Originally Posted by
drdavidge
Hi, was looking to book a flight for the family with kids ages 7 and 9 and the basic economy fares are 200/person less so its finally made me consider it. My wife and I each have the MP card.
The plan was to book one adult and 2 kids through the Chase portal on Basic Economy, which I think would pick up the free carry on, free checked bag, and priority boarding perks, leaving the difference just being no seat selection. But since flying with kids, that reservation would be seated together anyway. I would then book the other adult with a regular Economy seat, allowing us to potentially get our seats together. Do I have this understanding correct?
The other option would be to book all 4 of us on Basic Economy, and then pay for seat selections, but I don't know how that works as I've never booked BE before. How much do seats usually cost to select after buying BE? Can you pick seats right away or do you have to wait for check-in?
Any thoughts? Do I have this right?
Thanks all
booking through the Chase portal won’t get you a free bag. You are paying an agent (Chase Travel), not United. UA will not see what card was used - only the TA will. Not sure about fully paid in cash tickets, but IME, when you pay with Chase points (or combo or points/cash), UA actually gets paid with a card owned by Chase.
as for seats, cost is going to depend on route, and I believe is dynamically priced based on load. Distance will also be a factor. I don’t book basic, but have priced it out and have seen seats for as little as $12. But expect to pay more on a longer flight vs. shorter. If you really are interested to see what that cost is, you can buy a ticket in BE, see what the price for the seat is after purchase, and refund within 24 hours. If booking directly via UA, you should be able to see via seat map prior to even purchasing - not sure about OTAs though.