You can upgrade Qantas flights using American miles — but is it worth doing?

07.03.2024 - 22:40 / thepointsguy.com / Airlines

You can already use American Airlines miles to upgrade American flights. You can also redeem American miles to upgrade British Airways and Iberia flights booked into some high-fare classes.

But American Airlines promised earlier this year to introduce the ability to upgrade flights on other partners using AAdvantage miles in 2024. Now, it's starting to make good on this promise by introducing the ability to upgrade Qantas flights using American miles. Here's what you need to know.

The good news is that you can redeem American miles or cash to upgrade most Qantas-operated flights through the Plusgrade website. Almost all fares — including AAdvantage award tickets and travel booked through online travel agencies — can be upgraded, with the primary exception being sale fare classes for international flights.

Once you've booked your Qantas-operated flight, you can check whether your flight is eligible and the upgrade rates by heading to the Plusgrade website. Once there, you must enter your Qantas confirmation code and last name.

You must upgrade each segment individually if you have multiple Qantas-operated flights on your ticket. Assuming your fare is eligible, you'll initially see an option to bid for a cash upgrade. Using the slider, you can choose a specific amount to bid for your upgrade.

Here's the default bid for me to move from Qantas premium economy to business class on a long-haul flight from Sydney Airport (SYD) to Santiago Airport (SCL) this summer. For my flight, the potential bids range from $585 to $3,490 per person.

You can also toggle from cash to miles to see the number of American miles required for an upgrade. You can't change the number of miles you bid for the upgrade, as it is static for your specific flight and date.

You may see multiple upgrade options depending on the class you've booked and the cabins offered on your flight. If you have multiple passengers on your reservation, you must request to upgrade all of the passengers. If you only want to upgrade some passengers, you may be able to contact the agency or airline you booked with and ask to separate the travelers you don't want to upgrade from your reservation.

Once you submit an upgrade request, you'll get a confirmation email from Qantas. However, upgrades won't be confirmed until 24 hours or less before departure. So, you won't know until shortly before your flight whether your upgrade bid was successful.

You can cancel your request anytime before Qantas confirms your upgrade. If you requested an upgrade with cash, you can change your bid anytime before your upgrade is confirmed. You can only submit new upgrade requests up to five hours before departure for domestic flights and 10 hours before departure for