LAS - UIO $280 MR Story
Oct 16, 2017, 8:56 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
LAS - UIO $280 MR Story
Hey FTers,
First of all, I apologize for this super long thread! the tl;dr can be found at the end! VVV
This past weekend I completed my very first mileage run! I know, to some of you MRs on an airline like Delta are more or less pointless nowadays, but I felt like this opportunity presenting itself to me was a good opportunity to flex my fresh status as a Silver Medallion for the first time.
In this thread, I just want to share my experience on how this MR turned out for me. I tried looking all over the web for related threads about MRs to UIO, and although I did find some threads, they weren't as detailed as I wished. So without further ado...
Now, keep in mind this was my first MR and trip with SM. On Wednesday 11 Oct, I was just doing my usual research of flights to anywhere in the world to help build my status with Delta, and recently I remembered reading something about some cheap fares out to UIO from ORD. Out of curiosity I checked out flights out of my hometown LAS, and low and behold I found this rare price of $280 for a multicity booking looking like this:
LAS-CVG-DTW-ATL-UIO-ATL-SLC-LAS
9572 MQM
2.9 CPM
I currently hold a AMEX Platinum card, so a few weeks ago I used the $200 airline credit from the Platinum card to purchase four $50 Delta gift cards. I used 2 of these to lower the price so that I was only paying $180 out of pocket, what a deal! And thanks to the Plat card, I had free access to all the Delta Sky Clubs!
Fast forward to departure day (Friday 13 Oct), I was attending a conference before I made my way to the airport for my red-eye when I received an email from Delta.
My golden ticket just pulled through. I was cleared for my complimentary upgrade to FC on my ATL-UIO leg!!!! I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. I mean come on, I'm only a SM and I'm getting this kind of treatment? That was absolutely awesome! When I boarded this flight, I even ended up having the row to myself. Seriously it couldn't have gotten any better than that. And obviously it didn't, my luck started and stopped there with that leg. Every other leg I was sitting in economy.
Anyway, the biggest problem with this trip, and my primary concern, was the turn around time I had in UIO. From the moment I set foot off the plane, I had under an hour to clear immigration and make it through the security and check-in checkpoints. I didn't have a physical ticket on my person for my UIO-ATL leg, and this might have been my own fault for not printing it in ATL. After spending 10 good minutes explaining to immigration that I was only in Ecuador for less than hour, I made my way up to the ticketing area only to find the Delta counters were deserted, except for one clerk. The guy explained to me that he could no longer print out my ticket and that my only option at this point was to wait for the next flight out the next day. Fortunately I had the Fly Delta app handy with my flight details, and thus making it possible for me to get through the checkpoints and onto my gate. Once I was at the gate counter, I found that they had just begun the boarding process. I went to the counter to print out my ticket and also pay the $50 tourist fee (you know, because I toured the great Ecuadorian airport deserted at 2300, but I digress). After all was said and done, I was finally and comfortably at ease in my economy seat aboard the same plane heading back to ATL.
tl;dr - Paid $280 (really $180 bc AMEX Plat airline credit) for LAS-ATL. Ultimately, besides the $50 tourist fee at UIO, this is all I spent for this entire MR. Thanks to that plat card, I got free food and booze at the DL Sky Clubs, so all I had to worry about on the flight was sleeping. SM status also isn't completely worthless, as it got me a FC UP on my international leg on ATL-UIO. Completely rare and lucky experience for me!
First of all, I apologize for this super long thread! the tl;dr can be found at the end! VVV
This past weekend I completed my very first mileage run! I know, to some of you MRs on an airline like Delta are more or less pointless nowadays, but I felt like this opportunity presenting itself to me was a good opportunity to flex my fresh status as a Silver Medallion for the first time.
In this thread, I just want to share my experience on how this MR turned out for me. I tried looking all over the web for related threads about MRs to UIO, and although I did find some threads, they weren't as detailed as I wished. So without further ado...
Now, keep in mind this was my first MR and trip with SM. On Wednesday 11 Oct, I was just doing my usual research of flights to anywhere in the world to help build my status with Delta, and recently I remembered reading something about some cheap fares out to UIO from ORD. Out of curiosity I checked out flights out of my hometown LAS, and low and behold I found this rare price of $280 for a multicity booking looking like this:
LAS-CVG-DTW-ATL-UIO-ATL-SLC-LAS
9572 MQM
2.9 CPM
I currently hold a AMEX Platinum card, so a few weeks ago I used the $200 airline credit from the Platinum card to purchase four $50 Delta gift cards. I used 2 of these to lower the price so that I was only paying $180 out of pocket, what a deal! And thanks to the Plat card, I had free access to all the Delta Sky Clubs!
Fast forward to departure day (Friday 13 Oct), I was attending a conference before I made my way to the airport for my red-eye when I received an email from Delta.
