Originally Posted by
rbAA
OK, but AA sold me an LAX-ORD RT for $100 with full benefits. Your $69 fare is non-UPG'able and extremely restricted. I may want to do a same day standby if my UPG doesn't clear, though it should. I have bulkhead seats for the entire journey. I may need to check a bag or two, free of charge.
Enjoy that UA customer service.
Good for you.
American, which is my primary carrier, BTW, has no non-stop flights for my upcoming trip.
I have no status on United, so my chances of an upgrade are nil. I will not pay extra the equivalent of what I paid for my ticket for E+. I priced an E+ upgrade when I considered buying the regular economy fare, the total would have been almost three times as much as I paid for my ticket.
As a MileagePlus primary cardholder, I get a free checked bag
and a full sized carry on, even when flying on the Basic Economy fare. I also got group 2 boarding.
I don't care about flight changes, because there aren't many frequencies to my destination and the change fee is several fold what I paid for the ticket.
I don't fly enough on United to care about equity or status earning miles.
The only difference for me was the ability to select a seat. I ended up with a very similar seat to what I would have chosen had I bought a regular economy ticket, a few rows farther back but not all the way in the rear of the plane.
Basic may not be right for you, but it certainly worked for me for this particular trip.
Different stroke for different folks.