shanghai. All was changed.
THE WEEKENDWARRIOR in Dave grew fast and he needed another trip.
Well, it just so happened, that I was headed to London for just 2 nights, right before New Years. Done deal! Dave grabbed a BA club world ticket using Avios in the hopes that another First Class seat would peel off on my flight.
Dave was on BA294 and I was on BA296.
Time passed and while seats continued to open in other cabins, routing, etc…they didn’t open how we wanted.
We were flying to the same place, on different flights. ENTER: BA’s same day change.
I thought, since I was on a revenue ticket, I would be able to call in 24 hours in advance and change my flight to his. Since there were 7 seats open ( out of 14) I didn’t see much of an issue with me switching First Class cabins. My flight, 296, had a full cabin and I figured BA would oblige the switch.
After 2 calls, and speaking with executive club I was informed that since I was upgraded with Avios, an Avios seat needed to be available in order to execute the change.
No dice. Gonna have to try at the airport…
Monitoring avail like a hawk, I finally arrive in Chicago.
The seat avail hadn’t changed. I forgot to screen cap it, but 1A and 1K were both still avail when I arrived 4.5 hours ahead of the earlier flight. I was first in line at check-in and waited for half and hour for them to open. Dave was delayed flying in, and I had his record locator just in case I could effect any change.
Once open I first asked the agent if I could switch to the earlier flight.
She needed to ask the ticketing desk behind the counter, and while she was gone I got Dave on the phone. I heard the counter over offering paid upgrades. After a quick consult she came back and printed off a new boarding pass for me.
BYAH!!!!!! Obstacle one was accomplished
I then asked if it was possible for Dave to upgrade over the phone on an award ticket. She went back to the ticketing desk and came back with a smile
YES! He could. The upgrade price was $709 and he pulled the trigger. We both confirmed seats on the same flight in First Class in seats 1A and 1K. Normally, I’m not sure the $709 is worth it, but to do that with your bestie I MEAN!!!!!!! CAHMONNNNNN!
I was allowed to put it on my credit card and she processed his upgrade.
Where there is a will, there is a way!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.