My golden ticket just pulled through. I was cleared for my complimentary upgrade to FC on my ATL-UIO leg!!!! I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. I mean come on, I'm only a SM and I'm getting this kind of treatment? That was absolutely awesome! When I boarded this flight, I even ended up having the row to myself. Seriously it couldn't have gotten any better than that. And obviously it didn't, my luck started and stopped there with that leg. Every other leg I was sitting in economy.
Anyway, the biggest problem with this trip, and my primary concern, was the turn around time I had in UIO. From the moment I set foot off the plane, I had under an hour to clear immigration and make it through the security and check-in checkpoints. I didn't have a physical ticket on my person for my UIO-ATL leg, and this might have been my own fault for not printing it in ATL. After spending 10 good minutes explaining to immigration that I was only in Ecuador for less than hour, I made my way up to the ticketing area only to find the Delta counters were deserted, except for one clerk. The guy explained to me that he could no longer print out my ticket and that my only option at this point was to wait for the next flight out the next day. Fortunately I had the Fly Delta app handy with my flight details, and thus making it possible for me to get through the checkpoints and onto my gate. Once I was at the gate counter, I found that they had just begun the boarding process. I went to the counter to print out my ticket and also pay the $50 tourist fee (you know, because I toured the great Ecuadorian airport deserted at 2300, but I digress). After all was said and done, I was finally and comfortably at ease in my economy seat aboard the same plane heading back to ATL.
tl;dr - Paid $280 (really $180 bc AMEX Plat airline credit) for LAS-ATL. Ultimately, besides the $50 tourist fee at UIO, this is all I spent for this entire MR. Thanks to that plat card, I got free food and booze at the DL Sky Clubs, so all I had to worry about on the flight was sleeping. SM status also isn't completely worthless, as it got me a FC UP on my international leg on ATL-UIO. Completely rare and lucky experience for me!
Oct 16, 2017, 9:52 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
It was a domestic upgrade. The flight was far from full, so I'm assuming it just wasn't a peak season flight from NA to SA. UIO-ATL was full however. It was just odd that I cleared for the UG so early, but I wasn't going to complain!
Oct 16, 2017, 10:25 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
Absolutely! It was a sweet deal I couldn't possibly pass up! And the spontaneity of the trip made it even more of a win.
Oct 17, 2017, 1:04 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Posts: 16,273
Nice one. UIO has been a nice little secret of an MR destination, with travel from the western US usually allowing interesting routings. If availability and timing had permitted, you could have probably bounced through LAX and/or JFK under the routing rules.
Next time, print your boarding pass in advance, and skip immigration. There's a separate security checkpoint for transiting passengers (though you can only go through there if your connection is <3 hours). I'm also confused why you paid $50? You shouldn't need to pay for a visa unless you're staying for more than 90 days, and any airport/departure taxes are included in your fare already.
Next time, print your boarding pass in advance, and skip immigration. There's a separate security checkpoint for transiting passengers (though you can only go through there if your connection is <3 hours). I'm also confused why you paid $50? You shouldn't need to pay for a visa unless you're staying for more than 90 days, and any airport/departure taxes are included in your fare already.
Last edited by javabytes; Oct 17, 2017 at 1:20 am
Oct 17, 2017, 7:07 am
#8
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Join Date: Sep 2009
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I'm confused by the OP's statement that the $50 fee was the only cost. Did he/she walk to and from the LAS airport? Transportation to/from the airport and/or airport parking should be included in the cost of a MR.
I'm also curious about how the OP plans to use these cheap MQMs. Does he/she get lots and lots of MQDs or spend a lot (quickly in the year) on a DL AmEx card? The MQD requirement might limit the possibility of getting GM status this year, while planning to have lots of rollover means that early higher status next year will require either the MQD requirement or the AmEx waiver (assuming no legitimate foreign address).
I'm also curious about how the OP plans to use these cheap MQMs. Does he/she get lots and lots of MQDs or spend a lot (quickly in the year) on a DL AmEx card? The MQD requirement might limit the possibility of getting GM status this year, while planning to have lots of rollover means that early higher status next year will require either the MQD requirement or the AmEx waiver (assuming no legitimate foreign address).
Oct 17, 2017, 8:45 am
#9
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: USA
Programs: AAdvantage, MileagePlus, SkyMiles
Posts: 4,159
Oct 17, 2017, 9:48 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
Nice one. UIO has been a nice little secret of an MR destination, with travel from the western US usually allowing interesting routings. If availability and timing had permitted, you could have probably bounced through LAX and/or JFK under the routing rules.
