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Cheap United 'A' fares really 'A' fares?

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Old Jun 13, 2014, 12:15 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by CDKing
So pretty much the same thing. Coach fare basis that gives you a F seat and books into a booking class associated with the domestic F cabin.
It's like saying a W is the same as a Q. They're not. They're different fares.

And I would submit that from the pax perspective, the absence of the letters "UP" from the fare are significant. I have had at least two instances where I was able to overcome phone agent's confusion about whether I was entitled to a front cabin seat by pointing out that the fare code specifically says "UP." There's nothing similar in the UPDI fare codes, and I think people are going to run into more problems with them.
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Old Jun 13, 2014, 4:47 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by Hendo5698
Well I am looking at booking a flight with travel next Sunday the 22nd... here are the fare codes listed after selecting A fares...

Outbound CHI - PDX H HDA07AKN
Return PDX - CHI W WDA14AKN

A fares were around 150 more than cheapest coach fares
got 250% miles on such a fare a week ago. They are treated like A fares.
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Old Feb 2, 2015, 10:27 pm
  #18  
 
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Cheap United 'A' fares really 'A' fares?

Hi everyone,

I booked a couple of the cheap United A fares I could find out of SEA since they seem to be $700-900 to NYC and some places in Florida.

The question I have is that while they show up as A Fares are they really A Fares? The reason I am asking is because the fare basis on both ITA and on the email from United shows:

HAA03AZN/HAA03AZN/VAA03AZN/VAA03AZN

I looked through past itineraries I've had with UA and I've never had a trip that the first letter of the fare basis didn't match the booking class.

The main reason I am asking is because I would be crediting to Miles&More and UA A fares earn 300%. But I obviously don't want to fly this if it credits as H or V class.

Thanks for your help. (Sorry... such a n00b on the whole fare basis/calculation thing)
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Old Feb 2, 2015, 10:59 pm
  #19  
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Those are UPDI fares - economy fare basis that books into A.

On UA, they typically credit as A fares (although they are not supposed to). Let us know how they credit in M&M - don't think we've seen any data points on that yet.
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Old Feb 3, 2015, 8:23 am
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Apart from crediting to M&M it would be also very interesting to see how these A fares credit to A3 also.
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Old Feb 3, 2015, 5:45 pm
  #21  
 
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UA has some really aggressive discount F pricing out there right now. I'm seeing SFO-MSP r/t for $591 (P with T fare basis), which is barely 50% above the cheapest economy fare on the given dates and even undercuts the local LCC's (Sun Country) pricing.

I didn't book that, but I did book a o/w MSP-SFO using residual value of a canceled ticket. One-way economy would have been $344 (V class), while F (Z with V fare basis) was $443, or just a 29% premium! Interesting that both prevailing fares were V at heart.

Congrats, UA, you win. I no longer care about the upgrade lottery and will just buy up to your literally-cheapened F cabin if it fits my schedule.
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Old Feb 3, 2015, 10:01 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by GoAmtrak
UA has some really aggressive discount F pricing out there right now. I'm seeing SFO-MSP r/t for $591 (P with T fare basis), which is barely 50% above the cheapest economy fare on the given dates and even undercuts the local LCC's (Sun Country) pricing.

I didn't book that, but I did book a o/w MSP-SFO using residual value of a canceled ticket. One-way economy would have been $344 (V class), while F (Z with V fare basis) was $443, or just a 29% premium! Interesting that both prevailing fares were V at heart.

Congrats, UA, you win. I no longer care about the upgrade lottery and will just buy up to your literally-cheapened F cabin if it fits my schedule.

I did something similar this week with trips from SNA-MSP and back. Ticket in A class was $69 more each way over economy, so I went for it. Hope the bonus miles and pqm post when I complete the travel later this month.
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 7:07 pm
  #23  
 
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"A" fare is really a "T" fare??

Really? I was looking at booking a 1st class "A" fare and when I read the rules, it showed that it is a "T" basis fare and non-refundable. I was hoping that an "A" would be refundable.


