The KLM Upgrade Yourself Program
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has a “Upgrade Yourself” program, which is really just a KLM upgrade bidding system to upgrade economy class reservations. More insight with regard to airline auctions can be found in Scott McCartney’s article in The Middle Seat : Going Once, Going Twice: Airlines Auction Seat Upgrades.
I decided to give it a try for the first time in January, on a discount ticket I purchased AMS-JFK, with a return BOS-AMS on Delta. This bidding program is only for flights operated by KLM on KLM-metal. For my first experiment the entire economy class ticket price was approximately €600 (all-in), which I consider an ideal opportunity to bid for upgrades since the Day of Departure (DOD) KLM upgrades from Amsterdam (ex-AMS) is rather expensive when you are on a highly discounted fare class. This initial try was a success, albeit at a slightly higher price than I desired.
I subsequently tested KLM upgrade bidding for AMS-ATL (also on a highly discounted ticket), AMS-JFK (highly discounted, two people) and JFK-AMS (two people). I had success about 50% of the time. To initiate the bidding process, you can either choose to bid from your open reservations (at klm.com) or using the Upgrade Yourself LINK. (Link corrected and updated December 2016) You will be promoted for your booking code (KLM record locator) and family name. If your ticket was booked on non-KLM ticket stock (for example, by Delta as an 006 ticket) you will need to get the KLM booking code from Delta, since the KLM booking codes differ from the Delta booking codes (even though the e-ticket number is the same).
Also, you are obligated to accept the upgrade at the agreed upon price if you happen to win the bid.
Let’s Make A Deal
Once you get to the bidding screen, you will be advised of the lowest possible bid. All routes have a lowest possible bid price (if there have not been any bids), or you are required to bid €10 higher than the highest bid already entered for a given flight. In the example below, the lowest possible bid was €279, and that is the bid I entered. The system shows that the next bid would have to start at €289.
You are welcome to check the progress on your bid up until the closing of the auction, which is usually sometime prior to online check-in. You must place all bids (or your final bid) more than 30 hours prior to departure. While KLM mentions wining bids will be decided at 30 hours prior to departure, I have noticed that it is usually closer to 24 hours prior to departure (or the point at which you can check-in online). This example shows a bid for two passengers. You can bid for more than one passenger at the same time as long as they are on the same booking record. Also, bidding is restricted to those passengers 18 years or older. The bid for both passengers must be the same amount, and if you win the bid it would only be for two passengers. (KLM does not allow one person of a two person itinerary to “win” the upgrade.)
Related: KLM Day of Departure (DOD) upgrades from Amsterdam (ex-AMS) in the KLM upgrade series.
A close up of the bidding progress for another reservation. (these pictures are taken from different flight examples, and are meant to show as much detail as possible with regard to the KLM upgrade bidding process; but not the bidding “flow” of just one flight example).
I have inquired with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines about whether only the top (highest) bidder can win an upgrade when there are multiple seats. KLM claims that you do not have to be the highest bidder to win, and that it is possible for the #1 and #2 (for example) bidders to win the upgrade. I have not witnessed this personally, and feel if it is a matter of €10 to €50 it is best to secure a bid in the #1 spot.
Once the bidding is complete, KLM will send an email if you won or lost within about 15 minutes of the end of bidding. The email lists the winning bid price and the total price that will be charged to your credit card.
Once the upgrade has been won, you can feel free to re-arrange or change your seating just as you would for any other KLM World Business Class ticket, in this instance I chose 4E on the main-deck of a KLM 747.
Have you tried the KLM upgrade bidding process? I am very curious to hear about other people’s impressions and experiences. Please share your experiences below.
Michael resides in London and travels extensively as a British Airways Executive Club (BAEC) Gold member, after previously being a Delta Diamond Medallion in The Netherlands. Miles+Points airline/hotel loyalty programs and learning to optimize the use of loyalty programs are intense interests of Michael’s. In addition, Michael is passionate about casino loyalty programs, the history of Las Vegas/Atlantic City and baccarat, as well as cooking and also enjoying foodie experiences around the globe.
Flying on KLM in September to Berlin via Amsterdam and I’m going to try this if it’s an option on my flight!
Great. Where are you departing from (to fly to Amsterdam)? The KLM bidding system is interesting, but far from perfect.
Chicago to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Berlin. I’m only going to bid for Chicago to Amsterdam. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Yes, please keep us posted. ORD-AMS makes sense. Low end would be around €300, very curious if you win and at what price. How does it look so far?
