Upgrading Seats on Long Flights Worth It?

[younginvestor2013]

Thought I would provide an update to the group. Nothing is finalized yet but..


I recently signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card to get the $500 sign up bonus. The $500 bonus equated to 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points which fortunately transfer 1:1 to United's Mileage Program.

I learned that I can upgrade to Business Class (with the lie flat beds!!) for 60,000 points (which I would have in my account after factoring in already earned United points from work travel) plus $1,200.

This obviously is a lot more than the $400 to upgrade to United Economy Plus, but I am thinking of splurging. Given how long the flights are and that I would really be able to sleep if I were able to lay down and take a sleeping pill, I think it is worth it. I think I would feel very rested upon arrival in both ways. I think Economy Plus would be nice with the extra leg room, but I am doubtful on whether or not I would be able to sleep well in the upright position.

 

[grasshopper]

We flew United business class from Lima in what I would call a sleeping pod, got some good shut eye on the red eye.

 

[Souschef]

We have a BA VISA, and if you spend more than a certain amount, you get a free companion ticket. That, along with our miles, got us Business Class seats. The attached picture shows what the BA Business Class looks like
Another advantage of Business Class is the use of the lounges.

 

[ivinsfan]

I hope it works for you but getting those points will take some time. First you need to do the minimum spend and wait for Chase to post those bonus points. Then you have to wait for the transfer from Chase to United.
On the Sapphire card you can book travel from the reward website and you would get a 20% bonus on those points at the time of booking.

And last but not least 50Kin United miles might result in some nice free flights with a little bit of planning.so you have the original ticket cost, 60K in miles and another 1200 in cash, are there any United flyers here you know if this is a good deal?

 

[Texas Proud]

We have a BA VISA, and if you spend more than a certain amount, you get a free companion ticket. That, along with our miles, got us Business Class seats. The attached picture shows what the BA Business Class looks like
Another advantage of Business Class is the use of the lounges.

Not sure how they are now.... but when I worked in London I got to travel business back to the US... I will tell you that Continental (now part of United) was not that great... but Virgin was really great.... first, they had a driver pick you up from your home and take you to a special gate to get by security... then their lounge had great drinks and food... I would fly Virgin every time if I could...

 

[younginvestor2013]

I hope it works for you but getting those points will take some time. First you need to do the minimum spend and wait for Chase to post those bonus points. Then you have to wait for the transfer from Chase to United.
On the Sapphire card you can book travel from the reward website and you would get a 20% bonus on those points at the time of booking.

And last but not least 50Kin United miles might result in some nice free flights with a little bit of planning.so you have the original ticket cost, 60K in miles and another 1200 in cash, are there any United flyers here you know if this is a good deal?

Actually I already have the ultimate reward points in my chase account (they just credited today) and I read online that once you initiate the transfer to your united account from chase it credits usually instantly.

There is the opportunity cost of the $500 / 50,000 rewards points but at the same time it is not coming out of my pocket.


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[audreyh1]

Thought I would provide an update to the group. Nothing is finalized yet but..


I recently signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card to get the $500 sign up bonus. The $500 bonus equated to 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points which fortunately transfer 1:1 to United's Mileage Program.

I learned that I can upgrade to Business Class (with the lie flat beds!!) for 60,000 points (which I would have in my account after factoring in already earned United points from work travel) plus $1,200.

This obviously is a lot more than the $400 to upgrade to United Economy Plus, but I am thinking of splurging. Given how long the flights are and that I would really be able to sleep if I were able to lay down and take a sleeping pill, I think it is worth it. I think I would feel very rested upon arrival in both ways. I think Economy Plus would be nice with the extra leg room, but I am doubtful on whether or not I would be able to sleep well in the upright position.

Are you upgrading or buying a ticket outright with points? Upgrading with points usually means you're put on a wait list, and fliers who have higher status, or anyone who pays for the upgrade will outrank you, and you may not know until boarding time. So it's a possibility, but not a slam dunk.

