Originally Posted by flyingcrooked

I may have to fly one way YOW-EDI in a few days in Y, and the one-stop choices that work with my schedule are (these are all the same flight):

UA operated and marketed, books into V if I buy from United, for $1147.57 -- would get 75% SQM and points if I buy this and credit to Aeroplan, but no SQD.

UA operated/AC marketed, books into AC V if I buy standard, for $1147.57 -- whether and how much SQM/points/SQD I'd get is unclear, because UA fare class is opaque.

UA operated/AC marketed, books into AC V if I buy flex, for $1257.57 -- whether and how much SQM/points/SQD I'd get is unclear, because UA fare class is opaque.

UA operated/AC marketed, booked into AC V if I buy comfort, for $1362.57 -- whether and how much SQM/points/SQD I'd get is unclear, because UA fare class is opaque.

It looks like the choice is effectively: go 016 and be guaranteed to get some SQM and points but no SQD, or go with an 014 ticket and, hopefully, get some SQD, SQM, and points, but no guarantees. Or is it safe to assume there's no way even the standard fare brand would book into UA N, which is economy basic and so not eligible for SQD?

Expertflyer has the UA load on that flight as J2 C2 D2 Z1 P0 Y7 B6 M6 E5 U5 H5 Q5 V4 W4 S4 T3 L3 K2 G0. Not sure why there is no N fare.

Is buying the 014 ticket (which is refundable for 24 hours) but watching EF to see which of those economy buckets drops by 1 the moment I complete the purchase a reliable way to see what fare class UA will count the ticket as?

It's ridiculous that I have to think about this stuff.