I don’t know anymore. I used to be able to log in and see it at 289, but now it says “This flight is not eligible for upgrade. Error: 102”. I’m hoping I’ll be able to see it again later, but I got a great deal and my ticket says V Class, so maybe I’m not eligible after all? I guess I’ll see in September what I can do a couple days before the flight, and at check in. Fingers crossed!
You should be eligible, especially since you already placed a bid. My guess, is that the system is just being strange. Sometimes, the upgrade system does not work. Did you try the direct link to the upgrade bidding system?
LINK :
https://upgradeyourself.klm.com/ub/ub/login?
I wrote them on Twitter and they responded “You’re correct that we turned off the bidding process. If you don’t see the option to bid in My Trip, then you cannot place a bid. We hope you enjoy your flight nonetheless”
Oh well, but maybe during online check in or at the airport I’ll get an offer? I’ll let you know, but it’s not for another 3 months and 6 days until I leave, not that I’m counting.
Even though I had high hopes of upgrading by bidding or at check in, business class seems to already sold out for my ORD/AMS flight on 9/17. I even acted as if I was going to buy a full fare ticket, but they won’t even sell one. Guess I’ll have to try on a future flight!
Still, I’m sure I’ll enjoy economy and getting there safely is most important.
You are absolutely correct, KL612 is ‘zero’ed out’ on that day; per ExpertFlyer :
J0 C0 D0 I0 Z0 Y7 B7 M6 U6 K5 H5 L4 Q4 T3 E0 N3 R2 V1 G0
So, there are NO REVENUE seats for sale in business class and all business class revenue “buckets,” are sold out (J, C, D and Z). It looks like a rather full flight in economy class too.
I’m going to be trying this on a KLM flight around the 15th of July from CUR to AMS. I’ll keep you updated.
Excellent. Would be very interested in hearing about it. Quite curious if the bidding process is working properly, and if so if you win the bid. CUR-AMS in the summer should be a decent opportunity for an upgrade, in my opinion.
So I just placed a bid, I’m the only one so far. The bidding wil end in about 5 days (Flight KL 734, July 20th). I’ll let you know if I win the bid, I’m anxious
Thanks for the update. Unfortunately, you do not find out until the day before; but you can check on the bids (using the link I posted). Lots of seats for sale on that flight (KL734) and a pretty wide open business class cabin (at least 7 seats available as of today). This is an A330-200, and I do believe it is the “older” business class product in a 2-2-2 arrangement.
Source (ExpertFlyer) : J7 C7 D6 I5 Z5 Y9 B9 M9 U9 K9 H9 L9Q9 T9 E0 N9 R9 V9 G0 X9
That’s right, I was actually hoping to catch the 744, which I’ve taken twice on the same route, but no luck this time
I was actually looking forward to try the bidding for the new WBC on the 747. But it’s alright, if successful, it will be my first Business Class on KLM.
That’s excellent. I really like KLM World Business Class. I have been meaning to post a review (or two) as I have flown AMS-JFK, JFK-AMS, AMS-NRT-AMS, and AMS-ATL this year. 747s and the 777 (both old and new). I have yet to travel on the KLM A330s, though the older configuration is quite similar to the Delta A330 configuration prior to the recent modifications. Thank you again for sharing your experience and thoughts.
Okay, I’d like to see the reviews when you’re ready to post them. I’ve subscribed! The new WBC looks amazing in pictures I’ve seen online, hopefully on my flight back to CUR I’ll be able try the bidding option on a 744.
Hi! Sorry for not updating you sooner, unfortunately I didn’t win the bid. I was the only one though. And there plenty of seats still available. I was sitting behind the WBC so I could see the empty seats .
Oh well, maybe next time
Why didn’t you just snipe the bid?
What is “snipe the bid?”
You bid at the very last moment possible
A winning bid is not a guarantee your bid will be accepted, KLM makes the final decision. I have won numerous bids this year that were NOT accepted by KLM. I also do not believe you can start the bidding process just before the bidding period closes. The KLM system is a bit “wonky.”
Hi guys, do we get the number of miles of a business fare if we win the big and get the upgrade? or do you still get the amount of miles from the original economy fare? thanks!
Unfortunately (with KLM), you get miles and elite-qualifying miles based on the ORIGINAL fare-class, NOT the upgraded fare class.
What is the link to KLM upgrade bidding? This link (https://upgradeyourself.klm.com/) is not working. Pls. help. Thank you.
NEW LINK is updated in the article.
LINK :
http://www.klm.com/bfu/ub/login
Please share your experiences (and hopefully success)!
If I have 2 passengers on my booking ( including me) Do I bid for both? How does it work? For. ex. if the bid starts at 300 Euro per passenger. Then do I bid 300 Euros and the system will charge me 600 Euros automatically once I win the bid or do I straight bid 600 Euros? Please clarify. Snapshots would be helpful.
