The Overlooked Loyalty Factor

Premium travelers often choose an airline based on its elite status ‘benefits,’ but comparing carriers’ ‘upgradeable fare’ fine print can be just as important.

‍Simply put, the fares the airlines make available for upgrading with frequent flyer miles varies significantly. In the chart below, you’ll see that 30,000 miles earns you an upgrade with most airlines domestically, but your out-of-pocket costs differ significantly — because not every airline allows you to upgrade from the lowest fare levels. To illustrate, look at the upgradeable fare for travel between Chicago and Boston. American’s lowest upgradeable fare costs $158; Continental’s fare is $393 (248% higher); and Delta comes in at $1,556 (984% higher than American, 395% higher than Continental).

Alaska, American, America West (elites only), United (domestically only), and US Airways allow upgrades with any published fare — not a bad selling point. (Many travelers fly these carriers for this reason alone.) Northwest and Continental recently increased the fare levels valid for mileage upgrades, as did United in 2002 on international routes. It’s been awhile since Delta’s upgradeable fares were a value.

Start with the Right Credit Card

One way to take advantage of the fare discrepancies is to carry the right credit card — one that gives you the most redemption options. For example, a Continental Chase MasterCard card earns you only one mile per dollar spent, and the airline’s upgradeable fares are on the high side. In contrast, the AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest credit card offers 1.25 miles per dollar spent (when transferring 20,000 points at a time), and redemption privileges among 31 different frequent flyer programs.

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Throw Mile-Purchase Options Into the Mix

Here’s another way to get the miles you need to upgrade: just buy them. Most airlines offer the opportunity to purchase 30,000 miles per calendar year. When planning a trip, first determine which airline offers the lowest upgradeable fare, then buy the miles you need to upgrade.

Playing off Alliance Partners

Using alliance partners wisely can give you additional leverage. Take our example above: rather than fly on Delta — even if it’s your elite-earning carrier of choice — you might opt to travel on Continental or Northwest (alliance and elite-earning partners) because they usually offer lower upgradeable fares.

Let’s say you earn your miles on a Continental credit card and you want to cash in mileage but Continental has no available upgrade seats. It’s your loss. But the Starpoints card allows you to transfer those same miles to one of Continental’s partners, Delta or Northwest, giving you a better chance of snaring a seat.

When Upgradeable Coach Fares are Higher than Published First Class

Here’s a real airfare oddity: On many Delta routes, the published First Class fare is LESS THAN the upgradeable fare. Example: Delta’s San Francisco– Atlanta round-trip First Class fare is now $584. The upgradeable fare is $1,510 — a whopping 258% more! In addition to the higher fare, Delta requires 20K of your hard-earned miles for the upgrade. Lesson: Before considering mileage upgrades, look at the cost of paying for a First Class fare outright. Reservationists won’t necessarily recommend this to you.

Other Considerations

• Look closely at the fine print: Continental has started charging a ‘service fee’ in addition to the upgradeable fare and 30,000 miles for upgrades to Hawaii.
 
• America West, Continental, and Northwest discriminate against non-elites (e.g. America West charges 10,000 more miles to upgrade from the lowest fares).
 
• First Class fares to Hawaii are at record lows, particularly from the Midwest and East Coast — often a better value than using miles to upgrade.
 
• US Airways remains one of the best values going at 20K miles to upgrade — and valid with most fares.

Remember: Upgrades are like snowflakes, no two are created alike.

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