Update: I received an email today from British Airways stating that the email I received regarding the promotion for a free First Class upgrade was sent to me in error. It confirms my suspicions that this promo is only eligible for residents of the UK:

Capture

I received an email today from British Airways outlining a promotion that’s currently running through June 26th.  When you book a Club World return ticket with a segment in in C, D or R class, you become eligible for a Free Upgrade to First Class on one of the legs of your journey. Now there obviously has to be some sort of catch here.

Terms

  1. At first glance, this offer looks like it’s available to all nationalities, but as I dug deeper, I noticed that “This promotion is only open to Eligible Participants. An Eligible Participant is a person: resident in the United Kingdom or Ireland; aged 18 years or over; who books a Qualifying Flight; and travels during the Promotional Period.”
  2. Taking it a step further, “A Qualifying Flight is: (i) a published fully or semi-flexible return fare in Club World on selected BA mainline services departing from the UK; and (ii) must comprise of one sector in J (fully flexible) class, C, D and R (semi-flexible) classes and another sector in A class, and only on certain fare basis codes (see full terms and conditions on ba.com).”
  3. Lastly, “Travel in J, C, D, R and A class must be booked by 23:59 GMT on 26 June 2015, and outbound travel must take place on or before 30 August 2015. For all fare classes, inbound travel (arrival in the UK) must take place on or before 6 September 2015.”
British Airways First Class Product

British Airways First Class Product

Conclusion

All things considered, this is actually a pretty great deal if you live in the UK and were planning and booking a roundtrip ticket this summer anyway. First Class BA flights are quite a luxury and can cost thousands of dollars. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for this offer, be sure to call a BA travel agent 0844 493 0787 and ask for your free first class ticket upon booking your eligible flights. The upgrades are also available for flights on American Airlines.

Good luck! Is this an offer that you can take advantage of?