Trip.com and Cathay Fare Codes?
#31
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend




Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,376
#32
FlyerTalk Evangelist



Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold/OW emerald, QR
Posts: 17,062
Three comments:
1. Many airlines do not credit credit miles on their own FFP for the cheapest fares of partners.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
2. T&Cs of all airlines prohibit dales a miles/redemption tickets. Trip.com is a major OTA, it will never risk a retaliation from a major airlines by selling redemption tickets from someone else. Maybe that happened decades ago.
3. Using a major OTA (like trip.com) can work fine as long as you don't need to change the ticket/flight. But in case of flight cancellation or voluntary flight change, it can be a major hassle.
1. Many airlines do not credit credit miles on their own FFP for the cheapest fares of partners.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
2. T&Cs of all airlines prohibit dales a miles/redemption tickets. Trip.com is a major OTA, it will never risk a retaliation from a major airlines by selling redemption tickets from someone else. Maybe that happened decades ago.
3. Using a major OTA (like trip.com) can work fine as long as you don't need to change the ticket/flight. But in case of flight cancellation or voluntary flight change, it can be a major hassle.
#33
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 21,005
Three comments:
1. Many airlines do not credit credit miles on their own FFP for the cheapest fares of partners.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
2. T&Cs of all airlines prohibit dales a miles/redemption tickets. Trip.com is a major OTA, it will never risk a retaliation from a major airlines by selling redemption tickets from someone else. Maybe that happened decades ago.3. Using a major OTA (like trip.com) can work fine as long as you don't need to change the ticket/flight. But in case of flight cancellation or voluntary flight change, it can be a major hassle.
1. Many airlines do not credit credit miles on their own FFP for the cheapest fares of partners.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
2. T&Cs of all airlines prohibit dales a miles/redemption tickets. Trip.com is a major OTA, it will never risk a retaliation from a major airlines by selling redemption tickets from someone else. Maybe that happened decades ago.3. Using a major OTA (like trip.com) can work fine as long as you don't need to change the ticket/flight. But in case of flight cancellation or voluntary flight change, it can be a major hassle.
I'm not redeeming points or paying cash for J on TYO-HKG. It's too short. Having said that, it would be nice not to get either P or O-fares going forward. I like to get something rather than nothing.
Does Trip.com have a free 24-hour cancelation policy? This could be an easy way to figure out the fare code before committing.
#34
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend




Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,376
For the most part, they adhere to the airline's policies and are rather transparent about this. Priceline is the only OTA I know of that offers its own guarantee (there might be others).
#35
Join Date: Apr 2023
Posts: 12
I had tried to book with Trip.com last 2years and 99% has been failed with the booking when you come to the payment. I only manage to book 1 ticket for my partner travelling from Vietnam to Thailand.
Once I change to Go To Gate, Expedia or Vayama any of those sited then the booking confirmed and issue ticket with no problem, of course the fare was 10 to 20 euro higher on those site.
Trip.com just lure you to their page and waste a lot of your time. Even the amount that Trip.com wanted was on hold in my Revolute account and after 30min the amount was returned, so I find it strange they said the payment didnt went through.
As far I know is only Expedia show booking class in their system.
Once I change to Go To Gate, Expedia or Vayama any of those sited then the booking confirmed and issue ticket with no problem, of course the fare was 10 to 20 euro higher on those site.
Trip.com just lure you to their page and waste a lot of your time. Even the amount that Trip.com wanted was on hold in my Revolute account and after 30min the amount was returned, so I find it strange they said the payment didnt went through.
As far I know is only Expedia show booking class in their system.
#36
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 21,005
I had tried to book with Trip.com last 2years and 99% has been failed with the booking when you come to the payment. I only manage to book 1 ticket for my partner travelling from Vietnam to Thailand.
Once I change to Go To Gate, Expedia or Vayama any of those sited then the booking confirmed and issue ticket with no problem, of course the fare was 10 to 20 euro higher on those site.
Trip.com just lure you to their page and waste a lot of your time. Even the amount that Trip.com wanted was on hold in my Revolute account and after 30min the amount was returned, so I find it strange they said the payment didnt went through.
As far I know is only Expedia show booking class in their system.
Once I change to Go To Gate, Expedia or Vayama any of those sited then the booking confirmed and issue ticket with no problem, of course the fare was 10 to 20 euro higher on those site.
Trip.com just lure you to their page and waste a lot of your time. Even the amount that Trip.com wanted was on hold in my Revolute account and after 30min the amount was returned, so I find it strange they said the payment didnt went through.
As far I know is only Expedia show booking class in their system.
#37



Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TPE / HSZ
Programs: CX GO (=SPH), IHG Diamond Amb, Hertz 5*, Accor, Hilton, National
Posts: 7,226
1. Many airlines do not credit credit miles on their own FFP for the cheapest fares of partners.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
CX P fares have been around for a few years and BAEC is, of course, well aware of it and decided not to credit any avios rather than the 125% for a bit more expensive biz fares. SAme for O, zero avios rather than 25% for slightly more expensive fares.
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
Programs: CX, DL, Nexus/GE, APEC
Posts: 11,079
Unrelated to TRIP.com
Does anyone know if economy light gets booked into fare class O?
I am trying to see the flight availability on expertflyer for HKG-YYZ in September 2023. Most days show this J9 C9 D7 P0 I0 W9 R5 E0 Y9 B9 H9 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O2
Does that mean there is not much economy class availability left? Or is CX just blocking cheaper fare class / redemption availability?
Does anyone know if economy light gets booked into fare class O?
I am trying to see the flight availability on expertflyer for HKG-YYZ in September 2023. Most days show this J9 C9 D7 P0 I0 W9 R5 E0 Y9 B9 H9 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O2
Does that mean there is not much economy class availability left? Or is CX just blocking cheaper fare class / redemption availability?
They are selling out ticket in Y north of $3500 as AC will not run 015/016 due to Canadian airline not able to fly over Russia
#40



Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TPE / HSZ
Programs: CX GO (=SPH), IHG Diamond Amb, Hertz 5*, Accor, Hilton, National
Posts: 7,226
#41

Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: MAN
Programs: Avios, AsiaMiles
Posts: 52
What you said is incorrect. This is only the case with crediting CX flights to AA. This is not the case with BA (O class being the only exception within Y cabin, but until recently CX members don't earn anything on O class, either), and certainly not AS (all classes can be credited).
Are you sure this is intentional? P class is above I class (the sequence is JCDPI), but I class still earns the normal rate with BAEC. I would say this is an oversight, or else I class should also earn nothing.
Are you sure this is intentional? P class is above I class (the sequence is JCDPI), but I class still earns the normal rate with BAEC. I would say this is an oversight, or else I class should also earn nothing.
Qatar earns 125% on C,D,I,J,P fare while BA excludes P.
Also, Qatar is more generous for mid-economy tiers but earns nothing for the lowest tier.
Y B QR 100% BA 100%
H QR 50% BA 100%
KLMV QR 50% BA 25%
SNQ QR 0% BA 25%
O QR 0% BA 0%
Interestingly inconsistent, but at least for KLMV tiers it isn't too bad.
#42

Join Date: Nov 2022
Location: NYC, SIN, or anywhere in-between :)
Programs: Japan Airlines JGC Diamond / Oneworld Emerald
Posts: 149
Calling CX Customer Service Number to Book Specific Fare Code
I have a good experience of recently using the CX customer service number (at the bottom of the website) for the United States. For Japan Airlines FFP, I would only be able to earn mileage / qualifying points for booking class L and above.
I called the number around 6 PM EST yesterday and the automated number originally advised me that I would have a 10 minute waiting period, but I was speaking to an agent within 2 minute's time. After specifying the date, route numbers, and specifying that I want to have the fare class L, the agent confirmed my name, date of birth, flight details, and also sent an email to confirm the informations.
Once I confirmed the information was correct, I then got a link via email again to purchase my fare. Sure enough, the fare class L was there on the e-ticket PDF. I would recommend their customer service if needed and the phone call was no more than 15 minutes.
Altlough, I wish CX would still peg their fares to specific fare class and associated benefits. On Japan Airlines website, you have the choice of the cheapest (of what's available) fare classes, upgradable, and then fully flexible options, all which have different accumulation points based on fare class for your oneworld programs.
I called the number around 6 PM EST yesterday and the automated number originally advised me that I would have a 10 minute waiting period, but I was speaking to an agent within 2 minute's time. After specifying the date, route numbers, and specifying that I want to have the fare class L, the agent confirmed my name, date of birth, flight details, and also sent an email to confirm the informations.
Once I confirmed the information was correct, I then got a link via email again to purchase my fare. Sure enough, the fare class L was there on the e-ticket PDF. I would recommend their customer service if needed and the phone call was no more than 15 minutes.
Altlough, I wish CX would still peg their fares to specific fare class and associated benefits. On Japan Airlines website, you have the choice of the cheapest (of what's available) fare classes, upgradable, and then fully flexible options, all which have different accumulation points based on fare class for your oneworld programs.
Last edited by OWF_NYC_SIN; Jul 20, 2023 at 6:56 pm
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist



Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold/OW emerald, QR
Posts: 17,062
I looked up the Avios earning on both BA and Qatar, LHR-HKG on CX as example
Qatar earns 125% on C,D,I,J,P fare while BA excludes P.
Also, Qatar is more generous for mid-economy tiers but earns nothing for the lowest tier.
Y B QR 100% BA 100%
H QR 50% BA 100%
KLMV QR 50% BA 25%
SNQ QR 0% BA 25%
O QR 0% BA 0%
Interestingly inconsistent, but at least for KLMV tiers it isn't too bad.
Qatar earns 125% on C,D,I,J,P fare while BA excludes P.
Also, Qatar is more generous for mid-economy tiers but earns nothing for the lowest tier.
Y B QR 100% BA 100%
H QR 50% BA 100%
KLMV QR 50% BA 25%
SNQ QR 0% BA 25%
O QR 0% BA 0%
Interestingly inconsistent, but at least for KLMV tiers it isn't too bad.
If avios is what you care about, it is easy to have both QR and BA accounts and choose where to credit a CX flight. But that only applies to avios, not to BA TP.
#44
Original Member


Join Date: May 1998
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX DM, JGC Sapphire, FWC Gold
Posts: 382
Trip.com, Skyscanner, Ctrip, Wing On Travel (based in HK) are in the same group of companies. I once booked a ticket with them and later on realized the ticket was issued in Sweden and the cost of it was HKD14k while I was paying HKD15k to them. The airline official website was selling at HKD16k if issuing in HK. However, there had been hiccups before departure and it was nightmare to contact them to solve the issue. Luckily nothing happened at the end and the so-called 'risk of boarding denial with my ticket' was due to the incompetent CX customer service.
#45
Original Poster
FlyerTalk Evangelist


Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 21,005
Trip.com, Skyscanner, Ctrip, Wing On Travel (based in HK) are in the same group of companies. I once booked a ticket with them and later on realized the ticket was issued in Sweden and the cost of it was HKD14k while I was paying HKD15k to them. The airline official website was selling at HKD16k if issuing in HK. However, there had been hiccups before departure and it was nightmare to contact them to solve the issue. Luckily nothing happened at the end and the so-called 'risk of boarding denial with my ticket' was due to the incompetent CX customer service.

