Qantas passengers can now bid for upgrades to premium economy on international flights using a mix of money and frequent flyer points.
Expanding on the initial ‘Bid Now’ scheme launched in February for business class upgrades, it works in much the same way – if your booking is eligible, you’ll receive an email from Qantas roughly seven days before departure, inviting you to submit a bid.
Qantas passengers who don’t receive this email and are travelling within the next seven days can also use the Qantas Bid Now website to check their eligibility, as the ability to lodge a bid varies from booking to booking at Qantas’ discretion.
Premium economy bids start at just 5,000 Qantas frequent flyer points, which are then paired with a cash component – such as 5,000 Qantas Points plus $1,000.
However, bids for premium economy can only be submitted in conjunction with a business class upgrade bid on the same flight, making it more of a ‘backup plan’ should your business class upgrade be unsuccessful.
Upgrades via the ‘Bid Now’ system are processed between 12 and 24 hours before departure and only after regular frequent flyer upgrade requests have been considered, but may trump a frequent flyer whose initial request was unsuccessful and had also filed for an ‘upgrade at the gate’.
Qantas offers premium economy on flights to Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Santiago, Johannesburg, and from December, San Francisco.
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