Feb 8, 2017, 9:00 am
Last edit by: mia
This thread covers how to use Ultimate Reward Points for booking all types of travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal.
1) How do I book a ticket? Choose my airfare class?
Login to ultimaterewards.com
Click: Use points > Explore and Book Travel
Click the button that defaults to [1 Traveler, All]
Change "Class" (the first entry in the pull-down) from All to Business
Click: Close
2) How far in advance can I book?
In mid-November 2017 it was reported that airline reservations are available only 270 days in advance. Read HERE.
3) How do I book hotels?
Follow the steps above to log on. There are standard looking search engines offered for airfare, hotel, etc at that point.
4) How do I get the better redemption rate offered on some Chase cards?
The upper left corner of the UR page will show you which card you are logged in with. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you will be shown a better price on points bookings, as a 1.5 redemption rate is offered as one of the benefits of this card. If you log in to the UR portal from a different UR card, such as the Ink, you will not be offered this rate.
5) Where else can I find information?
This thread is a consolidated resource which covers topics including:
Fare buckets, here
Price differences between open market air fares and UR bookings, here
Selecting seat classes
Using cash and points to pay for tickets
and more.
The previous discussion, through 2016, can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...ly-2015-a.html
1) How do I book a ticket? Choose my airfare class?
Login to ultimaterewards.com
Click: Use points > Explore and Book Travel
Click the button that defaults to [1 Traveler, All]
Change "Class" (the first entry in the pull-down) from All to Business
Click: Close
2) How far in advance can I book?
In mid-November 2017 it was reported that airline reservations are available only 270 days in advance. Read HERE.
3) How do I book hotels?
Follow the steps above to log on. There are standard looking search engines offered for airfare, hotel, etc at that point.
4) How do I get the better redemption rate offered on some Chase cards?
The upper left corner of the UR page will show you which card you are logged in with. If you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you will be shown a better price on points bookings, as a 1.5 redemption rate is offered as one of the benefits of this card. If you log in to the UR portal from a different UR card, such as the Ink, you will not be offered this rate.
5) Where else can I find information?
This thread is a consolidated resource which covers topics including:
Fare buckets, here
Price differences between open market air fares and UR bookings, here
Selecting seat classes
Using cash and points to pay for tickets
and more.
The previous discussion, through 2016, can be found here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chase...ly-2015-a.html
Booking Flights, Rooms, Cars, etc. w/ Ultimate Rewards Points, 2014-2017
Jun 6, 2017, 11:49 am
#241
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: UA 1K/MM, EK Gold, CX Silver
Posts: 880
I think P is actually a coach upgrade fare, though it appears on the UA website as a first class fare. When I searched for an F seat on Chase's site there were none to be had, since all that UA was showing was P. I ended up booking via UA directly because it was the only place I could get the ticket, which was priced quite reasonably.
xtract from a typical UA P fare rules: "RULE APPLICATION AND OTHER CONDITIONS NOTE - THE FOLLOWING TEXT IS INFORMATIONAL AND NOT
VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.
NON REFUNDABLE FIRST/BUSINESS CLASS FARES WITHIN
WESTERN
HEMISPHERE
APPLICATION
AREA
THESE FARES APPLY WITHIN AREA 1.
CLASS OF SERVICE
THESE FARES APPLY FOR FIRST/BUSINESS CLASS SERVICE.
NO TRAVEL DATE RESTRICTIONS APPLY.
SALES RESTRICTIONS EXTENSION OF TICKET VALIDITY IS NOT PERMITTED.
TICKETS MAY NOT BE SOLD IN ANGOLA/SOUTH SUDAN/NIGERIA/
VENEZUELA/EGYPT/SUDAN.
TICKETS MAY ONLY BE SOLD IN AREA 1/AREA 2/AREA 3.
Jun 6, 2017, 11:51 am
#242
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: NJ
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, UA Silver, dirt elsewhere
Posts: 46,919
Whether or not it's correct really isn't the issue - I found that it's pretty consistent that P fares aren't available on the UR booking site.
