Understanding Fare Basis Codes
 

I have never quite got the fare rules that come up in our travel system (AMEX). Generally i can make an assumption on the fare code i am booking into based on my search parameters. But today as an example i am stumped. When i price a OW flight in Y and FC i see the exact same fare rules but a slightly different price, both should be unrestricted. Any thoughts on how i can decode what i am looking at?

The FC fare rule:

V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 *MA00A0RC/XX22N M X 329.50 T31JL -/1 -/ - 511
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-SFO TO-SEA CXR-DL TVL-29AUG14 RULE-YWCQ FBRNAPV/191
FARE BASIS-MA00A0RC/XX22N SPECIAL FARE DIS-L VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SAP OW-ADVANCE PURCHASE

The coach fare rule:
V FARE BASIS BK FARE TRAVEL-TICKET AP MINMAX RTG
1 *MA00A0RC/XX22N M X 329.50 T31JL -/1 -/ - 511
PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES
FROM-SFO TO-SEA CXR-DL TVL-29AUG14 RULE-YWCQ FBRNAPV/191
FARE BASIS-MA00A0RC/XX22N SPECIAL FARE DIS-L VENDOR-ATP
FARE TYPE-SAP OW-ADVANCE PURCHASE

What you posted shows exactly the same thing unless I am missing something. It appears to be a special bulk fare ticket with a ticket designator associated with it. Both appear to be $329.50 but you didn't tell us what the fares were that you saw.

Yeah I think you accidentally pasted the same thing twice... the basis to me appears to be MA00A0RC in both cases with an /XX22N designator, which I assume is a corp discount.

I posted the question as i was getting the same rules for both fares (Y was ~$320 FC was ~$470) and couldn't tell what fare code they were pricing out at. I just checked again and they are both the same. What fare bucket does MA00A0RC represent?

the first letter M is the fare bucket (unless its an up fare) and then the two numbers represent the amount of advance purchase you need for the fare.

MA00 = M fare bucket with zero advance purchase.

If its TA14xxx Then its T bucket with 14 days advance purchase

Thanks, i thought the first letter (as i often see the UP in here). Is it strange that FC would be pricing out as a M fare without the UP designation?

You can only have one designator. And keep in mind a designator is really just text, it has no effect by itself other than to provide information, such as that a discount that has been applied. Just because a fare doesn't have a /WNUP designator doesn't mean it's not an UP fare.

My guess is /XX22N is a designator that refers to your company's negotiated rates.

DL has two published MA00A0RC fares... one /WNUP and one not. The difference is about $59 each way. My guess is the same fares are available to you through Amex travel (pursuant to whatever discount your organization has negotiated), they're just not showing the designator because that's being used to denote your corporate rate.