TravelinSperry

After reading the helpful forums here I've learned that K class doesn't accrue miles on United. I may be fine with that. However do I still get my *A Gold benefits?

That is, priority check-in, free checked luggage, and lounge access? When I click the details on Lufthansa's site - it says "1 piece of luggage included" but doesn't make it clear whether that is one checked piece plus one carry on or?
It further states economy check-in and no lounge access. So does this mean one is stripped of all *A Gold benefits when flying this fare?

I also notice that there are flights in T class available but cost ~$180 more. It appears these earn miles with UA and, I assume, come with full *A Gold benefits. However, there is no way to book this fare online. Do I need to use a travel agent to book the T fare? Any OTA's can assist with this?

SPlDER

You will get priority check-in and lounge access.
Baggage allowance on LH is more weird, and do not depend on fare class, but on fare option (Light/Classic/Flex):
On K light fare no checked bags are allowed.
On K classic 1 checked bag is allowed + 1 for *G.
Carry-on is allowed.

You will not be able to book T class on LH.com if K-class is available. It is possible to book it by phone, but there is ridiculous additional fee, so the best way is to use a travel agent.
There is no difference between T and K class regarding *G benefits.

TravelinSperry

Thanks! Since the Lufthansa website says "1 piece of luggage included" shall I assume that this is K Classic (and not light)? Is there a way to determine at booking which K class it is (light or classic?)

I guess it's worth pricing out the difference in fare from K to T. Basically that is the price I'd be "buying" miles for.

Much appreciated.

totti

No, you should not assume K is a classic fare! When you book you can decide whether or not you book light, classic, or flex. There is three large columns on the screen with the respective labels and you just choose whatever you will. The website will choose classic by default though.

I am not convinced by this system and find it rather annoying because you can end up with a (somewhat) flexible ticket for less than 250 euros on some routes (e.g. FRA-DRS) while you may pay 500+ euros for a light fare that has no flexibility at all (e.g. FRA-GVA) and even on the same route you may pay more for a less flexible ticket because you end up in a higher fare bucket… But apparently this is what customers want or at least LH says so…

TravelinSperry

I am struggling to identify which class of K I can choose. The terminology used on FT differs from that shown on Lufthansa.

My choices are solely "basic" or "basic plus I". Both show "1 piece of baggage included", "economy check-in" and "no lounge access". Both show as K Class. The only difference I can find is that "basic" shows a mileage accrual of 25% whereas "basic plus I" shows 100%.

Since I want to earn United Miles - the mileage accruals shown are irrelevant to me (since K class earns 0%).

Being a Star Alliance gold customer it was explained to me upthread that I will get lounge access and priority check-in. So it appears the details on Lufthasa's website don't apply for *A Gold customers. I don't know what the 1 piece of baggage applies to as it isn't descriptive enough - 1 checked bag at 20kg? Plus a carry on? Regardless - there seems to be no way to identify what K class level I can choose from. Any ideas?

malmostoso

Where are you trying to book from? IIRC the only way to get a non-light ticket is to book through LH.com. Any other website will only sell you light fares (i.e. no luggage regardless of status).

TravelinSperry

I am using http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/us/homepage

I am attempting to book from JFK to FRA. The fares shown are as described above and the details of said fares both show 1 piece of luggage included but do not describe further.

malmostoso

Ok much clearer now. The light/classic/flex fares are purely short-haul, so you can forget all the discussion above.

On a basic fare you have one piece of 23kg included, and full *G perks.

noname83

but no UA miles on k-fare, even on long-haul.... (just for completeness)

thbe

And check the fare for premium economy too. