Qantas Bid Now lets you upgrade flights with cash

Even if you don’t have a big stash of Qantas Points, a Business Class seat is not out of reach. Thanks to Qantas Bid Now, you can swap your Economy seat for one at the front of the plane. All it takes is some luck, plus a bid of cash with or without Qantas Points.

Whether your travels take you to London or Launceston, here’s how to fly smarter with Qantas Bid Now.

What is Qantas Bid Now?

Qantas Bid Now lets you upgrade your seat using either cash or a mix of cash and Qantas Points. You don’t need to be an elite frequent flyer to take advantage of this. It’s powered by Plusgrade – a company that facilitates cash upgrades for many carriers such as Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines.

Your offer is considered starting from 24 hours before the flight – after all Classic Upgrade Rewards with points have been processed. This does put you at the bottom of the pecking order, but at least you have a shot, right?

To see if your flight is eligible for upgrading, visit the Bid Now page and enter your booking reference. Note that not all itineraries are eligible – you need to be on a cash fare, not a Classic Flight Reward booking.

If your offer is successful, you’ll receive Business Class perks including lounge access. But your ticket will still retain its original fare rules and earn at the original level.

How do I upgrade with Qantas Bid Now?

Here are the steps to upgrade your Qantas flight with cash.

1. Visit the Qantas Bid Now website and enter your booking reference.
2. If eligible, a list of your flights will show up. Choose the maximum cash + points bid you are willing to pay. You don’t have to use Qantas Points if you don’t want to.
3. On the next screen, enter your payment details to confirm the request. You won’t be charged unless your request is successful.
4. From 24 to four hours before the flight, Qantas will consider your upgrade request and let you know the outcome via email. You’ll also see the outcome on your Qantas App.

Qantas Bid Now offer/acceptance history

We’d love to keep a tally of recent Qantas Bid Now offers. If you go ahead with an upgrade, please let us know the details and whether you were successful or not. Here’s one to kick us off, submitted by a very excited reader.

A successful $700 bid from Economy to Business on the 17.5-hour Darwin-London flight is practically unheard of, so we’re glad to hear of this reader’s success. This seems to be a bit of an outlier since the return London-Perth flight has a minimum bid of AU$1,295, but that could be down to reduced travel demand at present.

Summing up

Qantas Bid Now is a great way to secure a last-minute upgrade with cash and points. Although we still regard Classic Upgrade Rewards with Qantas Points as a better solution, we also understand not everyone has the points or status level needed to pull off a successful upgrade.

With Qantas Bid Now, you just put down the amount of cash and points you’re comfortable to part with. If you win it, that’s great! If not, then no harm done. We like the sound of that.

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