Originally Posted by
Smaug
Wow, lots of good info here.
My typical destinations would be SJC and SFO. Looks like UA and AA has "won" those, unfortunately.
However, sometimes it is MRY. For that pair, I get the message "There are no awards for the requested citypair." What happens in that case?
You use the lowest price fare available. (Or you fly to SJC or SFO and drive, which may take less time and be cheaper than flying to little MRY.)
You can book non-government fares if they are cheaper, are on US airlines, are approved in your travel authorization, are purchased via the official gov't travel agent with a government travel card, and you can be reasonably sure that your plans won't change or be cancelled (city pair fares are refundable). Also, you have to book on the contract airline if that airline has the same general public fare (so if UA has the contract at $500, but you find a general public fare of $350 on UA or DL, you have to book UA).