Chase rewards/EVA Air upgrade travel question

[Anonymous]

We're going to China on EVA Air from LAX in June. I have miles via Chase to use on econ flights for my family. I was curious (I've never done this) - if I purchase the flights using the reward points for econ, can I upgrade on EVA at a later date to Premium Econ?

All online articles talk about 1. using miles to upgrade via EVA (I won't have any EVA miles to use and likely not enough chase points to make it worth it) or 2. I can call EVA and pay an upgrade charge if possible to do it. However, for this option - will it work if I originally book it from Chase Rewards v. online EVA Air directly? What I'd like to do is possibly pay the money to fly premium but I'd like to not pay the entire cost

There isn't an option to use Chase to book Premium Econ. I just want to keep my options open and am afraid to book via Chase econ and not be able to upgrade if we decide. It's 14 hours so you know..

[Anonymous]

Generally a bad idea to book through 3rd parties like the Chase portal (which is run by a travel agency called cxLoyalty). Issue is if flights change, there are issues, etc, you have to go through cxLoyalty, who then has to work with EVA. It can get very complicated and difficult very quickly.

But yes generally if you book an economy ticket, no matter how you pay for it (EVA sees it as a cash payment, FYI, just from cxLoyalty instead of you directly), you will have an option to pay for an upgrade to premium economy. No idea what it would cost though. I would guess $500+/person considering the length.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Generally a bad idea to book through 3rd parties like the Chase portal (which is run by a travel agency called cxLoyalty). Issue is if flights change, there are issues, etc, you have to go through cxLoyalty, who then has to work with EVA. It can get very complicated and difficult very quickly.

But yes generally if you book an economy ticket, no matter how you pay for it (EVA sees it as a cash payment, FYI, just from cxLoyalty instead of you directly), you will have an option to pay for an upgrade to premium economy. No idea what it would cost though. I would guess $500+/person considering the length.

I disagree. First, Chase bought CX Loyalty, so they’re now running it directly. Second, with foreign carriers, you’re actually better off dealing with Chase. If you have issues, you can let Chase work with the airline on your behalf. As a bank, they will have more leverage than you have on your own.

I would call Chase and ask about upgrading, but you should be able to.

[Anonymous]

Trust me, I have heard plenty of stories of Chase portal booked flights that have had schedule changes, and dancing around on the phone for hours between the travel agency and the carrier. You think a front line rep from EVA gives 2 s--ts that the Chase travel agency is calling? Somehow quaking in their boots to fix the problem?

Give an example of what you describe actually happening. I very much doubt it.