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Optiontown

AUSTRALIA
Level Contributor
65 posts
Optiontown
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Hi everyone

I know there are lots of posts in regard to Optiontown, but I still had a few questions and hope someone out there will be able to assist

Ive booked a last minute trip to Vietnam in Early March with Vietnam Airlines and was hoping to put in an upgrade to business class with Optiontown.

Is it true that if you have applied for an upgrade with optiontown that you should check in online?

It states that if successful, you will receive a notification 4-72 hours before departure. Does anyone know if the notification is closer to the 4 hour side of things or the 72 hours side?

If the upgrade is a success, do they send you an email with the updated Eticket and Itinerary stating you have been upgrade to business class?

Will this information appear on the attendants reservations system/computer at check in to verify it has gone through?

And lastly, are Vietnam airlines check in staff generally aware of their affiliation with Optiontown?

Thankyou very much for your help

SQUAKS

Brisbane, Australia
Level Contributor
956 posts
76 reviews
46 helpful votes
1. Re: Optiontown
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SQUAKS, firstly I have never flown with Vietnam Airlines but I have flown numerous times with Air Asia and applied for optiontown upgrades on most of these flights, from flat beds to extra seats and have been sucessful every time, I have also done on line check in 2 weeks prior to departure and then ASK the check in person when dropping off our bags if upgrade was approved, each time the answer was YES.

I have never waited to find out if upgrade has been approved before booking in, tell the clerk booking you in that you have applied for optiontown and to see if you have been approved.

I dont have a phone or computer on me when I am in the terminal, so I cannot receive their messages anyway.

Fredericia, Denmark
Level Contributor
37,532 posts
7 reviews
15 helpful votes
2. Re: Optiontown
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The staff will likely not know who upgraded you.

Bayport, New York
Level Contributor
1 post
3 reviews
1 helpful vote
3. Re: Optiontown
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optiontown is awesome.. got my upgrades round trip.. no hassles!

Adelaide, Australia
Level Contributor
67 posts
18 reviews
15 helpful votes
4. Re: Optiontown
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It is usually closer to the 4 hour mark. We didnt bother checking in until we reached each airport. And air asia staff just know whats on their screen, they know about option town, but it doesnt tell them how you got your seat or flatbed etc etc. but it is in their system as soon as your upgraded.

2 posts
1 review
1 helpful vote
5. Re: Optiontown
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They are thieves! I purchased it for 1 of my connecting flights to Mexico, and for the complete flight home. I have confirmation emails for both purchases and both are taken out of my bank account. However, they only have record of the flight home. I have sent them screen shots of my bank withdrawal from them and forwarded them the confirmation email. I have been told repeatedly there is nothing they can do about it. They told me I could repurchase the flight there......THAT I ALREADY BOUGHT! I will never make the mistake of using them again

Kuala Lumpur...
5 posts
6. Re: Optiontown
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Optiontown is terrible. I bought Multiple Booking Option and inform them my choice of flight weeks before flight date. They replied i can only confirm my choice of flight 3 days before flight dates. This is not a flexibility they are offering as effectively they are leaving me without a choice. if i get my choice of flight then its luck, if i dont get it i am advised to make my own arangement. Cheaters.

7. Re: Optiontown

This post was determined to be inappropriate by the Tripadvisor community and has been removed.

Melbourne, Australia
Level Contributor
12 posts
150 reviews
118 helpful votes
8. Re: Optiontown
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We used Optiontown in October 2012 for an Air Asia KL to Melbourne flight and got our empty seats, no problem at all. The email advice came through only the day before, and we didn't bother checking in until we got to the airport. We did have to point out to the Air Asia check in staff that we had ESO - they almost assigned us only one seat each, instead of a row each.

We're flying Melbourne to KL tomorrow night and again didn't bother with web check-in. We've just received our email advice this morning that we've once again been granted ESO, so our Optiontown experience has been very positive. We've had no need for refunds so far, so I don't have any experience with that side of things.

I've requested an upgrade to business for our return flight in July, so have my fingers crossed for that.

Guadalajara, Mexico
Level Contributor
2 posts
18 reviews
39 helpful votes
9. Re: Optiontown
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I used Optiontown to request an upgrade to Business Class in Aeromexico. My experience was very disappointing, I received an email only some 3 hours before both my flights denying both upgrades (round-trip.) And even a denial for an upgrade to an economy-plus seat. The fact is that I noticed that in both flights, Business Class was almost empty; the same with Economy-Plus. I felt cheated. However, I did receive my refund within 5 business days (minus their fee.) I found all this to be a waste of time and money. I do not recommend this service at all, at least with Aeromexico. I will not use it ever again.

Edited: 9 years ago
Melbourne, Australia
Level Contributor
12 posts
150 reviews
118 helpful votes
10. Re: Optiontown
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We've just returned home from our latest trip and were thrilled to receive our upgrade to Air Asia business class for the KL to Melbourne leg of our journey yesterday. The almost 8 hour flight was actually a pleasant experience! The email advising of our "provisional" upgrade only arrived a few hours before the flight, but we had no dramas with the check-in staff at KLIA2. As a bonus, we got to use the business class check in counter, with only one customer in front of us, instead of joining the enormous queue for economy check-in/bag drop.

Having previously received ESO twice on the same route, that gives us a 100% success rate with Optiontown. The price varies depending on the route and how far out from your travel date you apply - this upgrade cost us $140 each, which makes a total cost for the flight of $365 per person. Cheap by any standard for business class over that distance.

I'll use Optiontown again without hesitation.

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