Next time, print your boarding pass in advance, and skip immigration. There's a separate security checkpoint for transiting passengers (though you can only go through there if your connection is <3 hours). I'm also confused why you paid $50? You shouldn't need to pay for a visa unless you're staying for more than 90 days, and any airport/departure taxes are included in your fare already.
Next time, print your boarding pass in advance, and skip immigration. There's a separate security checkpoint for transiting passengers (though you can only go through there if your connection is <3 hours). I'm also confused why you paid $50? You shouldn't need to pay for a visa unless you're staying for more than 90 days, and any airport/departure taxes are included in your fare already.
Yeah, I had a ride to and from the airport at LAS. I live 5 min away from the airport so I just had family drop me off / pickup.
Oct 17, 2017, 10:19 am
#11
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: DL PM, HH Diamond
Posts: 26
Congratulations!
I love these 'feel good' upgrades. I had as a silver a FC upgrade for ATL-GDL (3 hour flight) and I didn't expect it at all... so much that I didn't eat the full meal as I had dinner in the airport...
I love these 'feel good' upgrades. I had as a silver a FC upgrade for ATL-GDL (3 hour flight) and I didn't expect it at all... so much that I didn't eat the full meal as I had dinner in the airport...
Oct 17, 2017, 11:48 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
I'm confused by the OP's statement that the $50 fee was the only cost. Did he/she walk to and from the LAS airport? Transportation to/from the airport and/or airport parking should be included in the cost of a MR.
I'm also curious about how the OP plans to use these cheap MQMs. Does he/she get lots and lots of MQDs or spend a lot (quickly in the year) on a DL AmEx card? The MQD requirement might limit the possibility of getting GM status this year, while planning to have lots of rollover means that early higher status next year will require either the MQD requirement or the AmEx waiver (assuming no legitimate foreign address).
I'm also curious about how the OP plans to use these cheap MQMs. Does he/she get lots and lots of MQDs or spend a lot (quickly in the year) on a DL AmEx card? The MQD requirement might limit the possibility of getting GM status this year, while planning to have lots of rollover means that early higher status next year will require either the MQD requirement or the AmEx waiver (assuming no legitimate foreign address).
Oct 25, 2017, 11:16 am
#13
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Land of Sky Blue Waters
Programs: Delta DM
Posts: 14
Just completed a MDW-ATL-UIO-ATL-MSP-MDW run....
A few thoughts....
Any suggestions/recommendations on how to print out a boarding pass for the return (UIO-ATL) leg would be appreciated.
I attempted to do so at multiple points on my outbound leg, and spoke to a total of 3 Diamond Desk reps, 2 agents, and 3 separate Red Coats...All of these people are either completely misinformed, or my round-trip ticket was structured in a way that would not allow a physical BP to be printed prior to 6 hours of the return flight departure time. A SkyClub rep told me that many times a quick turn "fools" the system into thinking the return flight is actually a connection, and hence will print out as a bundle with the other return segments.
This really turned out to be a non-issue for two reasons;
First, I was able to save an image of my digital boarding pass via GoGo during the flight down to UIO...
Second, When I arrived in UIO, all of the International Transit Connection options were blocked off and closed; I explained my situation to 4 different airport service (C&I) reps, and outlined why I wouldn't need to go through C&I wholesale, but rather would just need a transfer to board my return flight.
To no avail I was pointed toward the long queue for traditional Immigration, at which point I gave it one last shot to explain my situation and (hopefully) process through to make the flight home...The gentleman I spoke to could not have been more understanding and courteous; he really saved my bacon, walking me through an expedited process of C&I, and getting me up to the gate around 15 minutes before boarding began....
Another note...I too was charged $59.53....although my fee breakdown was described as a UIO airport tax, not a tourist visa....Not sure if this was a different charge from the OP, but one that I paid, and will inquire with Delta as to whether or not this should have been included in the original fare structure.
A few thoughts....
Any suggestions/recommendations on how to print out a boarding pass for the return (UIO-ATL) leg would be appreciated.
I attempted to do so at multiple points on my outbound leg, and spoke to a total of 3 Diamond Desk reps, 2 agents, and 3 separate Red Coats...All of these people are either completely misinformed, or my round-trip ticket was structured in a way that would not allow a physical BP to be printed prior to 6 hours of the return flight departure time. A SkyClub rep told me that many times a quick turn "fools" the system into thinking the return flight is actually a connection, and hence will print out as a bundle with the other return segments.
This really turned out to be a non-issue for two reasons;
First, I was able to save an image of my digital boarding pass via GoGo during the flight down to UIO...
Second, When I arrived in UIO, all of the International Transit Connection options were blocked off and closed; I explained my situation to 4 different airport service (C&I) reps, and outlined why I wouldn't need to go through C&I wholesale, but rather would just need a transfer to board my return flight.
