With our provider Plusgrade, you can make your request to upgrade to business class and enjoy all of its benefits on your flights to and from Europe, as well as on selected international routes within the Americas. If your flight does not have an executive cabin, you can also request to fly in one of our Premium or Plus seats (only available on selected routes).
How do I request this?
Follow these steps to make the request:
- To make the request: please complete the fields in the following form before you check-in and up to 4 hours before your flight.
- Make your request: select the additional amount to be added to your ticket in the form of a class or seat upgrade for each of your trip's routes.
- Enter your payment information: complete your credit card information. If you are granted the upgrade, the amount will be charged to your card. Otherwise, there will be no charge.
- Check and send: check that the information is correct and send your request.
- Request confirmation: we will send you an email to confirm that we have received your request.
- Status of your request: if your request is accepted, you will receive an email and the amount will be debited to your credit card. If your request is rejected, we will send you an email to inform you and we will not charge you for the upgrade. You will keep your current seat.
Important information
- You will not be able to request a refund if your offer was accepted and you used the benefit.
- If you made a request for an upgrade and it was accepted, the system will temporarily withhold the total amount of the request on your credit card and, in some cases, you may receive a message from your bank (SMS, email or other) to inform you of the amount. This will appear as a "pending" charge on your bank account.
- On some occasions, due to unforeseen situations, the request cannot be processed. In these cases, the temporary amount withheld from the card will be released within 5 to 10 business days. The exact time varies with each card issuer, the issuer has control over when these amounts will be withdrawn or reversed. In such a situation, the transaction will not be approved; therefore, we will not charge your credit card.
Conditions for a refund
The only reasons for which the payment for the upgrade will be refunded are:
- Flights canceled by the airline.
- If we reschedule a flight and there are no seats available in business class or the Premium or Plus seats you had chosen are not available.
- The request could not be assigned due to the following: aircraft changes, delays in connecting flights, among other causes.
- If you change, cancel, or miss your flight due to reasons beyond the airline's control, refund conditions will be determined by your fare.
To request a refund from our provider Plusgrade, you must complete the following form and follow these steps:
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- In the field "Select the process related to your request," choose the option "Reservation additional servicies"
- Then, in the field "Complaint," select the option "Unused Plusgrade"
- Finish completing all the fields with your booking information
This is the only option that can be selected to assess and process the refund; refunds not related to Plusgrade should not be entered on this form.
Request the refund within three months after the flight date. If the refund is approved, the payment will be refunded to the credit card you used to pay for the upgrade request and will be processed in the same currency with which you made the payment. Bank charges for this transaction will not be refunded, they will be limited to the amount charged for the upgrade.
Terms and Conditions
The following terms and conditions apply to any offer made by our customers to upgrade to business class or improve their seat through Plusgrade:
- The customer making the offer must be of legal age, in accordance with the laws of their country of residence.
- The customer may only make one offer per journey, which must correspond to the ticket purchased.
- The offer made for the upgrade is in addition to the amount of your ticket in Economy Class.
- The offer must always be paid by credit card.
- The offer only applies to the flight(s) described in the email received for the upgrade.
- This option is available for the following flights:
- To and from Europe: offers to business class.
- On routes within the Americas operated by B787 and A320 aircraft on specific routes: offers to business class or Plus seats.
- On routes within the Americas: offers to Premium or Plus seats.
- In the case of reservations made under a single booking code for multiple individuals, the offered amount will correspond to each individual and will apply to all individuals registered under the same booking. For example: an offer of twenty US dollars (USD $20), in the case of a reservation registered for three (3) persons, will be sixty US dollars (USD $60) in total. Before submitting their data, the customer may view the total amount of the upgrade including all registered persons.
- The right to the upgrade is individual and non-transferable.
- Any offer that the customer submits to Avianca, in relation to a reservation made with Avianca, allows them to be considered for an Upgrade in accordance with these terms and conditions.
- Avianca is not obligated to accept the offer, and also does not guarantee that customers will be upgraded, regardless of availability in business class or the type of seat they are applying for.
- The acceptance of the offer will be decided discretely by Avianca according to its own criteria.
- If the customer receives the upgrade, Avianca cannot guarantee a specific seat in business class or the rest of the seats. Your seat number will depend on space availability.
