No. Government fares must be purchased with a government-issued credit card, which begins with a specific number sequence. Anything else would be fraud.

FWIW, government fares aren't generally the lowest fares available. However, because they are fully refundable they are far cheaper than full Y fares. To give you an example, my husband just flew on a $500 government fare. The cheapest refundable would have been $2000. The cheapest non-refundable would have been $250.

Yes, government employees can now use their miles earned on work-related travel for personal use. It wasn't always that way. They can get the status bonuses too. There are, however, bonus mile promotions that often exclude government fares.



[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 11-10-2003).]