To no avail I was pointed toward the long queue for traditional Immigration, at which point I gave it one last shot to explain my situation and (hopefully) process through to make the flight home...The gentleman I spoke to could not have been more understanding and courteous; he really saved my bacon, walking me through an expedited process of C&I, and getting me up to the gate around 15 minutes before boarding began....
Another note...I too was charged $59.53....although my fee breakdown was described as a UIO airport tax, not a tourist visa....Not sure if this was a different charge from the OP, but one that I paid, and will inquire with Delta as to whether or not this should have been included in the original fare structure.
Oct 25, 2017, 11:39 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 50
Just completed a MDW-ATL-UIO-ATL-MSP-MDW run....
A few thoughts....
Any suggestions/recommendations on how to print out a boarding pass for the return (UIO-ATL) leg would be appreciated.
I attempted to do so at multiple points on my outbound leg, and spoke to a total of 3 Diamond Desk reps, 2 agents, and 3 separate Red Coats...All of these people are either completely misinformed, or my round-trip ticket was structured in a way that would not allow a physical BP to be printed prior to 6 hours of the return flight departure time. A SkyClub rep told me that many times a quick turn "fools" the system into thinking the return flight is actually a connection, and hence will print out as a bundle with the other return segments.
This really turned out to be a non-issue for two reasons;
First, I was able to save an image of my digital boarding pass via GoGo during the flight down to UIO...
Second, When I arrived in UIO, all of the International Transit Connection options were blocked off and closed; I explained my situation to 4 different airport service (C&I) reps, and outlined why I wouldn't need to go through C&I wholesale, but rather would just need a transfer to board my return flight.
To no avail I was pointed toward the long queue for traditional Immigration, at which point I gave it one last shot to explain my situation and (hopefully) process through to make the flight home...The gentleman I spoke to could not have been more understanding and courteous; he really saved my bacon, walking me through an expedited process of C&I, and getting me up to the gate around 15 minutes before boarding began....
Another note...I too was charged $59.53....although my fee breakdown was described as a UIO airport tax, not a tourist visa....Not sure if this was a different charge from the OP, but one that I paid, and will inquire with Delta as to whether or not this should have been included in the original fare structure.
A few thoughts....
Any suggestions/recommendations on how to print out a boarding pass for the return (UIO-ATL) leg would be appreciated.
I attempted to do so at multiple points on my outbound leg, and spoke to a total of 3 Diamond Desk reps, 2 agents, and 3 separate Red Coats...All of these people are either completely misinformed, or my round-trip ticket was structured in a way that would not allow a physical BP to be printed prior to 6 hours of the return flight departure time. A SkyClub rep told me that many times a quick turn "fools" the system into thinking the return flight is actually a connection, and hence will print out as a bundle with the other return segments.
This really turned out to be a non-issue for two reasons;
First, I was able to save an image of my digital boarding pass via GoGo during the flight down to UIO...
Second, When I arrived in UIO, all of the International Transit Connection options were blocked off and closed; I explained my situation to 4 different airport service (C&I) reps, and outlined why I wouldn't need to go through C&I wholesale, but rather would just need a transfer to board my return flight.
To no avail I was pointed toward the long queue for traditional Immigration, at which point I gave it one last shot to explain my situation and (hopefully) process through to make the flight home...The gentleman I spoke to could not have been more understanding and courteous; he really saved my bacon, walking me through an expedited process of C&I, and getting me up to the gate around 15 minutes before boarding began....
Another note...I too was charged $59.53....although my fee breakdown was described as a UIO airport tax, not a tourist visa....Not sure if this was a different charge from the OP, but one that I paid, and will inquire with Delta as to whether or not this should have been included in the original fare structure.
Oct 25, 2017, 1:08 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bye Delta
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Posts: 16,273
Not sure if the tax issue is also preventing check-in, but one general secret to checking in for the return flights on a quick turn is to not log in and go to My Trips, but instead, use the Check In box on the home page and specify the airport you are returning from. Then it forces DL to check you in starting at UIO (or wherever your turnaround is), rather than from the beginning of your unflown segments, which can get you successfully checked in for more flights than if you had just used My Trips.
The tax (code QB and QI), if applicable, should already be built into your ticket and should not be charged if you are passing through Ecuador for less than 24 hours. Delta really shouldn't need a reminder that airlines are prohibited from trying to charge you more for your ticket once it has been purchased, but you can always remind them that the DOT prohibits this if they are being difficult.
The tax (code QB and QI), if applicable, should already be built into your ticket and should not be charged if you are passing through Ecuador for less than 24 hours. Delta really shouldn't need a reminder that airlines are prohibited from trying to charge you more for your ticket once it has been purchased, but you can always remind them that the DOT prohibits this if they are being difficult.
Last edited by javabytes; Oct 25, 2017 at 1:22 pm