This post focuses on my experience flying basic economy (BE) fares on United towards the end of last year. I was hesitant to book a BE fare, so want to assure others that it’s a much better experience than I expected.

For the last three months or so, I decided to generate as many lifetime miles as possible and as inexpensively as I could. As I said, I was hesitant to fly on a BE fare, mainly because everything I've read on FlyerTalk seems to focus on the limitations and downside. Spoiler alert: it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

For purposes of full disclosure, I am a lifetime 1k, so many of the posted restrictions about checked bags, boarding priority, etc. didn't apply to me or wouldn't have had I checked a bag! I use LAX for almost all flights, though I occasionally look at ONT, BUR and SNA for deals.

As I was trying to generate as many LT miles as possible, I flew many international flights. I found very good fares to SIN (4), LHR (4), and NRT (3). I also took a trip to DXB. I spent time in MIA, FLL and MCO. I was only able to fly to Hawaii once. Florida generated the best value in terms of cpm; DXB and SIN provided the most miles.

When I report a cpm for some flights below, I will give two numbers; the first is the full ticket cost, which is the metric that I favor; I also give the cpm based on PQPs in parentheses.

For me, fares to SIN were high: almost twice what I paid in 2018/19: I wish those days would return. Nevertheless, it wasn’t too difficult to find fares that priced under five cpm; flights to Florida were even better value.

As I was filled with dread about flying on a BE fare, I wanted to adhere strictly to all the rules, so bought a Thule Landmark 60L travel pack from Amazon, which met the carry on and personal item criteria for United. It was more than enough space for everything that I needed: mask, pounce with electronic adapters and cables, a change or two of clothes, compression socks, a neck pillow, slippers, etc.

Trips, distances, prices and cpms
I made 20 trips in total from late September through mid-December. The shortest generated 4,434 miles (LAX/MCO/LAX) at 3.108 (2.266) cpm; the longest gave me 20,349 miles (LAX/DEN/SFO/SIN/SFO/SEA/LAX) at 4.495 (3.833) cpm; the trips averaged 11,022 miles.

In terms of cpm, the best was 2.931 (2.105) for LAX/EWR/PBI/EWR/IAD/LAX; the most expensive cost me 6.029 (5.137) for LAX/NRT/LAX; the average was 4.739 (3.612) cpm.

Fare buckets
I flew a total of 220,445 miles involving 70 segments in BE; an additional ten segments priced in the G (NRT) or W/K (real K for DXB) buckets. So sixteen of the trips were on N fare or the international equivalent; four (NRT, 3, and DXB) ended up being in the G (NRT) or W/K (DXB) fare bucket. I used these non-N fares to upgrade to PP or to Polaris (DXB on a W fare), using points that would likely expire in January. I didn't miss an upgrade. Here's what I have learned.

Carry-on baggage
I expected a lot of scrutiny, but it never happened, not once. I probably could have used my regular carry-ons if I wanted to. I suspect that those in the final boarding group had a much different experience.

Boarding
Boarding happened completely as advertised; my 1k status let me pre board, even though the boarding pass, electronic or paper, made it clear that I was fly on a BE fare.

My experience with United is one of inconsistency and employees not knowing what they’re supposed to do. I was expecting pushback about boarding early with a BE fare. It never happened.

Seating: much better than expected
Here I expected to be in middle seats for every segment. It typically was not the case. I was surprised. I am lucky in the sense that I have no problem sleeping on planes, so in this regard my experience may not be typical. Finally, I never paid for a seat assignment. I also sat in a window or aisle seat for well more than half of all segments.

Of the seventy segments on an N fare, I was assigned an aisle seat 13 times; a middle seat 29 times and a window seat on 28 occasions. Although seat assignments are apparently immutable, I was able to use the app to change a middle seat to a window; I took this action 11 times. Once I moved myself to an E+ seat. There was no cost. There were two times that the system moved me from the back to the front about 30 minutes before boarding started. (presumably due to a tight connection). On three occasions a gate agent moved me, unsolicited, from a middle seat to a window (2) or an aisle. Things ended up with my having an aisle on 13 segments of the 70 segments; a middle seat on 16 (three on SIN/SFO) and a window 41 times.

CPU upgrades happened on an N fare
I was upgraded to domestic first twice on an "N" fare. I was shocked too; however, these upgrades occurred on one of the hub safaris I took to get from LAX to SFO (through LAS, SEA or DEN) the on to SIN. Here’s what I discovered.

International fares price in a K or L bucket. They are still BE fares, with all the warnings on the website, boarding pass, etc.; however, they are described as CPU eligible when booked. A few days before departure, I appeared on the upgrade list, presumably right above somebody with platinum status. However, once I checked in, I would be unceremoniously kicked off the upgrade list and back with the riffraff where I belonged. One interesting point is that if I am on the upgrade list as part of an international itinerary and a CPU sweep occurs before the 24 hour checkin window, the system doesn't care if you're on a discounted fare: I was moved to first. I was expecting this oversight to be corrected as I boarded; it wasn't. I guess I owe an apology to some platinum out there!

Treatment on board
This experience was the most surprising of all. FAs seem to focus on elite status and not the fare paid—no surprise there. Apparently, it's not common to find a 1k in the rear of the plane. I found that I was treated like some sort of victimized refugee. I got used to hearing the expression "you're my 1k." I was sometimes asked why I was so far back, etc. In summary, I learned the further back you sit, the better is the treatment. On long haul flights I often had or was offered an empty row. On flights to/from LHR, I was twice brought a meal from the front of the cabin—they really felt sorry for me! I was once even given pajamas: well, when asked if there was anything else I needed, I let the FA know that I missed out on pajamas on my last flight to SIN (this statement is accurate, everyone in coach did); he came back ten minutes later with two pajamas he found, presumably in the Polaris cabin of the B789. Customer service on United is great. 😊

Going forward, I wouldn't use a BE fare on a business trip; however, it's not the horrific experience that I once built it up to be. Treatment as a 1k is better on a BE fare.

I will be more ecumenical in terms of departure airports—I have only used LAX. I will look at ONT, SNA and BUR for flights to Hawaii and MCO. I will also try and push the cpm cost to under four cents.
In summary, I recommend basic economy fares to elite travelers on United.