Status: checked against official sources; automated independent review
Part of TAP Miles&Go hub
GUIDE
How to upgrade TAP Air Portugal flights with Miles&Go miles
A TAP Miles&Go mileage upgrade is a reward that lifts a paid TAP Air Portugal ticket into a higher cabin in exchange for miles in the TAP Miles&Go programme, and it sits alongside upgrade awards in other frequent flyer schemes. TAP's programme terms describe upgraded travel in Economy Prime and Business, allow an upgrade with miles to be issued for someone other than the account holder once that holder authorises it, and keep the mileage credit attached to the fare that was originally bought. [2]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- A Miles&Go upgrade with miles moves a paid TAP ticket into a higher cabin, and the terms describe the result as travel in Economy Prime or Business; TAP does not operate a First Class. [2]
- Award tickets cannot themselves be upgraded, apart from upgrades paid at check-in, at the boarding gate or through the upgrade auction, and Star Alliance or partner award tickets cannot carry an upgrade at all. [2]
- An upgrade can be issued in another person's name once the account holder authorises it, and TAP Miles&Go Gold and Navigator members skip that authorisation step. [2]
- An upgraded flight still earns miles at the rate of the fare originally purchased, and the trip does not count among the ten premium-fare flights needed for Navigator. [2]
What does a TAP Miles&Go upgrade with miles include?
The programme keeps two balances apart. Status Miles measure tier only: they are the currency for TAP Miles&Go Silver, Gold and Navigator, and they cannot be spent. [2] Bonus Miles are the usable balance, and only Bonus Miles can be put towards award tickets, products and services or redemptions with programme partners. [2] Miles stay valid for three years from the date of the activity that created them, although some bonus miles, such as compensation miles and certain promotional miles, carry a one-year life instead. [2]
The programme awards miles for travel in First, Business or Economy, and it notes that TAP itself has no First Class while some partner airlines do. [2] Where the same terms describe the cabin a member ends up in after an upgrade, the wording is Economy Prime and Business. [2]
Upgrades are treated like other mileage rewards when it comes to who may travel on them. An upgrade with miles can be issued for a person other than the TAP Miles&Go account holder once the holder grants authorisation, and Gold and Navigator members are exempt from that requirement. [2] Where a trip is booked with miles through the TAP Miles&Go Contact Center for someone else, the account holder also has to supply a validation code sent to the email address or mobile number registered on the account, and Gold and Navigator members are exempt there too. [2] The miles are debited from the account at the moment the ticket is issued. [2]
Which tickets can be upgraded with Miles&Go miles?
The terms draw a firm line at award tickets. Award tickets do not allow upgrades, with three exceptions: upgrades paid at check-in, upgrades paid at the boarding gate and upgrades bought through the upgrade auction. [2] Award tickets issued for the Star Alliance network or for other partner airlines cannot be associated with upgrades in any form. [2] Child award tickets, sold for children aged between two and eleven, cannot be linked to mileage promotions or to upgrades. [2] Read together, those rules put a miles upgrade on a ticket the member has paid for, with the higher cabin layered on top of the fare that was bought. [2]
Neither the seat being upgraded into nor the reward seat beside it is guaranteed. The number of seats released for mileage rewards is limited even on flights that are not full, availability moves with destination and season, and restrictions can apply in certain periods and on particular flights. [2] Award tickets themselves expire one year after issue unless they were issued under a promotion. [2]
Do you still earn miles after an upgrade?
Yes, and at the rate of the fare rather than the cabin flown. Flights taken in Economy Prime or Business as the result of an upgrade keep the mileage credit of the fare originally purchased. [2] Those same trips are excluded from the ten flights that must be flown in Plus, Prime, Top Prime, Executive or Top Executive fares for Navigator, a tier that calls for 125,000 Status Miles or 70 TAP flights when it is first reached and 100,000 Status Miles or 70 TAP flights to be kept. [2]
Accrual on TAP and TAP Express flights is a percentage of the distance flown, set by the fare, as of 18 October 2026: [3]
| Fare | Europe and North Africa | Intercontinental |
|---|---|---|
| Discount | 20% | 20% |
| Basic | Not applicable | 50% |
| Classic | 70% | 100% |
| Plus | 100% | 150% |
| Prime | Not applicable | 150% |
| Top Prime | Not applicable | 175% |
| Executive | 175% | 175% |
| Top Executive | 200% | 200% |
Bookings issued up to 1 June 2026 in Executive earned 150% of miles; from that date the fare earns 175%. [3] Higher tiers add a bonus on top of these rates: Silver members collect 25% extra Bonus Miles and 25% Status Miles, while Gold and Navigator members collect 50% of each, measured against the miles flown. [2] Status Miles earned this way feed the TAP Miles&Go status thresholds rather than the spendable balance. [2]
Exceptions and limits
- Paid upgrades taken at check-in, at the boarding gate or through the upgrade auction are the only upgrades an award ticket can carry, and they sit outside the miles balance. [2]
- Star Alliance and other partner award tickets cannot be combined with an upgrade, so a partner-operated reward flight is out of reach for this kind of upgrade. [2]
- Child award tickets for ages two to eleven can never be attached to mileage promotions or upgrades, so an upgrade cannot be stacked onto a discounted child reward. [2]
- Miles must still be alive when the ticket is issued, and the account is debited at that point; miles reach their expiry three years after the qualifying activity, with some bonus miles lasting only one year. [2]
- TAP states that the terms are written in Portuguese and translated into English, French, Spanish and German, and that only the Portuguese version is binding for interpretation, which matters when a condition such as the authorisation requirement is read in translation. [2]
Frequently asked questions
Can I upgrade a TAP award ticket with miles?
No. Award tickets do not allow upgrades, apart from upgrades paid at check-in, at the boarding gate or through the upgrade auction, and award tickets on Star Alliance or partner airlines cannot be associated with upgrades at all. [2]
Can I use my Miles&Go miles to upgrade a ticket for someone else?
Yes. An upgrade with miles can be issued in another person's name once the TAP Miles&Go account holder authorises it, and Gold and Navigator members are exempt from that authorisation. [2]
Does an upgraded TAP flight still earn Miles&Go miles?
It does, at the rate of the fare originally purchased rather than the cabin flown, and the trip is not counted among the ten premium-fare flights required for Navigator. [2]
Can a TAP Miles&Go upgrade put me in First Class?
TAP does not operate a First Class, and the programme describes travel resulting from an upgrade as Economy Prime and Business, though some partner airlines do fly a First Class cabin. [2]
Sources
Sources checked on 18 October 2026. Upgrade rules for Star Alliance partners and other TAP partner airlines, and airport upgrades paid in cash rather than with miles, are not covered here.
- Termos e Condições do Programa TAP Miles&Go, checked 18 October 2026
- Earn miles by flying, TAP Miles&Go, checked 18 October 2026