Universal AM tickets - question

[bgula]

They don't give any info about tickets and their value over the phone for some reason. In my experience on the Universal boards, everyone's tickets have been given gate value when applied towards an upgrade. Tickets from UT and other third parties and loyalty groups have all been treated the same. We've had our AM tickets upgraded to APs a few years ago and intend on doing the same again this October.

Did you use the tickets first before upgrading, or just take them to guest services before using?

 

[pigletto]

We upgraded an airmile ticket to a seasonal AP in October ( we upgraded four tickets but only one was an airmiles ticket) and we were given full gate value. I don't know if that has changed. I do highly recommend using the ticket at Universal Studios and then going to the Guest services that is just inside the gates and off to the right. We were able to wait inside in air conditioning and had one person in front of us compared to the lines at the ticket windows that were 20 or 30 people deep. It saved a ton of time .
This was before the price increases of last year and we all upgraded to AP's for something like $30. Sad that it would be out of our price range to upgrade like that again.

 

[bgula]

Might have to call US again, but the only thing I can see as a possible hitch is that the AM ticket is an adult and the AP would be for a child, even though the prices are the same. Shouldn't be an issue, but who knows for sure? Strange that AM doesn't offer a child ticket, only an adult.

Update: US says no problem upgrading to a child ticket.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

I sent an email and received both a phone call and an email in response. The gift card we received is a standard Universal Gift Card, good everywhere (including the store at the airport!) We had already decided we were going and if the answer had been "no you can't downgrade your tickets" we would have been fine since we treat our Airmiles as "free".We never buy anything we don't need just to collect the miles, we just alter our spending habits and can luckily store a LOT of non-perishables and paper products.

From their website
Can I purchase theme park tickets with a gift card?
Yes, Universal Orlando Resort Gift Cards may be used to purchase theme park tickets at the front gate of both Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

SO is it best to go to guest services before going into the park to ensure we can convert the ticket?

Thanks. I am going to "risk" the equivalent of 1 redemption, as its alot of airmiles. we only want 1 park 1 day, so will see what happens. in end ,it still saves us $130 approx based on when we go (Jan 5th to Universal)

 

[Donald - my hero]

SO is it best to go to guest services before going into the park to ensure we can convert the ticket?

Thanks. I am going to "risk" the equivalent of 1 redemption, as its alot of airmiles. we only want 1 park 1 day, so will see what happens. in end ,it still saves us $130 approx based on when we go (Jan 5th to Universal)

Yes, but as someone else mentioned, the line at the guest service outside the park is often VERY LONG so be prepared to show up really early if you don't want that cutting into your park time. While Universal has bag check down to a science and can teach Disney more than a few tricks, they really fall down when it comes to the actual ENTRY to the park No real indication of where the lines were, mobs of people milling around, very few people could figure out how to use their finger print (or remember which one they had used before!)

I have little doubt that you'll be able to downgrade your ticket the only question is what value it will be that day... we went on Jan 30th and the woman who helped us said we got more for the ticket than if we had been there the day before

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

Yes, but as someone else mentioned, the line at the guest service outside the park is often VERY LONG so be prepared to show up really early if you don't want that cutting into your park time. While Universal has bag check down to a science and can teach Disney more than a few tricks, they really fall down when it comes to the actual ENTRY to the park No real indication of where the lines were, mobs of people milling around, very few people could figure out how to use their finger print (or remember which one they had used before!)

I have little doubt that you'll be able to downgrade your ticket the only question is what value it will be that day... we went on Jan 30th and the woman who helped us said we got more for the ticket than if we had been there the day before

interesting!

we will be there Saturday January 5th, so still high season, so I imagine the difference will be minimal.

 

[AngelDisney]

Hope this thread helps!
https://www.disboards.com/threads/airmiles-for-universal-studios.3568196/
I will be upgrading on August 13. I will report back, hopefully with desired outcomes!!

I just upgraded my Airmiles two-day park-to-park ticket to a seasonal pass for $10 plus taxes. I used the ticket to enter parks today because it was the last day of the seasonal pass blockout dates for the summer. I went to Guest Services inside the park by the park entrance after park closed and there was only two people in line. Process was fast and easy. Hope this helps!

