Originally Posted by
Cheapfur
We haven't flown United since the pandemic...so no status, all we have is 330k pooled miles. I think we'll be retiring from international travel so we'd like to do one last trip to Europe (Frankfurt) in Polaris burning up the last of our miles in the process. We are planning on leaving about May 1.
My plan is to purchase the remaining miles .I know, not a good value but, correct me if I'm wrong, it would make the whole PNR refundable. I realize the purchased miles are non refundable but having a refundable ticket is important to us.
I thought about going PE on the return trip and trying to upgrade to Polaris since it looks like a fairly empty flight but I'm not really interested in sweating out a waitlist since I've been burned before.
Am I missing any kind of missed opportunity here? Thanks.
Yes, mileage tickets are refundable, although, as you pointed out, the purchase of the mileage is not. You can't upgrade a mileage ticket, and refundable PE is going to cost a pretty penny anyway. Depending upon where you're starting from, and how flexible you are on dates, you might be able to find 2 TATL J tickets without needing to purchase a gigantic number of miles. If you're not already in a UA hub, consider purchasing a refundable ticket to a hub airport, and then check the award prices from there. On Monday, 4/29, I see two flights on EWR-FRA for 80K miles each on UA or 88K on LH. On the way back, you could fly 5/14 for 80K each to IAD or ORD.