Upgrade F in 777-300ER (Old)

[OngL]

I posted this question in FT, I would like to hear more opinion.

I'm holding a commercial J ticket SIN-BCN-GRU. The flight duration is around 26 hours with 1.5 hours stop in BCN. I had row 11 seat but managed to get an upgrade to F Saver with 59,500 miles. I understand this is quite a high miles as the F saver full redemption is only 90k miles.

For those who have flown in 777-300ER (8 seat configuration). Is it worth the upgrade from J?

Thanks

PS: Newbie error, I should have posted this on the general forum. Apologies.

[mingster]

I haven't flown the old F on the 77W but I was in new F a few months back for both SIN-MEL and MEL-SIN and from my perspective I would've preferred to save the miles as there wasn't a noticeable difference in the seat, just mainly in the service and the meals (caviar). J savers were fully booked both ways (AFL GF weekend) which is why I couldn't "downgrade" myself. I'm currently booked on an F saver again in the 77WN in 3 weeks time for Tokyo and hoping that my J waitlist will clear soon. Now if it was Suites then I think the difference between J and F saver would be worth it but not for "normal" F plus you are right, the cost to upgrade is 2/3 that of a full redemption so I don't find them to be much "value". Just my personal opinion. YMMV.

I posted this question in FT, I would like to hear more opinion.

I'm holding a commercial J ticket SIN-BCN-GRU. The flight duration is around 26 hours with 1.5 hours stop in BCN. I had row 11 seat but managed to get an upgrade to F Saver with 59,500 miles. I understand this is quite a high miles as the F saver full redemption is only 90k miles.

For those who have flown in 777-300ER (8 seat configuration). Is it worth the upgrade from J?

Thanks

PS: Newbie error, I should have posted this on the general forum. Apologies.

[yflyer]

Hi OngL!

I've not flown SQ 77W F before, but I asked Mrs yflyer about it...she flew 77W F from Shanghai to SIN, and later on she flew 77W J from Incheon to SIN, both on daytime flights with full dinner service. At least on that sector, she said that she did not find 77W F particularly memorable, and her impression was that it was quite similar between J and F.

She did say that her only other F experience (another KF redemption), many years back, in the nose of an SIA 744 Megatop to and from LHR was far more memorable...

[OngL]

@Mingster, @yflyer,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I concur with your views. I had doubts in the beginning, as the old F and J does not really differ a lot, except if we are comparing old F with old J (777-200) which is narrow seat.

With similar seat (sans Caviar and top-tier champagne), I am better of in J. Use the miles for something else.

Is it so that generally upgrading commercial ticket is not worth the miles?

[Durian]

We flew Suites to Paris for Xmas then back from AMS in the old F.
Excluding the Suite from the discussion, the difference between J and F (be it old or new) is really subtle and intangible I'd say... better crew/pax ratio, better champagne, caviar (depending on time of the day)... a stronger feeling of exclusivity but the fundamentals are the same... considering how good SQ J is, I would save the miles and stick to J. If you are flushed with miles (which I doubt otherwise you would not ask), then F.

[KC*]

OngL - If you enjoy the added perks of super-attentive service, meals on demand, caviar and top-tier champagne, the under 60K miles from GRU all the way to SIN seems ok.

If you are like me, who is asleep for most of any flight, does not care much about caviar and is only so-so on champagne...then the premium is not really worth the miles. A J seat gives me what I need - lie flat and undisturbed.

Durian - the F-saver from AMS to SIN is unusually good deal because it is based on the old redemption scale, right? In such a case, I'd take advantage of it (and did so recently, too).

[SQflyergirl]

I posted this question in FT, I would like to hear more opinion.

I'm holding a commercial J ticket SIN-BCN-GRU. The flight duration is around 26 hours with 1.5 hours stop in BCN. I had row 11 seat but managed to get an upgrade to F Saver with 59,500 miles. I understand this is quite a high miles as the F saver full redemption is only 90k miles.

For those who have flown in 777-300ER (8 seat configuration). Is it worth the upgrade from J?

Thanks

PS: Newbie error, I should have posted this on the general forum. Apologies.

There are definite pros and cons to your dilemma, and the members have kindly pointed out the differences in service... but at the end of the day....

The real answer to your question is this - what does 59,500 Krisflyer miles mean to you?