Jun 6, 2017, 2:59 pm
#243
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: SMF, SNA
Programs: HH Diamond, Marriott Platinum Elite, IHG Diamond
Posts: 175
Do any of you know how long it takes a reservation to get ticketed? Earlier today, I booked flights on United using Ultimate Rewards points, and can view the reservation on United, but the status is, "This reservation is not ticketed."
Jun 6, 2017, 3:01 pm
#244
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador: World of Hyatt
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: NJ
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, UA Silver, dirt elsewhere
Posts: 46,919
It's generally available on UA almost immediately and will show as ticketed overnight - at least that's what happened to my reservation a few weeks ago.
Jun 6, 2017, 3:14 pm
#245
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Washington, DC, Chapel Hill, NC (RDU)
Programs: DL Plat (won't hit DM again) 2MM (2.5), HH Gold, PC Gold, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 5,628
Two experiences -- one ticketing to Delta, the other to Brussels Air. Both were ticketed the next day -- about 24 hours. Had the same time lag on a Chine Eastern ticket purchased through Expedia -- took overnight in the US.
Jun 6, 2017, 7:23 pm
#246
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: In order of nights spent: MSP, ORD, OGG, FCO, LHR
Programs: DL 1MM Dia, AA Plat, UA 1MM Gold, HHonors LT Dia, Marriott/SPG LT Plat Prem
Posts: 473
On Delta, I can see the reservation, but I can't get the immediate comp upgrades to Comfort Plus until the reservation has actually been ticketed. I learned this when I called the Diamond line at DL.
Good luck.
Jun 7, 2017, 12:13 pm
#247
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,969
I am not a UA flyer and out of my depth on this topic, but this thread from 2013 includes examples of fares with a "Booking Class" of "P" but a "Fare Basis" beginning with "W", "H" or "U", and ending with "UPDIS". This suggests that there may be upgrade fares which appear to be premium cabin fares when displayed on united.com, but wouldn't be recognized by (some) agency booking engines.
Jun 9, 2017, 8:38 am
#248
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 135
I need some advice on planning a trip to Europe next year (late May/early June 2018). I have a wedding to go to in Manchester then I'm planning to go to 2-3 different countries in Europe after and probably flying out of Stockholm or Amsterdam. I currently have about 180k UR and wanted to fly business to and from Europe, is it better to book as early as possible (like July or August this yr) or wait until 4-6 months before?
I think my best choice is UA or BA but I have a hard time figuring out BA's website for some reason, not as easy as UA.
I think my best choice is UA or BA but I have a hard time figuring out BA's website for some reason, not as easy as UA.
Jun 9, 2017, 9:19 am
#249
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Washington, DC, Chapel Hill, NC (RDU)
Programs: DL Plat (won't hit DM again) 2MM (2.5), HH Gold, PC Gold, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 5,628
I need some advice on planning a trip to Europe next year (late May/early June 2018). I have a wedding to go to in Manchester then I'm planning to go to 2-3 different countries in Europe after and probably flying out of Stockholm or Amsterdam. I currently have about 180k UR and wanted to fly business to and from Europe, is it better to book as early as possible (like July or August this yr) or wait until 4-6 months before?
I think my best choice is UA or BA but I have a hard time figuring out BA's website for some reason, not as easy as UA.
I think my best choice is UA or BA but I have a hard time figuring out BA's website for some reason, not as easy as UA.
Jun 21, 2017, 2:05 am
#251
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 266
Spent 1.5 hours on the phone with them trying to book 5 domestic economy tickets. I didn't want basic economy and that was all the website let me choose. Was a huge pain to book, and she almost booked the tickets in the wrong fare class (basic economy B even though I specified I wanted G) until I noticed the price she gave me was too low. I also didn't get the flights I wanted because she said they were showing no inventory even though AA.com showed them both during and after I booked it. I even ended up paying a bit more ($30/ticket) because the other flight had to go a different fare class.
all in all, a pretty awful experience and lessens my desire to want to get and use chase UR points.
all in all, a pretty awful experience and lessens my desire to want to get and use chase UR points.
