Y vs. BF and 1st Class- explain?
 

I just read a thread about a Platinum who purchased a Y fare and was bumped from 1st class during an equiptment change. I've been flying CO as an Elite for about 5 years. I have NO idea what exactly a Y fare is, other than it is more expensive. I do recall that as a Gold Elite, I was told if I bought a Y fare, I would be given a 1st class seat if available. I always found it easier to buy 1st class or upgrade with miles upon buying with economy.

But, now that I am trying to requalify as Elite, (I'm silver this year and don't care for it compared to Gold.) I'm curious. Does a Y fare yield more Elite miles? Is there a difference between Business 1st and 1st class? I never paid much attention but now that I am booking my own flights, I'd love to know more. I do know that I booked 1st class on a trip to Mexico next week- is that considered BF? It can be confusing.

Different fare classes -- QSTLBHYZ, etc -- have different prices and different restrictions on the tickets regarding OP rewards and refundability. Y is the most expensive coach ticket one can buy, followed by H. For these classes, you get 150% EQM for the miles actually flown. Elites purchasing the "full fare" Y tickets are given a first class seat if it is available at the time of purchase, sometimes.

A "Y" fare is the highest economy fare class. It is fully refundable and changable. Y and H (the second highest economy fare class) fares earn 150% EQMs. If any CO elite purchases a Y fare, that elite is eligible for an immediate elite upgrade if seats in the F cabin are available (note - there are certain Y fares that do not qualify for the immediate upgrade, but they are rare, as I understand it). Despite the fact that elites are entitled to immediate upgrades if space is available when purchasing Y fares, they are still considered coach fares and only entitle the pax to a coach seat (hence the discussion in the other thread to which you refer).

The short answer to your first vs. BusinessFirst question is that CO characterizes some international flights as "International Business" and some as BusinessFirst. Your flight to Mexico will be international business. International business flights tend to be flights to Latin America and the Caribbean operated mostly by 737s with regular domestic F cabins. The service is basically the same as domestic F with better meal options and printed menus. BusinessFirst flights are most transoceanic flights operated by 752s, 767s, and 777s, and have the full BF meal offerings and BF cabins. There are some international routes that are operated by aircraft with BF cabins but are considered international business, like certain flights to SJO and LIM (can't remember which hub gets the BF 752s - I think IAH-LIM is a 752). Although they have a BF cabin, the service is not true BF.

Continental Website to the rescue.

Additionally, as far as EQM and Base Mile bonuses go, bonuses are the same for H (Full Fare Economy with slight restrictions), Y (Full Fare Economy Unrestricted), Z (Deeply Discounted, Restricted Domestic First/International Business/BusinessFirst), D (Discounted Domestic First/International Business/Businessfirst), A (Full Fare Domestic First), C (Full Fare International Business), J (Full Fare BusinessFirst).

Distinguishing between the different types of premium service can be a bit tricky. Domestic First is quite easy, as it appears exclusively on domestic routes (with the exception of IAH/EWR/LAX-HNL, LAX-OGG, IAH/EWR-SJU, EWR-STT & HNL-GUM). Generally domestic first involves domestic first seating...leather, cushy, 40 or so inches of pitch (not sure of the exact #). Sometimes you will get BusinessFirst seats on domestic routes (on 757-200's and the 767 between IAH-EWR), but you do not get true BusinessFirst service. Generally, on a Transcon, Domestic First entails appetizer/salad, choice between two hot meals, and an ice-cream sundae. Free alcoholic bevvies are also included (thankfully they carry Bombay Sapphire Gin).

International Business can mean either a domestic first or business first seat, with service similar to that found on a transcon in domestic first. You will find international business on all international non-businessfirst, non ERJ routes. Some examples include IAH-SJO & IAH/EWR-LIM (on the 757-200 with BusinessFirst seats), IAH-MEX, IAH-BZE, IAH-CCS (On 737's with domestic F seating). Flying on an International Business itinerary also means access to the President's Club.

True BusinessFirst is found on long-haul routes like USA-Europe, USA-Asia & USA-GRU/GIG/EZE. You're guaranteed a BusinessFirst seat and service (greater meal/beverage selection, cheese cart, amenity kit). The seats vary between the 757/767s & 777, but they are all far superior to domestic F seats. When booking a flight on the CO website, it will generally display if the flight is in First, International Business or BusinessFirst, though CO 1E informed me that there was a website bug recently showing BizFirst flights as International Business. BizFirst gets you into the President's Club lounge as well.

There are no truly simple rules for distinguishing between all the premium products...but they are all quite nice, in my opinion. Definitely beats flying in coach.

i get silver with my eyes closed. i do actually work towards getting gold as i dont see very much value in silver and I just dont do that much travel for work anymore, but do enjoy traveling for pleasure.

i have never qualified for elite staus with EQM's. always segments. when flying, i always price the lowest, then H, then Y and then FC. FC will get you the gauranteed FC seats. Y will do the same (if already elite), but it usually (but not always) is more expensive than any FC fare (but completely refundable). H is the kicker for me.

