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UA - a global airline but not for "foreigners"?

UA - a global airline but not for "foreigners"?

Old Aug 31, 2014, 9:28 am
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by nanyang

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I live in NYC. I could list for you merchants based outside NY that charge me sales tax for online purchases. I could also provide a long list of merchants that don't charge me tax. That does not mean I complain about those who do and justify it by listing those who do not. It also does not mean those charging tax are wrong or those not charging are wrong - either may well be right.

Maybe UA has a problem, but I guarantee you that everyone does too and if you change the subject matter, UA will sometimes be in your list (of those who do) and one or more of those you list will move to the list of those who don't.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 11:22 am
  #47  
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Originally Posted by kale73
The question isn't whether or not this is "discrimination," since it quite clearly is.
The question is whether this particular form of discrimination is "fair" or not.
It clearly is discrimination and it's clearly not fair to the buyer. But life isn't fair either. And it's clearly legal, even if UA might be reluctant to admit, in Singapore, that it charges Singapore residents xx% more than others for the same thing.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 12:10 pm
  #48  
 
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Originally Posted by chinatraderjmr
And just as often the ticket costs less if purchased somewhere else........it evens out.

Case in point. LAX-DXB (STOP) - CMB in F on EK $16,000.00
OR coming the other way
CMB-DXB (stop) - LAX in F $6000

Same story with Ex India and Ex Korea
Those are two different flights. Not the same thing at all.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 12:29 pm
  #49  
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Originally Posted by blug
Then what about the airfare of A-B-C being more expensive than B-C? That should be an even worse discrimination isn't it?
Wwwwwhat do you mean airfare isn't priced on a cost plus basis!?!??!

Originally Posted by catocony
If you want to talk about discrimination, we can go down memory lane and discuss how business travelers used to get bled dry on transcon flights. The Saturday stay, the two weeks in advance BS, there used to be a buttload of price fixing and gouging that we don't have much of anymore.
SNS requirements are still alive and well in the midcon market. IAH-DCA is about $1500 for a weekday night stay vs $300 for a SNS.

Originally Posted by stevenshev
I think it is you who do not understand the concept of POS for airline tickets.

POS is exactly that. If you walk into a travel agent in NYC with a US or foreign credit card, your POS is NYC.

If you walk into a travel agent in London with a US or UK credit card, your POS is still London.

United's website/billing system is just stupid, and changes POS based on billing address - that does not mean that that is how it is supposed to work.
You're just demonstrating the workaround everyone suggests (a local travel agent) to change the POS.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 1:23 pm
  #50  
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Originally Posted by mduell
You're just demonstrating the workaround everyone suggests (a local travel agent) to change fix the POS.
Corrected above.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 1:47 pm
  #51  
 
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Originally Posted by nanyang
In the end a US-based friend got the tickets issued using his credit card.
Would that be any problem when you check in? Some airlines require that CC be verified (verified by Visa, presenting the card to an airline agent, etc.) if purchased online unless the cardholder is one of the travelers on the same first flight segment.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 4:34 pm
  #52  
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Originally Posted by cxfan1960
Some airlines require that CC be verified
You will be able to tell if United wants this when you look up the reservation.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 5:42 pm
  #53  
 
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Suggestions for getting round UA POS rules

Some ideas for getting around sales city nonsense:
  • as others suggested, use a TA or OTA based in you desired sales city
  • buy UA Travel Certificates online, then use them to purchase your ticket; use any sales city you want when you purchase the ticket
  • PayPal
  • Western Union (fees may be less than the price difference)
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 7:24 pm
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by CaptainMiles
Some ideas for getting around sales city nonsense:....
Or perhaps we should focus on how to take advantage of any discriminatory pricing?

There is no reason to assume that US POS is pricing cheapest.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 8:22 pm
  #55  
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Originally Posted by ani90
I live in NYC. I could list for you merchants based outside NY that charge me sales tax for online purchases. I could also provide a long list of merchants that don't charge me tax. That does not mean I complain about those who do and justify it by listing those who do not. It also does not mean those charging tax are wrong or those not charging are wrong - either may well be right.

Maybe UA has a problem, but I guarantee you that everyone does too and if you change the subject matter, UA will sometimes be in your list (of those who do) and one or more of those you list will move to the list of those who don't.
Thank you.