Yes, you bid €300. If there are two people in the record, it will be €300×2 if the bid is accepted. I believe you have to bid for all the people in the record, unless you split the records.
Thank you so much. I would also like to know if bidding eligibility depends on fare class? For ex. can one bid for upgrade on a v class fare?
I believe all regular fare classes (non-bulk, or tour operator, or group) are eligible. I also believe I have bid on the lowest fare class previously.
Quick question. I’m taking a flight with 2 legs. When I enter the information, it’s only showing me bid option for the first leg which is to AMS but not the second leg. Do I have to still bid for the first leg even if I only want it for the second leg only? Or does it mean the 2nd leg is not available?
How early do I bid ? Ex flight is on 1st
march?
Usually around 30 days prior, but give it a try. If you can access the bidding screen, it’s good to go. Bidding early, in our opinion, does not really help your odds.
Thanks so much for this helpful post. I’ve started the bidding for a flight to NYC on the 1st of feb. Do you know if this is bidding for just the that flight or also for the flight back?
In my experience, you can bid on the return after the initial flight. I’ve had situations when it was an option and when it was not (regarding bidding on the return segment). Would love to get more data-points on this. Remember, even for ex-JFK if you are not offered bidding (or if you do not win a bid) you can still use miles+co-pay for an upgrade at check-in.
How expensive is that upgrade though? My flight to ams-jfk was €600 and the business class seats are typically around €3500. Upgrade would be about €2900 or are they discounted at check-in?
If from lowest fares, upgrade is usually 25k/30k points (SkyMiles and FlyingBlue) + a co-pay based on fare class. Maximum co-pay is usually around €450’ish.
I think I was the highest bidder. How long does it typically cost before they e-mail you? Also, i never got ANY mails about people outbidding me, even though i was outbid many times. Is this normal?
Right. No e-mail whatsoever, called KLM, they have no idea how to help. This platform is extremely borked and not worth the effort if you ask me.
You should get an email, and your reservation is changed online. In addition, your credit card is charged. High-bid does not mean a winner though, you can be the high bidder and KLM can NOT accept the bid due to their yield management. You should receive a “did not win” email, but if you reservation has not been adjusted (and credit card charged) you most likely did not win. No idea why they are NOT sending out the emails.
I have been trying to bid on an upgrade for a flight AMS-PTY on June 2nd, but I get an error code each time I try to insert my information. The message reads as follows.
“Unfortunately it is not possible to bid on an upgrade for any flight in your booking.
Error Code : 102”
Has anyone else experienced this or know a way around it? I have checked and there is definitely seats available on that leg of the flight. (Although I should mention that that is the middle section of a three leg flight to Lima)
Unfortunately, that is most likely a sign that KLM has decided to not allow bidding for an upgrade on that flight (yet). Their choice (to allow bidding) is based on a formula not disclosed, and is NOT based on empty seats on the seat map. Also, it’s important to realise that seat maps can “lie” so if you are using seat maps to predict that can be very inaccurate. Often there are unassigned seats (booked and ticketed) not reflected in that seat map. If you are interested in knowing how full (or not) a flight is, best to use a resource like ExpertFlyer. (link : http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?B=208409&U=1436121&M=25056&urllink= )
Also, you still might have an opportunity to pay for an upgrade at OLCI or at the airport (transfer desk), even if KLM does not offer bidding for your flight.
For reference, KLM 757 on 2 June 2017 AMS-PTY is “wide open” in business class. So, there is a good chance they might allow bidding closer to travel date and/or offers at OLCI (Online check-in) [This is based on the current flight load as of 14 May 2017, and can change quite a bit between now and departure.]
I am flying to Rome on Sept 3 from SFO flight 608 for the long leg(AMS) and Sept 27, flight 605 for the long leg from AMS. Any sage advice for trying to cheaply upgrade to business class? Niether shows a bid offer at this point.
Unfortunately @disqus_UYjUlzVQSU:disqus if bidding is not an option, you’ll have to fall-back on Day of Departure upgrades for KLM. They most likely offer this from SFO and also from AMS. (In SFO at check-in desk, in AMS at the lounge and transfer desk.) The price will range from €0 to €450’ish + miles depending on your fare class. In some instances, they offer just a cash upgrade, but that is often around €750’ish. A lot depends on your fare class of purchased ticket. You can read a bit more here :
https://travelzork.com/day-of-departure-dod-klm-upgrades-from-amsterdam-ex-ams-a-slightly-definitive-guide-and-a-trick/
thank you. I will check in at the 24 hour mark and see what is offered