Originally Posted by emcampbe

correct - UA can not see payment method on tickets issued by a TA or other carrier. Not correct that this would be a great angle For you, as they don’t care.

i vaguely remember a thread a while ago - maybe a year or two ago - where someone tried to argue that they should have gotten a free bag because they paid with an explorer card but I believe it was through a rewards portal, and so UA didn’t know it was paid that way. And still, no free bag.

rumor is paying an ancillary fee on UAs website with the card will trigger a bag fee waiver that the card has - economy plus, upgrade buyup, etc. so that is an option - will likely be as much/more than a bag fee, but you’d get something else if value, at least, as well.