Dear Joel,

Hi. I recently purchased a roundtrip to London, Gatwick on British Airways. And return also on British Airways but leaving from Heathrow. My first time overseas and I am traveling by myself. I was wondering how I would be able to get myself upgraded to first class. Please let me know how to go about this.

Thank You,
Andy

Hi Andy,

British Airways tends to have one of the more stringent polices on upgrades. Their official rules state that they will only upgrade a passenger if they have a full fare ticket, and then the passenger must use 40,000 miles from his/her Executive Club account or transfer the miles from an American Express Member Rewards Program account. This 40,000-mile upgrade would allow you to upgrade from coach to business class or from business class to first class. Since it is difficult to upgrade on British Airways, my first recommendation would be to see if you could use an alternative airline, preferably a domestic carrier. Domestic carriers tend to have more relaxed upgrade policies. If you must fly on British Airways, call them immediately and inquire as to how full the business and first class cabins are. And then ask to be put on the wait list for an upgrade. If the flight is too full, check to see if there is a flight that might be less full. When you arrive at the airport, try again to be put on the waitlist. Then speak to a gate agent and let them know that this is your first flight and that you would appreciate any upgrades that they might have. To give you a little inspiration, on my first flight to London, I flew on a very discounted ticket and told the gate agent a similar story, and I was successfully upgraded. I cover this story in more detail on page 88 of The Penny Pincher Passport to Luxury Travel.

Good luck!
Joel