Jun 27, 2017, 10:05 am
#252
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: NJ
Programs: United Silver, Hyatt, Marriott Gold, HHonors Gold, Amex Plat, Global Entry
Posts: 751
Looking to book FS hotel in Seattle using points.
Quoted a price and then it says the following:
Taxes and Fees
$167.46
Other Local Taxes and Resort Fees may be collected directly by the hotel.
I know these taxes and fees will be converted to points but are these taxes and fees separate from the Hotel fees/taxes? FS advises its approx. 15%....so it would be another $65/night....on top of above?
Thanks for clarification
Quoted a price and then it says the following:
Taxes and Fees
$167.46
Other Local Taxes and Resort Fees may be collected directly by the hotel.
I know these taxes and fees will be converted to points but are these taxes and fees separate from the Hotel fees/taxes? FS advises its approx. 15%....so it would be another $65/night....on top of above?
Thanks for clarification
Jun 28, 2017, 6:27 am
#253
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: AA
Posts: 1
When to use points?
Background:
I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card and just met my minimum spend and get 100,000.
I got the card primarily for hotels because I work for the airline industry and can use the flight benefits to get me out there.
Question:
I am looking at staying at a hotel I found this weekend and I ran into this quandary / discrepancy in cost:
- $436 / 29106pts - is the nightly rate for the hotel on the Chase Rewards site. I know points always depreciate and there is no point hoarding them so should I just get it?
- $275 - is the nightly rate for the same hotel on HotelTonight App. If I pay cash, it is significantly cheaper here. Am I falling for the sunk cost fallacy? Is the cost of getting the card and earning the points blinding me to the fact that this is cheaper room by buying it through HotelTonight?
I am a points newbie, how do I look at the value of hotels and determine if I should use them or cash?
I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card and just met my minimum spend and get 100,000.
I got the card primarily for hotels because I work for the airline industry and can use the flight benefits to get me out there.
Question:
I am looking at staying at a hotel I found this weekend and I ran into this quandary / discrepancy in cost:
- $436 / 29106pts - is the nightly rate for the hotel on the Chase Rewards site. I know points always depreciate and there is no point hoarding them so should I just get it?
- $275 - is the nightly rate for the same hotel on HotelTonight App. If I pay cash, it is significantly cheaper here. Am I falling for the sunk cost fallacy? Is the cost of getting the card and earning the points blinding me to the fact that this is cheaper room by buying it through HotelTonight?
I am a points newbie, how do I look at the value of hotels and determine if I should use them or cash?
Jun 28, 2017, 6:54 am
#254
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 239
You don't mention what brand hotel, but be sure to check how many hotel program points are needed for the room also.
For example, if the property is a SPG hotel at 7,000 points a night, you could transfer 21000 Chase UR points to 21,000 Marriott points, then convert the 21,000 Marriott to 7,000 SPG using the Marriott/SPG transfer site. 21,000 points would be less that the 29,106 total you listed to cover the $436 cash rate in this example. But of course this may not be applicable in your case.
-db
For example, if the property is a SPG hotel at 7,000 points a night, you could transfer 21000 Chase UR points to 21,000 Marriott points, then convert the 21,000 Marriott to 7,000 SPG using the Marriott/SPG transfer site. 21,000 points would be less that the 29,106 total you listed to cover the $436 cash rate in this example. But of course this may not be applicable in your case.
-db
Jun 28, 2017, 9:45 am
#255
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,786
You can get cash for your points at $0.01 per point. The $275 room probably did not include hotel tax which could be 13%+. It would be more like $300+.
So in your cases, either option will cost you about the same 29K which could be cash in for $290. Or pay $300 using your CSR and get 900 UR points which is worth $9 if you cash it in straight.
In theory you should be able to get the room on Chase UR site for $300 and use only about 20K points for it.
So in your cases, either option will cost you about the same 29K which could be cash in for $290. Or pay $300 using your CSR and get 900 UR points which is worth $9 if you cash it in straight.
In theory you should be able to get the room on Chase UR site for $300 and use only about 20K points for it.