 

[pigletto]

I just upgraded my Airmiles two-day park-to-park ticket to a seasonal pass for $10 plus taxes. I used the ticket to enter parks today because it was the last day of the seasonal pass blockout dates for the summer. I went to Guest Services inside the park by the park entrance after park closed and there was only two people in line. Process was fast and easy. Hope this helps!

Did you upgrade to the 3 park seasonal pass or are they still selling the two park seasonal pass ?

 

[damo]

Did you upgrade to the 3 park seasonal pass or are they still selling the two park seasonal pass ?

3 park seasonal passes would be an additional $100.

3 park seasonal pass ... $384
2 park seasonal pass ... $285
2 day park-to-park gate price ... $275

 

[pigletto]

3 park seasonal passes would be an additional $100.

3 park seasonal pass ... $384
2 park seasonal pass ... $285
2 day park-to-park gate price ... $275

Thanks Damo. I am thinking ahead to what I should save my miles for next. Maybe I'll save my 2018 miles for a 2019 Disney /Universal trip and upgrade to 3 park seasonal passes for 2019. We've gotten so much use out of our 2016/17 AP's!

 

[bgula]

I just upgraded my Airmiles two-day park-to-park ticket to a seasonal pass for $10 plus taxes. I used the ticket to enter parks today because it was the last day of the seasonal pass blockout dates for the summer. I went to Guest Services inside the park by the park entrance after park closed and there was only two people in line. Process was fast and easy. Hope this helps!

Thanks for the info. We head there at the end of this week. We'll be upgrading to a preferred AP, so if my calculations are correct I should pay:

410.01 - 271.57 = $138.44

If this is correct, much better than renewing our AP for $328.01

 

[AngelDisney]

Did you upgrade to the 3 park seasonal pass or are they still selling the two park seasonal pass ?

You can upgrade to either but I didn't ask about the cost for upgrading to the 3-park seasonal pass.

 

[AngelDisney]

Thanks for the info. We head there at the end of this week. We'll be upgrading to a preferred AP, so if my calculations are correct I should pay:

410.01 - 271.57 = $138.44

If this is correct, much better than renewing our AP for $328.01

Gate price for the Airmiles 2-day PTP ticket is $275 plus taxes.

 

[bgula]

Gate price for the Airmiles 2-day PTP ticket is $275 plus taxes.

Sorry, I didn't take into account the $20 discount for online tickets. So, I guess that would be:

$410.01 - $292.86 = $117.15 (Even better!)

 

[bgula]

Just thought I should post an update as we went to Universal yesterday. Used the 2-day ticket to get into the park, then went to guest services. Figured I'd ask about using the value of the ticket toward renewing the AP even though I'd been told that they don't do that. To my surprise, the guy said no problem. Only hitch was that the value of the ticket was nowhere near gate value - $186.99 as opposed to $292.86 (gate value). Thought I had hit the jackpot, only to have it ripped out from under me! I had originally figured I'd pay about $117 to upgrade to a new AP, instead I had to pay $129 to renew the AP. I'm glad at least that they allowed the renewal otherwise it would have cost me more.
Guy even went out the back to see if he could get them to price bridge, but came back with numbers about how much airmiles spends to buy tickets (~$100000). Can't remember how many tickets that buys, but it comes to the price I gave above as an average per ticket.
Just thought people might want to know that you may not always get the gate price, and if you do - take it and run!

 

[Disney Addicted]

If you have a Seasons Pass and are staying at Royal Pacific - will you still get the hotel perks of early admission and UL Express Passes?

 

[damo]

If you have a Seasons Pass and are staying at Royal Pacific - will you still get the hotel perks of early admission and UL Express Passes?

Yes. Hotel perks are not ticket related.

 

[Disney Addicted]

Thank you.

 

[gocolts]

Yikes! Website now listing.....

Universal Orlando ResortTM - 3-Park 2-Day Park-to-Park with 2 Days Free Ticket
3550 Airmiles!!!

WAS SAVING UP FOR FOUR 2 DAY PARK TO PARK TICKETS WHICH WERE MUCH CHEAPER

 

[damo]

Yikes! Website now listing.....

Universal Orlando ResortTM - 3-Park 2-Day Park-to-Park with 2 Days Free Ticket
3550 Airmiles!!!

WAS SAVING UP FOR FOUR 2 DAY PARK TO PARK TICKETS WHICH WERE MUCH CHEAPER

They will probably be back. They take them off the website when they run out.