H gains me two segment points. i dont care about EQM's. i only care about usable base miles. if H is justifiably more than discount coach, i go H and get my two segments. it works great and i have been able to maintain gold for years without too much travel.

where i get greedy is when discount coach is say 500, then H is 700 (justifiably low enough to spring for double segments) and then Z or D is 850. i end up going Z or D just to get the gauranteed seat, but then my whole H fare theory goes in the trash.

always check all the fare classes. many times on my msy-fll trips, Z or D is 900+ but Y is 600 and change. with the instant comp upgrade and fully refundable status, its too much to pass up, especially when the X fare (closest to the lowest) is 400+.

you can really rock the system if you live in certain cities and play the fare game properly.

and i do all this without unneccessary milage runs.

sorry for the rant....

I appreciate the info- and I sure have a lot to learn! I thought after so many years as Elite, I had it down, but then when I slipped last year and ALMOST made Gold, I realized I needed a better plan. Now I see a few places where I messed up. I just hope I can recover enough to make Elite again this year. (I was so mad at CO for not upping me to Gold when I was so close that I started flying other airlines!)

After my trip to Houston next week and my trip to Cancun BF, I should be at about 15,000, which means I'll need to hustle to just make Silver! It seems odd though, after flying 5 trips by mid-July that I'm only at 15,000. I need to rethink this all and either choose another airline or requalify for Elite. It was easy when I lived in Houston, but flying CO from DTW is dfficult with my destinations. I'm almost wondering if I should just switch to Northwest as DTW is one of their hubs. But, I guess I'll see how things go when I start paying more attention to the "class" when I buy a ticket. I always buy 1st/BF when it's International or Hawaii, but maybe I need to start looking at Y fares when I fly domestic.

Thanks!

There are no base mile bonuses for H or Y fares.

Also, keep in mind, that when reading threads "Y" is sometimes interchangable with coach. That is, someone might say they were "flying in Y" which does not mean, necessarily, they were flying with a Y fare. It just means they were flying in coach as opposed to First (or F or BF).

My mistake. Should have paid closer attention to that link I provided.

I never knew that; I thought that the 150% bonus applied to base miles, not just EQM

Nope, check out the otter's link.

you may want to follow my lead which is why i hate that CO reads this site...

get your status on segments. fly all your dtw flights through ewr, iah or cle. you will get two points as opposed to one for each flight (because you're connecting). you will get elite status quicker that way. connections suck, but if you buy a club membership and you partake in beverages, it actually makes any trip way more fun, especially when you get to bring frineds along.

being a 100% CO flier, living in msy gives me a great advantage b/c i have an easy connect to iah. easy segments for me. if CO ended the segment program like DL, a) i would not fly them anymore and b) i would not renew my PC membership.

for you living in DTW you could connect cle rather easy for anything, iah for west coast or mid-con and ewr for east coast.

fly NW direct for what you need (which i do from msy going to dtw or mem).

Thanks- I never thought of segments. I do have to connect everytime I go somewhere, so maybe I will make it after all. Other than that, I'm looking for deals. I want any deals from DTW to points as far away as possible. I am going to Cancun on business, but that was a helluva deal for CO. $464 for BF round-trip. I could definitely use a few more like that! I'm lucky in that I can work almost anywhere if there is a Starwood hotel, so I'm keeping my eye out for deals to Seattle or San Francisco, or further south like Mexico or maybe Florida. Basically I need to switch planes no matter where I go (unless it is a hub) so either way, it should work out.

But if not, I'll just start over next year with Midwest or DTW's hub, Northwest. I don't want to quit Continental, but as much as I fly, it shouldn't be so hard to get to Elite! I wish they would let me bring all the extra Elite miles from last year- I'd have made Silver this year by now easily. I had about 43,000 Elite miles if I recall right, and that left me too short for Gold, but 18,000 over Silver.

That's a lot of money and miles and I still think it should count for SOMETHING. I mean, those 18,000 extra could've helped me qualify on another airline. If you think about it, 2 trips a month is quite a lot, but unless it is International, it pretty much just gets you over Silver with CO. I know, I'm STILL holding a grudge since I had a trip to Anchorage planned the last week of 2005 but my father-in-law died and I couldn't make it, hence the 2006 silver status. And that grudge had me so angry I flew other airlines for the 1st few months of 2006. I know, I know, I am bitter about it, but maybe there is something to the idea of bringing extra Elite miles to the next year IF you just missed a Gold or Platinum Status. Then again, I'd sooner see free 1st class seats to Maui- it just isn't happening.

I guess I can just do my best to do my job and try to arrange my schedule around routes and fares that will help. I HATE sounding whiny; I guess I just got used to being a Gold member and assumed that my circumstances would allow me to requalify. That was my mistake. So, I'm going to count segments and look for deals! If I don't make Silver this year, it's my own fault for being angry and flying other airlines! Can only blame myself! :confused:

Edited to add THANK-YOU DLEN111! I just realized (after a call to CO) that I'm getting 8 points for my BF to Cancun, plus 4 for my trip Monday to IAH. Now that I have to change planes at almost every destination, I am totally going to get to Elite just by these points. I never even considered them before as I used to live in Houston and had mostly straight shots. And I'm not doing anything extra to get them- I really do have to switch planes on almost every trip! Thanks again- I truly wouldn't have noticed it! ^

Here's something weird. I just booked a trip (A fare) from IAH to MCO, and it's listed as BusinessFirst service on the return trip (but only First on the trip out there).

This simply is a website glitch and is discussed in many threads - it is regular domestic F, not BF.