 

[check6]

But I have been in planes to or from Europe that were booked solid. Absolutely full, and the middle seats in Economy Plus were taken up by the people being assigned seats at the last minute - usually some big group traveling together, like students with teachers.

And non-revs.

 

[kramer]

I will go against the grain and say that upgrading on a decent airline from economy to economy plus for $400 is absolutely not worth it to me -- in fact, I probably wouldn't even pay $100. I am 6 feet tall, 170 pounds. So I guess I am long and not wide.

I fly a round trip across the Pacific Ocean each year and have plenty of room to stretch my legs in an aisle seat in economy on the major Asian carriers (the last 4 years I flew one round trip on each of Korean Air, EVA, Japan Air, Philippine Air).

Now, I did fly on United Economy domestic last month in the USA, and those seats are cramped!! But a major Asian airline is totally different, like night and day compared to those domestic flights in terms of space and service.

Now if I were flying an airline like United going international or one of the cheap Chinese airlines like China Southern or China Eastern, I would be worried about personal leg space.

 

[friar1610]

Hi ER Community:

I am traveling to Asia in August from Chicago. The first leg of my flight is 13 hours followed by a connecting 7 hour flight. Same for the trip back.

I am fairly tall (6'2") and have been contemplating upgrading to a Economy Plus seat on United. The upgrade would be about $400 round trip (note: I paid only $650 round trip for my flight) and is only applicable to the 13 hour legs (not the 7 hour connecting flights).

Of course I am having an internal battle trying to decide if the cost is worth it. For those of you who don't know, Economy Plus only gives you about 5" of extra leg room + extra pitch, but per my research on SeatGuru's website, you can secure more "preferred" seats by doing your homework. This does not include all of the extras that First Class gets you (better food, more space, lay flat bed, etc).

Just curious to hear if anyone has had experience with these seats and if you think the cost is worth it?

I haven't read all the responses you've already gotten, so you may have already received this advice. My wife and I went to New Zealand last year and upgraded to Premium Economy. Here is the type of seat arrangement we had:

777-300 Premium Economy - Onboard Your Flight - Air New Zealand

I believe this is only available on certain types of aircraft. But, if wherever you are going is serviced by Air NZ, I can't recommend this upgrade enough! Also, everything about Air NZ was exceptional, in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Air NZ other than having been a passenger on this one round-trip.

 

[Sojourner]

I think Economy Plus would be nice with the extra leg room, but I am doubtful on whether or not I would be able to sleep well in the upright position.

If you take enough of the right kind of sleeping pill, you will be out like a light even in a cramped coach seat. I've found that a 3mg dose of Lunesta reliably does it for me. If I were you, I'd just go for the Economy Plus and then pop some Lunesta about 30 minutes into the flight. The economics of this approach are much more favorable, as Lunesta is typically no more than about $5 per pill. Ambien also works for many people and is even cheaper, but I've found Lunesta to be the superior zzz-drug.

 

[Amethyst]

I hope my question is appropriate for this thread. I've always flown coach for Uncle Sam, often red-eye to Europe. As tired as I get while traveling, I never had a problem falling asleep in the coach seat. But...the flight attendants kept waking up the cabin during the night, mainly to offer cr@p from the carts or get people to sign up for a credit card or something. Does this happen in upgraded seats, too?

 

[NoiseBoy]

@younginvestor

60,000 miles on United equals a free roundtrip economy coach ticket to Europe. Add fees and the economy plus upgrade and your airfare will be about $400 total. That is the path I choose for my trips to London and Paris. I really wanted to use my miles to upgrade to business class, but in the end I could not pass up the really low cost flights. OTH I think my cash cost to upgrade to business was higher than what you are seeing. $1,200 roundtrip to Europe in Business is a good deal I think.

 

[FIYes]

I have never upgraded, but as we get older who knows? So far, I have decided that I would prefer to travel twice (or more) as often than upgrade.

Last year, I did investigate upgrading for trip to China, but I was unwilling to spend 60,000 miles per person plus $1200 per person to upgrade. To put that in perspective, the per person dollar amount to upgrade was significantly more than the dollar amount per person that we paid, including tips, for our recent transatlantic cruise. The mileage cost to upgrade was twice the mileage cost for our return flight home from Europe following our cruise. The recent cruise and trip was a much more rewarding use of our travel dollars and miles than an upgrade would have been.


