What is a proactive upgrade at British Airways and is it good value?

British Airways sometimes make you an offer to upgrade your ticket after you have booked, which is referred to as a proactive upgrade in some circles. The pricing for these is usually less than it would cost to buy a ticket in the next higher cabin.

You will see these offers when you access Manage My Booking. It is usually only offered when you have a one way or return flight, as the IT system can’t handle things if you have connecting flights for example.

Proactive Upgrade in Manage My Booking

When you are being offered the upgrade, you will see a screen such as the one below. It notes that the price being offered is a Limited Special Offer.

The pricing is all inclusive so you pay exactly the amount listed. This is cheaper than buying an upgrade in the normal way, which can run into several figures. Once you click it, you will see the next screen. Complimentary Champagne is touted as one of the benefits, which is cute. British Airways serve actual Champagne on their flights which I really like, so that’s a win for me. If you proceed with the proactive upgrade, the system will take your payment and you’ll be issued with an updated ticket. All that’s left is to go and select your new seat.

Is It Worth It?

The answer here is, “it depends”. Free booze is pretty useless to me if I am heading on a business trip and can’t drink on the outbound. However, it may be something I’d consider on the return. Also, the extra luggage allowance might make a difference for some.

Upgrades can be as little as £60 on a short sector from Leeds Bradford to London Heathrow. The Dublin to London City offer above was €89, while the return from London Heathrow was offered at €99.

London Heathrow to Athens has been seen at £149 to upgrade which for a four hour flight is well worth it. It all depends on how much you want to spend. Examples of the prices offered are on this thread on FlyerTalk – just click to display the Wiki.

It is not only limited to European flights. You will also see these on long haul services, to upgrade from World Traveller to World Traveller Plus or from World Traveller Plus to Club World.

Overall Thoughts

Getting a proactive upgrade offer from British Airways is a nice surprise. Clearly it is to maximise revenue at the airline, but even so it is sometimes a very good deal.

As someone who likes to eat food and drink Champagne when flying, it is often a no brainer for me as it’s a nice little treat. What do you think of these upgrades? Do you take them or find them too much? Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image via British Airways.