Upgrade (or, The Best Laid Plans)

The airline we are using to get to Indonesia has a way to upgrade to the next class of service by participating in a bidding process. You bid what you are willing to pay, and if there’s a seat for you at that price, it’s yours. I’ve never flown anything other than economy before, but in this case, our longest leg is over 19 hours, with an overall travel time from wheels up in Chicago to arrival in Indonesia at over 50 hours. I thought that we could bid the minimum amount on two seats in Premium Economy, where the chairs have reclining footrests and there’s a little more space. I have difficulty sleeping on planes, so this would be our best chance to arrive rested and ready for the wedding despite the 12-hour time difference. After consulting with my financial planner (Diana), we went for it. I was told that I’d hear no sooner than 48 hours prior to boarding of that flight.

Since Saturday, I’ve been trying to sleep a little later and get more prepared for the long day of travel on Wednesday. Monday night, I went to bed just before midnight. As is often the case, I woke up in the early morning to use the bathroom. I saw a notification on my phone and unlocked it to see good news and bad news. The good news: we were awarded an upgrade for that leg. The bad news: our credit card was declined. It turns out having an Asian company charge your card at 2 am triggers fraud alerts. I was able to authorize the charge and message the company to try again. I was told it would take 8 hours, and if there are still seats left they’ll let me know. Of course, I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was worried about the potential of a missed opportunity. Would I lose my chance at a more comfortable flight? If not, would there be two seats next to each other so Diana and I could travel together? My mind reeled, and any sleep I did get before work was poor in quality.

I obsessively checked my email as the time neared the 8-hour mark. No email arrived. I had just about given up when a message came through that we were able to get our seats. I went online, found two seats next to each other (even though they were middle seats) and chose the special meal we were entitled to in that class of service.

Hopefully, I’ll sleep soundly tonight!