Bidding for upgrades?
I am booked to fly with TAP air Portugal soon. I got an e-mail about bidding for upgrading to executive class.
As I do not really care what class I fly in and it is a relatively short flight at 3 hours, I was intending to put in a bit for a few euro but found the minimum the system allowed me to bid is over €100 per single leg and from there it went up in big steps.
Is it usual that you can only bid more than the ticket had cost when you bought it or have I missed my chance on bidding a small amount by waiting a day or so?
Best Answer
It's a trap for you to spend more money.
I've seen it on Air Canada.
If you have spare money (enough for the minimum bid), you could do it and could be lucky that no one else out bidded you and you just "won" an upgrade.
The thing is that you have to check if the upgrade price is more than the total price+bidding that you pay; if it is, then it's a win situation.
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What is bidding for an upgrade?
Plusgrade. What is Upgrade Bidding? Bidding on airline upgrades is basically like a blind auction for unsold seats on a flight. Over 50 major airlines use a platform called Plusgrade to let passengers bid on unused space in their business- and first-class cabins rather than flying with empty seats up front.How much should you bid to upgrade?
A good rule of thumb for bidding is to figure out the difference between the cost of your ticket and the cost of an upgraded ticket and bid 20% to 40% of the difference. There's no guarantee you'll win your bid, but if you get lucky it's an upgrade at significant savings.What airlines allow you to bid for an upgrade?
Some airlines don't offer the option to bid for an upgrade but they do offer the option to buy your upgrade. Airlines that do this include Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Virgin Australia, Etihad and KLM.How do you bid to upgrade to business class?
Follow this equation for a bid price: calculate the regular cost of a business class seat. Subtract what you paid for the economy fare, and aim for around 20% to 40% of the remaining price. Bid slightly above the minimum to beat the crowd, since most people will choose the minimum.Air Canada Upgrade Bidding Explained
More answers regarding bidding for upgrades?
Answer 2
With TAP, and with other airlines, I have never seen a possibility to only bid "a small amount" for an upgrade: The lowest possible bid was always a rather high price, no matter at what time I tried to access it.
Answer 3
As one who does this all the time:
- Calculate how much you'd spend on the airport and in flight
- Do you need fast track and a more private lounge?
- Would you like some more frequent flyer bonus points?
- A change to bring more luggage?
- Want a better seat if available?
I just picked business over economy for 20€ which makes it totally worth it for a 7 hours flight where nothing would have been included in economy.
For a 1 hour flight I'd say 20€ is enough if you're not going to drink any alcohol.
I've seen the starting price vary a lot for the very same flight, sometimes 20€ and sometimes 100€.
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