My Account Flight = $733 my moms account Flight = 703
Apr 23, 2018, 2:22 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: Delta Plat
Posts: 3,363
My Account Flight = $733 my moms account Flight = 703
I just booked 1st class ticket from JFK to SDQ
I looked while logged into my account and the flight was 733 round trip Z fare
For ..... and giggles I logged into my moms account and the same flight's same fare code was 30 dollars cheaper.
I thought maybe I saw wrong so I log back into my account and sure enough its 733 sign out and back into my moms 703.
I wonder what discount my mom has that I don't she does have a Delta Amex I do not.
She never flys I fly once a month this route.
I looked while logged into my account and the flight was 733 round trip Z fare
For ..... and giggles I logged into my moms account and the same flight's same fare code was 30 dollars cheaper.
I thought maybe I saw wrong so I log back into my account and sure enough its 733 sign out and back into my moms 703.
I wonder what discount my mom has that I don't she does have a Delta Amex I do not.
She never flys I fly once a month this route.
Apr 23, 2018, 2:35 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,037
There are multiple Z fare filings on this route. XNNL0VFX is $259 base and TNNJ0WFX is $289 base. There's your $30 difference. In order to get the XNNL0VFX fare, there must be X bucket (in addition to Z). If there is only T or higher bucket availability on the flight, you'll get the TNNJ0WFX fare. Both have a 21-day advance purchase requirement.
Apr 23, 2018, 2:39 pm
#4
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Apr 23, 2018, 3:54 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,629
Happens all the time and all airlines. I just booked a couple of SJU-IAD flights and the cost of one ticket was $33 more than the other two. All of them on the same fare class.
Apr 23, 2018, 4:09 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: DCA
Programs: DL DM, AA EXP, various hotel
Posts: 2,227
The OP said he was logging back in and out and searching immediately. It sounds like for some reason Delta.com isn't offering the X fare when he's logged in.
Apr 23, 2018, 4:15 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: Delta Plat
Posts: 3,363
I can't duplicate it now, both show 733
JFK SDQ 5/10 - 5/23
8am flight
5pm return
I was able to purchase the 703 flight earlier. Z fare
Apr 23, 2018, 4:21 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Posts: 23,037
If you are that paranoid, why not just price on a third-party website like Google Flights? Are you sure you were pricing for the exact same flights and dates? Can you repeat it? Did you click through to the fare rules to see which specific Z fare filings were being quoted? It's trivial to do a bucket check on ExpertFlyer to see what the actual bucket availability is. Neither the fare filings or bucket availability are secret.
Apr 23, 2018, 4:48 pm
#10
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep. / Washington, DC
Programs: AA PPro/DL PLT, PPass, Marriott / Hilton Gold, JetBlue Mosaic, Hertz Presidents Circle, Amex Plat
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Just go to your wallet and check the receipt. You will see the fare code and also the calculation at the bottom of the receipt.
Apr 23, 2018, 5:28 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: Delta Plat
Posts: 3,363
If you are that paranoid, why not just price on a third-party website like Google Flights? Are you sure you were pricing for the exact same flights and dates? Can you repeat it? Did you click through to the fare rules to see which specific Z fare filings were being quoted? It's trivial to do a bucket check on ExpertFlyer to see what the actual bucket availability is. Neither the fare filings or bucket availability are secret.
Fare Details: NYC DL SDQ289.00TNNJ0WFX DL NYC259.00XNNL0VFX NUC548.00END ROE1.00 XF JFK4.
Apr 24, 2018, 7:13 am
#12
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: SJC/LGA/DCA
Programs: SPG P100, DL DM, B6 Mosaic
Posts: 37
I've replicated the thing where adding a ticket to your basket in one account temporarily kills the inventory for another account. Something I'm less sure about is when I buy tickets from my SkyMiles account (which allows Delta to know im super price insensitive), seems like the prices are reliably higher than what I'd get in incognito mode. Not sure if that's an inventory thing, or just pricing optimization
Apr 24, 2018, 7:20 am
#13
Join Date: May 2006
Location: GA
Programs: VA-PLT, QF-GLD, DL-GM, UA-ex1K, AA-exPLT, HH-DM, IHG-PLT, MR-GLD
Posts: 8,242
What probably happened is on one account, your search and selection has held the fare for a certain time. So the price went up until it timed out and was re-released.
It's possible that timeframe happened to coincide with you switching back to your account, etc.
It's possible that timeframe happened to coincide with you switching back to your account, etc.
Apr 24, 2018, 10:03 am
#14
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: RNO
Programs: UA,AA, WN
Posts: 378
Apr 24, 2018, 10:49 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Posts: 23,037
WN has multiple WGA fares just like DL has multiple Z fares. But I can lookup DL's Z fares, rules, and availability on third party sites as they are published via GDS systems. You can't do the same with WN's fares. I suspect there may have been confusion here due to OP not being aware of the fact there are multiple Z fares. DL exposes which fares it is quoting in the fare rules link (8 character codes that uniquely identify a fare) and you can easily verify on sites like ITA Matrix or EF if these are correct. I basically do all my fare searches through Google Flights as it is faster and more powerful than DL's fare search. If DL wanted to target me (which I'm not convinced is the case here), there's no way they could do it unless they were somehow colluding with Google.
Last edited by xliioper; Apr 24, 2018 at 11:04 am