Star Alliance Upgrade Award on EVA
Oct 28, 2019, 5:02 pm
#256
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Any tricks on booking a one way B fare? I'm trying to go from SFO -> TPE -> CTS and there is Z availability on SFO -> TPE, but the agent can only get it priced on a Y fare unless its a round trip fare. Would I be able to put on a short flight in order to get it priced in B?
Oct 28, 2019, 6:29 pm
#257
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
Consider HUCA (and recommend calling the Taipei office directly as some of the USA agents are totally incompetent IME). I've encountered situations where B is zero'd out, but It seems unlikely that an actual fare bucket (as opposed to a specific fare basis) would be available r/t but not o/w.
Oct 28, 2019, 6:41 pm
#258
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Oct 28, 2019, 7:04 pm
#259
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat
Posts: 184
Consider HUCA (and recommend calling the Taipei office directly as some of the USA agents are totally incompetent IME). I've encountered situations where B is zero'd out, but It seems unlikely that an actual fare bucket (as opposed to a specific fare basis) would be available r/t but not o/w.
Oct 28, 2019, 7:54 pm
#260
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Tried calling again and also to the Taiwan office. They are not able price it out in B. If I do a roundtrip segment online, each segment is $300 cheaper than the one way fare. Seems like B fare has a $50 cancellation fee. If I cancel the return after taking the outbound, would I be able to get the return segment fare price back, or will it be something less?
Oct 28, 2019, 9:06 pm
#261
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Any tricks on booking a one way B fare? I'm trying to go from SFO -> TPE -> CTS and there is Z availability on SFO -> TPE, but the agent can only get it priced on a Y fare unless its a round trip fare. Would I be able to put on a short flight in order to get it priced in B?
Oct 28, 2019, 10:47 pm
#262
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
It might not be possible. I picked a random day 11/13/19 SFO-TPE and did a couple of tests. EVA site only allows Y not B for a one-way. Used ExpertFlyer to get availability and found plenty of B but when using EF to find valid fares I find that EVA only filed B fares valid for round-trips, so if you wanted a one-way B fare you could not book one because it is not offered. You would have to book a round-trip to get a B fare. This seems to be common throughout the schedule and for the handful of cities I checked. I don't know if this is a temporary thing or the new normal. Hopefully it is temporary but who knows?
Oct 28, 2019, 10:58 pm
#263
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
I suppose the obvious answer to my earlier posts is that they can restrict all B fare basis to r/t fares, effectively making them unavailable for o/w tickets. That's unfortunate for o/w upgrades (which is mostly what I do, since purchasing RL o/w outright often represents a 50%+ premium).
Oct 28, 2019, 11:57 pm
#264
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
Nov 18, 2019, 11:09 pm
#266
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Bay Area
Programs: UA 1k now; AA (no status); HY Diamond; SPG Platinum
Posts: 707
1) The miles can come from any account.
2) SAUA is technically only for one segment, so by default upgrading each segment is how it works.
Keep in mind only Y/B/K is eligible on BR and there must be upgrade availability (consensus is Z bucket and availability is not listed online - must call into BR to check).
2) SAUA is technically only for one segment, so by default upgrading each segment is how it works.
Keep in mind only Y/B/K is eligible on BR and there must be upgrade availability (consensus is Z bucket and availability is not listed online - must call into BR to check).
Just tried to upgrade BR51 for 12/7. Experflyer showed 0 I space to TPE from all of the US gateway. Called BR in Taiwan to confirm that is the case. Was told Z is available (5 seats on BR51- only thing available). And SAUA failed.
Liked I said before- only when I class is present SAUA is guaranteed.
Nov 19, 2019, 1:33 am
#267
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
I've never stated that Z availability "guarantees" SAUA. In fact, I've often noted there are posts even from many years ago suggesting that BR may withhold upgrade inventory for own-program members.
However, consensus on this forum is that SAUA availability is most likely tied to Z bucket. That is simply undeniable given the numerous data points supplied by FT'ers.
However, consensus on this forum is that SAUA availability is most likely tied to Z bucket. That is simply undeniable given the numerous data points supplied by FT'ers.
Nov 19, 2019, 9:39 am
#269
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Yeah, Z inventory may occasionally be off but it is most reliable indicator we have that is available. I inventory has been shown to not correlate way more than Z (Z is a better indicator).
For those who checked Z then the upgrade failed, did you attempt to SAUA with more than one program (United and Aeroplan, for example, since UA's tool has been known to fail periodically)? Did you call after the failure to confirm Z was still available? Maybe it was removed?
For those who checked Z then the upgrade failed, did you attempt to SAUA with more than one program (United and Aeroplan, for example, since UA's tool has been known to fail periodically)? Did you call after the failure to confirm Z was still available? Maybe it was removed?
Last edited by skimthetrees; Nov 19, 2019 at 9:45 am
Nov 19, 2019, 2:19 pm
#270
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Bay Area
Programs: UA 1k now; AA (no status); HY Diamond; SPG Platinum
Posts: 707
Yeah, Z inventory may occasionally be off but it is most reliable indicator we have that is available. I inventory has been shown to not correlate way more than Z (Z is a better indicator).
For those who checked Z then the upgrade failed, did you attempt to SAUA with more than one program (United and Aeroplan, for example, since UA's tool has been known to fail periodically)? Did you call after the failure to confirm Z was still available? Maybe it was removed?
For those who checked Z then the upgrade failed, did you attempt to SAUA with more than one program (United and Aeroplan, for example, since UA's tool has been known to fail periodically)? Did you call after the failure to confirm Z was still available? Maybe it was removed?
the previous poster is correct.
if Z is available and Eva own upgrade will work. Just not SAUA. So far I had been only think that I found to be 100% working.