Originally Posted by
Pat+
See the bright side of things: you will get 150% EQMs, and you could get a very cheap upgrade if you choose to use miles to upgrade. If you fly approximately 5,000 miles to Europe, you'll earn 5,000 * 2 (return trip) *2 (1P/1K bonus) + 500 (online booking) = 20,500 miles. The upgrade would cost you 15,000*2=30,000 miles. So, the net cost is less than 10,000 miles for two transatlantic upgrades, with the flexibility of a full fare. Not bad. Of course the upgrades may or may not clear, but the B fare will definitely help you on the DM list. Oh, and if you use the Platinum class UAL Visa, and the ticket costs, say, approximately $4,000 you'll basically get the upgrade for free.
I just bought a B-Fare tik for a BOS-HKG trip this Fall. Slightly over $3K. I used 30,000 RDM's to upgrade (r/t) and those upgrades have already confirmed. The good news is that between the standard award miles, and my 1P bonus, I'll earn about 36,540 miles. Combine that with the fact that I did put it on my UAL Visa Plat card, and I'll get a total of about 39,700 RDM's (a "profit" of 9,700 RDM's.) What's even better, I'll earn 150% EQM's on the B-Fare, and another 3K EQMS on the plat card. I've already calculated that if I don't reach it beforehand, the BOS-HKG trip will be my milestone trip for 1K status this year.