Booking Flights, Rooms, Cars, Cruises, Activities with UR (Jan-Oct 2018)
Jan 28, 2018, 5:25 am
#31
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 332
Will admit I have not read all 35 pages but is this thread basically saying it is not good to book hotels flights etc off the Chase portal? I have a couple ressies booked through them for our upcoming family trip and this concerns me a lot. From what I have always read, Chase is the company to go with as far as getting points and when signing up for credit cards. Is this to say that getting points from them is one thing but using their portal is another...? I just don't understand.....Thanks
Jan 28, 2018, 8:01 am
#32
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: flyover country
Posts: 2,434
My interpretation of the reports is that booking a hotel on the portal is risky because the Chase contractor does not do a reliable job of getting the reservation. My interpretation of the reports is that booking a flight on the portal might not be the best use of points, but is reliable.
I have never reserved a hotel room on the portal, and based on what I have read, I am unlikely to do so. I have redeemed UR points for a flight on the portal and I have transferred UR points to airlines and redeemed award flights. The award flights (business class) were very good deals compared to the prices shown on google flights, but I would not have booked the flights in business class for those prices, so it isn't like I saved all that money.
If you were happy with the cost of the flights you booked on the portal, then stay happy. If you find that you can do better in the future, do better in the future, but don't become unhappy with the past or present. In other words, make your best decision with the information you have at the time. All my opinions, of course.
I have never reserved a hotel room on the portal, and based on what I have read, I am unlikely to do so. I have redeemed UR points for a flight on the portal and I have transferred UR points to airlines and redeemed award flights. The award flights (business class) were very good deals compared to the prices shown on google flights, but I would not have booked the flights in business class for those prices, so it isn't like I saved all that money.
If you were happy with the cost of the flights you booked on the portal, then stay happy. If you find that you can do better in the future, do better in the future, but don't become unhappy with the past or present. In other words, make your best decision with the information you have at the time. All my opinions, of course.
Jan 28, 2018, 8:21 am
#33
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: MCO, YEG
Posts: 1,181
Will admit I have not read all 35 pages but is this thread basically saying it is not good to book hotels flights etc off the Chase portal? I have a couple ressies booked through them for our upcoming family trip and this concerns me a lot. From what I have always read, Chase is the company to go with as far as getting points and when signing up for credit cards. Is this to say that getting points from them is one thing but using their portal is another...? I just don't understand.....Thanks
and as far as flights are concerned, they seem to be made by Connexions directly with the airlines, so there should be no issues in that regard. I haven’t read of (or experienced) any major issues through the portal on airline tickets and they have always shown up right away on the airline website for me.
Jan 28, 2018, 1:32 pm
#34
Formerly known as stellertony
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MEX
Programs: UA Gold, DL Gold, NEXUS, APEC
Posts: 1,146
I was doing a search on the Chase portal last weekend and there was an option to exclude Basic Economy fares at the top of the search results.
Jan 28, 2018, 2:52 pm
#35
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 1,741
I think this is in the nature of the Flyertalk beast. You get the horror stories but don’t hear from people whose experience was as expected because it was as expected. We have booked hotels twice (in Edmonton Canada and Pompeii Italy) through the portal (and currently have another booked) and everything has worked fine. They both have shown up at the hotels as Expedia bookings. At least in one case, the reservation did not get made at the hotel until the day before arrival and I think this is pretty common, so I don’t think I would rely on them for a room during periods of peak demand. If I did, I would definitely at least try to contact the hotel the day before check in to confirm. That might give you time to make them find you another room.
Couldn't agree more.
I've booked hundreds of hotel rooms via Chase over the years. In that time, a couple of minor problems have arisen, and Ultimate Rewards Customer Service has been responsive.
Jan 28, 2018, 2:56 pm
#36
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,952
While most of the serious problem have been with hotel bookings, there have been issues with airline bookings. Examples:
None of these are unique to Chase. Citi also uses Connexions as their rewards booking agency.
- Some airlines publish fares that are only available on their own website, or only through preferred agencies. It's our responsibility to verify that the fare offered by Connexions is competitive.
- Connexions software doesn't construct every possible routing that we may find on our own, and that may affect cost or quality of service.
- There has not been a way to screen out Basic Economy fares, but we now have at least one report that this feature has been added. Don't know how well it works.
- If you need to change a booking made through Connexions you will (usually) not be able to do this directly with the airline, even if the airline made a schedule change which triggers the change.
None of these are unique to Chase. Citi also uses Connexions as their rewards booking agency.
Last edited by mia; Jan 28, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Jan 28, 2018, 4:25 pm
#37
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 1,741
Auto rentals on the Ultimate Rewards website can now be booked as a one-way drop off. It looks like the drop-off location must be within the same country as the pick-up location.
Maybe this has a been a feature for awhile. I just saw it for the first time today.
Maybe this has a been a feature for awhile. I just saw it for the first time today.
Jan 28, 2018, 8:21 pm
#38
Join Date: Apr 2012
Programs: UA Premier 1K, Hyatt Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 59
Anyone tried to redeem UR points for WOW air?
Anecdotally, folks have been able to book Norwegian flights over the phone with UR points... anyone attempted the same with WOWair?
Jan 29, 2018, 2:12 am
#39
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 332
I think this is in the nature of the Flyertalk beast. You get the horror stories but don’t hear from people whose experience was as expected because it was as expected. We have booked hotels twice (in Edmonton Canada and Pompeii Italy) through the portal (and currently have another booked) and everything has worked fine. They both have shown up at the hotels as Expedia bookings. At least in one case, the reservation did not get made at the hotel until the day before arrival and I think this is pretty common, so I don’t think I would rely on them for a room during periods of peak demand. If I did, I would definitely at least try to contact the hotel the day before check in to confirm. That might give you time to make them find you another room.
and as far as flights are concerned, they seem to be made by Connexions directly with the airlines, so there should be no issues in that regard. I haven’t read of (or experienced) any major issues through the portal on airline tickets and they have always shown up right away on the airline website for me.
Jan 29, 2018, 2:45 am
#40
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Outside of Cleveland Ohio
Programs: UA *G. DL ̶G̶O̶L̶D̶ Member, Hilton/SPG Gold, Hertz PC
Posts: 362
Jan 29, 2018, 6:07 am
#41
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: I 35 south bound, finally stopped
Programs: LT Plt, 4mm, *A GLD, burned out medical provider, executing our estate plan
Posts: 1,665
Plane change and bump from business to economy on AA 693 A330 HNL-PHX (1/24/18)
Jan 29, 2018, 6:07 am
#42
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 1,857
It's right at the top of the airfare search results. New Exclude Basic Economy Feature in Chase Travel Portal
Jan 29, 2018, 6:48 am
#43
Join Date: Jul 2015
Programs: UA Plat
Posts: 154
That's great that there's a new exclude BE fares button. However, that new feature may still not exclude consolidator-type fares. My one bad experience was with a UA consolidator fare on Chase, and that ticket was issued well *before* UA introduced its own Basic Economy (N) fares. So I'd still say: caveat emptor.
Feb 2, 2018, 9:34 am
#44
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: msp
Programs: DL Plat, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 798
Can you locate your reservation with hotel?
First time Booking a stay with UR. Got a confirm email but nothing from hotel itself. Is there a way to look up the reservation with hotel? I did some Google searches and some people said they’ve shown up at hotel and found no reservation, so I want to be double sure!
Feb 2, 2018, 9:50 am
#45
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: AS MVP Gold, Marriott Lifetime Gold, National Executive Elite
Posts: 247
Your confirmation from UR should have a reservation number that you can look up on the hotel's system. At least that's how it works with flights