book Y then pay to select F seat?
Apr 12, 23, 3:47 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: PDX
Programs: none, so sad
Posts: 2,473
book Y then pay to select F seat?
my company won't reimburse F, even the amount that Y would have cost. If I book Y, can I then pay to select an F seat and will the total be about what an F seat would have cost in the first place?
Last edited by psychtobe; Apr 12, 23 at 3:54 pm
Apr 12, 23, 3:59 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: Southwest A-List; Alaska MVPG; Hilton Diamond; Avis PreferredPlus; Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite
Posts: 874
I don’t think you would do it during seat selection. I think you would book Y, print the receipt, and then change the flight to F.
Apr 12, 23, 4:04 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: ANC
Programs: AS MVP, Club 49, Global Entry, National Emerald Club, Hilton Silver
Posts: 1,255
I second this. Many airlines allow you to “upgrade” after booking within the seat selection process. AS is not one of them. You have to exchange your Y ticket for an F one.
Apr 12, 23, 4:38 pm
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
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exactly
that said, cue the nay-sayers who will advise OP about potentially violating corporate travel and/or ethics policy (submitting a false receipt with an expense report), even though the difference between expensed Y and flown F came out of OP's own pocket
speaking as one who has traveled on business for 10 employers over ~40 years, and who has done this more than a few times, I have only had a handful of inquiries from people in the approval/accounting/audit chain about a ticket number mismatch, but *never* has *anyone* rejected my answer: "Ticket was reissued when I paid for an upgrade out of personal funds"
in the old days of paper tickets, UA was far better than other airlines about returning the original passenger coupon (receipt) after an exchange at the airport or a city ticket office
Apr 12, 23, 5:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: SAN
Programs: AS Mileage Plan 100k, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 853
Just another vote for "ticket then call in and upgrade". We use Concur so that books the flight, then I call in and upfare to whatever J class ticket is available. The agents see this every day, they know what's up.
Apr 12, 23, 6:22 pm
#6
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 9,601
exactly
that said, cue the nay-sayers who will advise OP about potentially violating corporate travel and/or ethics policy (submitting a false receipt with an expense report), even though the difference between expensed Y and flown F came out of OP's own pocket
speaking as one who has traveled on business for 10 employers over ~40 years, and who has done this more than a few times, I have only had a handful of inquiries from people in the approval/accounting/audit chain about a ticket number mismatch, but *never* has *anyone* rejected my answer: "Ticket was reissued when I paid for an upgrade out of personal funds"
in the old days of paper tickets, UA was far better than other airlines about returning the original passenger coupon (receipt) after an exchange at the airport or a city ticket office
that said, cue the nay-sayers who will advise OP about potentially violating corporate travel and/or ethics policy (submitting a false receipt with an expense report), even though the difference between expensed Y and flown F came out of OP's own pocket
speaking as one who has traveled on business for 10 employers over ~40 years, and who has done this more than a few times, I have only had a handful of inquiries from people in the approval/accounting/audit chain about a ticket number mismatch, but *never* has *anyone* rejected my answer: "Ticket was reissued when I paid for an upgrade out of personal funds"
in the old days of paper tickets, UA was far better than other airlines about returning the original passenger coupon (receipt) after an exchange at the airport or a city ticket office
At some companies they have been fine with me booking F and reimbursing me based on a screenshot that shows the cheapest Y flight.
And some companies expressly prohibit paid upgrades, even if you pay for them yourself. Luckily I've never worked at one of those.
And most have policies somewhere in between.
Personally I would be ok violating a policy like this, but then again I've never really valued my job that much. My approach has always been that if they don't like it I can go work somewhere else. But I would not necessarily recommend that approach to anyone else, without knowing their situation.
Apr 12, 23, 6:25 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
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AS IT doesn't allow changing a Concur booking (or, presumably, one from *any* agency) on either the app or website -- "This reservation is ineligible for online changes" -- but, thankfully, so far AS has never tried to charge a fee to take over an external booking
Apr 12, 23, 6:40 pm
#8
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I don't recall the exact itinerary, but a couple months ago the Concur search returned the lowest Y fare (~$187) on NK with a 5-hour layover in LAS and a midnight arrival ... a reasonably-timed connection on DL was ~$310 (with F ~$460), and "Lowest Logical Fare" was DL nonstop at ~$385
Apr 12, 23, 7:19 pm
#9
Join Date: May 2009
Location: EUG
Programs: AS MVP, AA MM, HH Diamond, MR Gold
Posts: 7,955
Is this the same scenario where you're just trying to get into a lounge? You are adding layers of things that might go wrong. The lounge is really not worth it.
Apr 12, 23, 9:21 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: PDX
Programs: none, so sad
Posts: 2,473
Apr 13, 23, 3:24 am
#11
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 752
under these circumstances where they absolutely won't reimburse F/J without two or three or four levels of management/leadership approval (and usually those have to be in advance), it's not difficult to find a Y fare that's rather more than the default but still within policy
I don't recall the exact itinerary, but a couple months ago the Concur search returned the lowest Y fare (~$187) on NK with a 5-hour layover in LAS and a midnight arrival ... a reasonably-timed connection on DL was ~$310 (with F ~$460), and "Lowest Logical Fare" was DL nonstop at ~$385
I don't recall the exact itinerary, but a couple months ago the Concur search returned the lowest Y fare (~$187) on NK with a 5-hour layover in LAS and a midnight arrival ... a reasonably-timed connection on DL was ~$310 (with F ~$460), and "Lowest Logical Fare" was DL nonstop at ~$385
Apr 13, 23, 4:13 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.5MM; AS MVPG 75K
Posts: 20,500
minor technicality: Concur is a widely-used service platform that company travel departments can customize, so it isn't up to the provider (SAP) to determine what results any particular search returns
Apr 14, 23, 2:22 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: SAN
Programs: AS Mileage Plan 100k, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 853
Our company has specifically excluded Spirit and Frontier from "lowest logical fare" rules, so you aren't forced to ride the bus. But then going a step further, we won't even allow booking on Allegiant or Sun Country.