We might be talking about two different things here. Someone argued that "foreigners" paying a higher price for domestic air travel was "de rigueur" globally - based on my experience, it is not.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 8:27 pm
  #56  
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Originally Posted by CaptainMiles
Some ideas for getting around sales city nonsense:
  • as others suggested, use a TA or OTA based in you desired sales city
  • buy UA Travel Certificates online, then use them to purchase your ticket; use any sales city you want when you purchase the ticket
  • PayPal
  • Western Union (fees may be less than the price difference)
Good ideas - thank you. ^

Having said that, convenience is a big thing for me...
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 8:32 pm
  #57  
 
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I believe in Europe they are trying to make this illegal - and in some cases already is.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 9:05 pm
  #58  
 
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Does ay tone else think this tnread should be merged with one of the previous threads on this exact same topic?

Airlines based in China are the best case for buying locally that I know of. My local team in China can routinely purchase a ticket for me to travel within China at abut 1/4 the cost of the same flight purchased in the U.S.

Round trips between the U.S. and Europe Are routinely cheaper when purchased for travel originating in Europe. If you fly often between the two continents you may aready be taking advantage of this.

For United I think they are over simplifying by assigning your point of sale to the country where your credit card is issued, but in case of dispute the rules and laws for that country would likely prevail for that transaction, so it makes sense for UA to do it this way. What is flyer friendly about UA compared to some ther companies is that there is a relatively simple way around the system (as posted by others) if you feel compelled to do that. Perhaps that United has allowed this loophole to remain available to its customets is a conscious decision to allow it so that custoners who find this important can still book United while they collect the maximum revenue the market will pay the rest of the time.

On a related topic, I have never had an issue with me or someone I bought a ticket for flying on a ticket purchased by someone different than the traveler EXCEPT when flying on DL. They routinely give my parents the thiird degree when flying on tickets I purchased for them, Our last names are the same, so you would think they might consider that the purchase was legitimate. Now, I realize it clearly states when purchasing a DL ticket that the purchaser must present the credit card used for purchase at the time of travel, but I have neber seen this rule enforced or even mentioned except for DL travel.
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Old Aug 31, 2014, 9:06 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by erik123
I believe in Europe they are trying to make this illegal - and in some cases already is.
Ahh, the EU cartel. Outlawing any anticompetitive practice not benefiting the EU itself. Also outlawing competitive practices that hurt EU members. It's like OPEC outlawing fracking or DeBeers outlawing the synthetic creation of diamonds. I'll stop now b4 I get banished to OMNI.
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Old Sep 1, 2014, 3:46 am
  #60  
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Originally Posted by Air Houston
On a related topic, I have never had an issue with me or someone I bought a ticket for flying on a ticket purchased by someone different than the traveler EXCEPT when flying on DL. They routinely give my parents the thiird degree when flying on tickets I purchased for them, Our last names are the same, so you would think they might consider that the purchase was legitimate. Now, I realize it clearly states when purchasing a DL ticket that the purchaser must present the credit card used for purchase at the time of travel, but I have neber seen this rule enforced or even mentioned except for DL travel.
I haven't seen UA do this since well before the merger - some tickets had text in red requiring credit card to be presented at check in or prior to travel for verification. However, come here to Asia, it is common with various carriers,even when the purchaser is a traveler. Here how SQ describes it, from an FAQ on their site:

Why am I notified to present my credit/debit card for verification?

We process all card transactions through a fraud detection tool. The tool considers various characteristics of your booking, as well as your card details, and makes an assessment of the risk level. If your transaction is flagged out by our tool, you will be required to present the physical card for verification in person prior to the flight at any Singapore Airlines ticketing office, or during check in at the airport. You will be notified during the payment process if such a requirement is needed, and will be given the option to either proceed, choose another card or payment method.

This security measure helps protect our valued customers against fraudulent use of their payment cards on Singapore Airlines.

Please bring along a photo identification when you turn up for card verification to identify yourself as the cardholder.
On the two tickets I've booked this year with them, both in my own name and using my own CC, I've been chosen for verification, and both times, asked on departure for the card. Same story on TK, TG and CX this year. I think 6E also verified my card on one trip, but on several others, did not. And I know I've had relatives need to do this for EK, as well, but since the purchaser wasn't a traveler, she had to go to the EK office for verification.

UA may not ask now, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this required more often on all airlines if CC fraud continues at the rate it has.
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