- After making the offer, the customer agrees that their offer will be open for Avianca's approval at any time up to 2 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight.
- Once the offer is submitted, a temporary authorization hold will be generated on the credit card for up to USD 1 to verify the provided data. The charge will be deducted from the card within 5-10 business days. The exact timeframe varies with each card issuer, and each card issuer has control over when that authorization will be withdrawn or reversed.
- If the customer's offer is selected for the upgrade, the system will generate a temporary authorization hold on the credit card for the total amount of the offer. This will appear as a "pending" charge on your bank account, and you may have received communication from your bank (SMS, email, or other) regarding this amount. When the upgrade is granted in the system, the hold on the offer amount becomes a charge. If the system cannot grant the upgrade due to unforeseen circumstances, the temporary authorization will leave your card within 5 to 10 business days. The exact timeframe varies with each card issuer, and each card issuer has control over when that authorization will be withdrawn or reversed.
- The customer may modify or cancel their offer through the link provided in the email notifying them that Avianca has received their offer, at any time up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight, provided that Avianca has not notified them of its acceptance.
- If the original offer is accepted before modification or cancellation, the customer is legally obligated to pay the price indicated in the initial offer. Likewise, if the offer is accepted after modification, the customer is legally obligated to pay the price indicated in the modification.
- Avianca will issue the upgrade for each customer included in the original flight reservation. The total amount charged will include the value of the offer plus all applicable taxes and fees (if any) for the upgrade.
- If the credit card is declined, the customer will automatically lose the upgrade, and it will be made available for the next offer.
- Avianca will not disclose the price paid by the customer receiving the upgrade.
- In the event that Avianca makes a re-accommodation due to force majeure (including operational difficulties), it will not be possible to maintain the upgrade, so if the customer had an accepted offer, they must request a refund through the Plusgrade form.
- There will be no refunds for offers accepted by Avianca. The only exceptions handled and for which the upgrade payment would be refunded are:
- Cancelled flights.
- Re-accommodation: if Avianca makes a re-accommodation and there is no availability in business class or the chosen seat to fulfill the customer's upgrade.
- Others: if the upgrade offer was accepted, but a seat in business class or the seat chosen by the customer could not be assigned for reasons attributable to Avianca, including but not limited to equipment changes, flight delays preventing the customer from making their connection to the flight they were upgraded on, among other causes.
- The refund request must be made within 3 months after the flight date. If the refund is approved, the amount paid by the passenger in relation to the upgrade will be refunded to the credit card used to pay the offer. Complete the form to request your refund.
- In the event that refunds are approved, they will be processed in the same currency in which the upgrade amount was charged. These refunds would be limited to the amount charged for the upgrade. Bank charges for this transaction will not be refunded.
- The refund of the amount paid for the upgrade, if the customer changes, cancels, or misses their flight due to reasons attributable to them, will be related to the refund conditions of the original airfare ticket.
- The upgrade cannot be transferred to another flight or another customer.
- The conditions of the original ticket fare that the customer purchased will remain in effect, even if their offer has been accepted and they have obtained the upgrade. This includes, but is not limited to, cancellation policies, penalties, changes, and the accumulation rules of Lifemiles frequent flyer program.
- Customers who have made their offer through the Asciende tu Experiencia program, and which has been accepted, will enjoy the following privileges of our business class:
- Access to Avianca Lounges.
- Free baggage allowance according to business class.
- Priority in check-in, boarding, and baggage handling processes.
- The comfort and space offered by business class seats.
- The enhanced menu experience offered by our business class.
- These benefits apply to customers who have been upgraded only to business class. Seat upgrades to Premium or Plus do not include additional benefits.
- Avianca reserves the right to offer different programs and products for the sale of upgrades to business class and other types of seats through its different distribution channels.
- Avianca reserves the right to choose the flights, routes, fares, and type of tickets applicable to the Ascend Your Experience program.
- Avianca reserves the right to modify the above conditions at any time.
These Terms and Conditions should be read in conjunction with our Conditions of carriage and Privacy policy. The client must accept these Terms and Conditions to be able to participate in the Upgrade Your Experience program.