On one hand, there are some members here (won't name names) who are in Long Haul Revenue Suites almost every single week, have got PPS reserve to last them till the end of time, and can potentially and honestly look me in the eye and say "if 59,500 miles was missing from my Krisflyer account I wouldn't know" - if you are like them, then i would say - go for it!

On the other hand, there are people like me, for whom travel is a rare and cherished event that happens maybe once a year or every other year, then to put it in perspective - 63,750 is good enough for a KUL-SIN-AKL one way redemption in suites, and I would rather have those two trips than just the one.

[Durian]

OngL - If you enjoy the added perks of super-attentive service, meals on demand, caviar and top-tier champagne, the under 60K miles from GRU all the way to SIN seems ok.

If you are like me, who is asleep for most of any flight, does not care much about caviar and is only so-so on champagne...then the premium is not really worth the miles. A J seat gives me what I need - lie flat and undisturbed.

Durian - the F-saver from AMS to SIN is unusually good deal because it is based on the old redemption scale, right? In such a case, I'd take advantage of it (and did so recently, too).

Indeed, KC* We "accidentally" flew back through AMS as it was the only European route with availability on Sunday 3 Jan to be back to work on Jan 4. And I was pleasantly surprised it costed "only" 72k miles vs 91k for the Suites SIN-CDG.

[HUGE AL]

...I asked Mrs yflyer about it...she flew 77W F from Shanghai to SIN, and later on she flew 77W J from Incheon to SIN, both on daytime flights with full dinner service. At least on that sector, she said that she did not find 77W F particularly memorable, and her impression was that it was quite similar between J and F.

She did say that her only other F experience (another KF redemption), many years back, in the nose of an SIA 744 Megatop to and from LHR was far more memorable...

In all fairness, PVG-SIN is quite a bit less distance than SIN-BCN-GRU.

...there are people like me, for whom travel is a rare and cherished event that happens maybe once a year or every other year...

"New F" and "Old F" are not THAT different.

F is still F; better than J, which is always greater than whY.

[OngL]

Indeed, KC* We "accidentally" flew back through AMS as it was the only European route with availability on Sunday 3 Jan to be back to work on Jan 4. And I was pleasantly surprised it costed "only" 72k miles vs 91k for the Suites SIN-CDG.

I didn't know there was old and new redemption chart. I'm planning a trip to Lisbon. I need to transit to an European City and take a connecting flight through a lcoal airlines to Lisbon. Would AMS a good deal then? I saw FRA is 160,000 in J before discount.

[OngL]

OngL - If you enjoy the added perks of super-attentive service, meals on demand, caviar and top-tier champagne, the under 60K miles from GRU all the way to SIN seems ok.

If you are like me, who is asleep for most of any flight, does not care much about caviar and is only so-so on champagne...then the premium is not really worth the miles. A J seat gives me what I need - lie flat and undisturbed.

Durian - the F-saver from AMS to SIN is unusually good deal because it is based on the old redemption scale, right? In such a case, I'd take advantage of it (and did so recently, too).

Good points, I called in to cancel my upgrade and get my 11A back. If it would be low load, I would stay on. Someone who flies on this route a lot mentioned mostly half to almost full load. In this case, the service won't be much different.

Paid S$ 22 happily for the penalty.

[Handiman]

Mr OngL visiting Couromoda ? Just a guest

[OngL]

Sao Paolo... For a meeting. It would be my first visit to the country and the city...

[KC*]

I didn't know there was old and new redemption chart. I'm planning a trip to Lisbon. I need to transit to an European City and take a connecting flight through a lcoal airlines to Lisbon. Would AMS a good deal then? I saw FRA is 160,000 in J before discount.

Correct me if I am wrong here:

When SQ last updated the redemption charts, Europe was split into two categories for J. Those that were served by the older 200ER were kept at a lower scale while those that got the fully lie-flat 300ER and subsequently the A380 were on a higher scale. F was usually not available on the lower scale as the 200ERs had only 2 classes. The points for F was raised for the routes that still had it.

However, they resurrected F for AMS when the 300ER was used again recently but the scale was kept as it was before F was taken off. Take advantage of it for now if you can.

I was originally planning to fly back from CDG recently but opted to fly home from AMS instead because of this.

[KC*]

"New F" and "Old F" are not THAT different.

F is still F; better than J, which is always greater than whY.

Agreee. The jump from J to F is more "software" than "hardware" in my opinion, so old and new is not much different. And it is largely lost on a bum like me.

But for those who enjoy the finer things in life...