City Pairs Fare Class Fare Basis Code
MSY - SFO T TAA21AFN
SFO - MSY T TAA21AFN


If I look at "T" fares in economy, the fare is almost 1/2 the price. I don't get why an "A" fare is actually a "T" fare basis. Can someone try to help me understand this?
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 7:10 pm
  #24  
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pretty routine UP fare. Nothing new at all. UA has been selling them for a long time. If you want a refundable fare just search for refundable.
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 7:13 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by FLYMSY
.... I don't get why an "A" fare is actually a "T" fare basis. Can someone try to help me understand this?
It is a UPDI fare (recent variant of -UP fares) -- this thread and others discuss this in greater detail.
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 9:04 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by FLYMSY
Really? I was looking at booking a 1st class "A" fare and when I read the rules, it showed that it is a "T" basis fare and non-refundable. I was hoping that an "A" would be refundable.


City Pairs Fare Class Fare Basis Code
MSY - SFO T TAA21AFN
SFO - MSY T TAA21AFN


If I look at "T" fares in economy, the fare is almost 1/2 the price. I don't get why an "A" fare is actually a "T" fare basis. Can someone try to help me understand this?
It's a T fare that books into A. Pretty standard at UA these days for domestic flights on low-margin routes.

On that route there are 3 T fares that book into T with varying restrictions:
Code:
Fare Basis  Airline  Booking  Trip Type   Fare           Cabin  Effective  Expiration  Min/Max  Advanced
                     Class                                      Date       Date        Stay     Purchase Req
TEG14AKS    UA       T        Round-Trip  382.00 (USD)   E      03/31/15   10/28/15    SU / 30  14
TAA07AZN    UA       T        Round-Trip  394.00 (USD)   E                 06/01/15             07
TEA21AFN    UA       T        Round-Trip  404.00 (USD)   E                             SU / --  21
And 3 T/UPDI fares that book into A with varying restrictions:
Code:
Fare Basis  Airline  Booking  Trip Type   Fare           Cabin  Effective  Expiration  Min/Max  Advanced
                     Class                                      Date       Date        Stay     Purchase Req
TEG14AKS/UPDIUA       T        Round-Trip  800.00 (USD)   E      03/31/15   10/28/15    SU / 30  14
TAA07AZN/UPDIUA       T        Round-Trip  812.00 (USD)   E                 06/01/15             07
TEA21AFN/UPDIUA       T        Round-Trip  822.00 (USD)   E                             SU / --  21
And a few comically expensive F/J fares:
Code:
Fare Basis  Airline  Booking  Trip Type   Fare           Cabin  Effective  Expiration  Min/Max  Advanced
                     Class                                      Date       Date        Stay     Purchase Req
FUA         UA       F        Round-Trip  2816.00 (USD)  F                                      
F           UA       F        Round-Trip  17586.00 (USD) F                                      
J           UA       J        Round-Trip  17586.00 (USD) B
The cheapest refundable fare that books into first is this M fare:
Code:
Fare Basis  Airline  Booking  Trip Type   Fare           Cabin  Effective  Expiration  Min/Max  Advanced
                     Class                                      Date       Date        Stay     Purchase Req
MAA00AFY    UA       M        Round-Trip  1454.00 (USD)  E
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Old Mar 25, 2015, 9:25 pm
  #27  
 
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Thanks to y'all for the additional info. Always something new to learn.
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 11:00 am
  #28  
 
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Do these A fare post at 150% to MileagePlus? Anybody has experience with it?

Thanks
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 11:03 am
  #29  
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Originally Posted by flymexico2010
Do these A fare post at 150% to MileagePlus? Anybody has experience with it?

Thanks
Yup. Pre-3/1 they posted as 150% PQM and 175% RDM.
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Old Mar 27, 2015, 11:33 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by flymexico2010
Do these A fare post at 150% to MileagePlus? Anybody has experience with it?
Yes, for PQM. The high-yield COS bonuses for RDM are of course gone with the change to spend-based RDM earnings.

I have several from as recently as February, like IAD-SFO, which earned 3,628 PQM (2419 + 1209).
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