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[Big_Hitter]

Last year, I did investigate upgrading for trip to China, but I was unwilling to spend 60,000 miles per person plus $1200 per person to upgrade.

that's cheap compared to getting DVT in a leg, trust me

 

[FIYes]

DVT is a risk. That is why we always get up and move around on long flights. DH and I take a preflight aspirin. DH wears compression socks on long flights.


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[Big_Hitter]

DVT is a risk. That is why we always get up and move around on long flights. DH and I take a preflight aspirin. DH wears compression socks on long flights.


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it's a lot easier if you upgrade seats, JS, and worth the $$$ IMO

aspirin (which I can't take any longer since I'm on Xarelto after the DVT) and compression socks won't eliminate the risk

 

[manerac]

I've found that a 3mg dose of Lunesta reliably does it for me.

Yikes, that's 3 times the recommended daily dosage.

 

[FI by 2024]

And last but not least 50Kin United miles might result in some nice free flights with a little bit of planning.so you have the original ticket cost, 60K in miles and another 1200 in cash, are there any United flyers here you know if this is a good deal?

I typically book my flights home for the holidays with United points. If I book early enough, I can get a cross country round trip flight for 25K miles plus the 9/11 fee. Meaning I can fly round trip for Thanksgiving and Christmas for 50K miles plus about $22. If I miss out on the economy saver tickets, I can still purchase one domestic round trip for that amount or like somebody said do a round trip to Europe for not much more.

If I were the OP, I'd use $400 to upgrade to Economy Plus on his original trip, then use his bonus miles + $800 to fund another trip somewhere with a friend or partner. I'm of the opinion that more trips is better than a few hours of relatively more comfort. But, everybody is different.

 

[audreyh1]

I hope my question is appropriate for this thread. I've always flown coach for Uncle Sam, often red-eye to Europe. As tired as I get while traveling, I never had a problem falling asleep in the coach seat. But...the flight attendants kept waking up the cabin during the night, mainly to offer cr@p from the carts or get people to sign up for a credit card or something. Does this happen in upgraded seats, too?

In first class they ask you ahead of time if you want to be disturbed for meals etc. In economy plus they walk the aisles just like in economy.

 

[audreyh1]

Is upgrading on short flights worth it?

Well - if the upgrade to first class is offered cheap, there are some side bennies.

We were recently offered to upgrade the first leg for $69 and I took it because I was concerned about a shortish layover and needing to change terminals.

Well, upgrading just one leg gave us multiple free checked baggage for the whole flight, and group 1 boarding for both legs even though we are in economy for the second leg.

Just kind of a nice side effect of accepting the upgrade offer on one leg.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Is upgrading on short flights worth it?

DFW to IAH - coach - $101 - first $183

I'll take first cause I'll be checking two bags. No brainer.

 

[bclover]

that's cheap compared to getting DVT in a leg, trust me

Not just DVT. I have osteoarthritis in the knees, seriously bad knees and for me and for me only, not arriving to my destination in pain with swollen joints is more than worth the upgrade price.

11 hours from NYC to Hawaii in coach put me under for an entire 2 days. ice packs and tons of anti inflammatory and I did get up and walk around.

 

[Big_Hitter]

11 hours from NYC to Hawaii in coach put me under for an entire 2 days. ice packs and tons of anti inflammatory and I did get up and walk around.

at least you can take anti-inflammatories - I can't

 

[explanade]

Just so you know, on United, $1099 is the most you should ever have to pay for economy plus seats for 3 to 9 people per year. That covers the subscriber and up to 8 companions on the same reservation on global flights for a whole year.

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/products/subscriptions/purchase/offerSep.aspx

For two people it's $899. If you're flying lower 48 only, knock off $200 in both cases.

Might be worth shooting for Premier Gold. Have to spend $6000 in airfare though.

But you get other benefits.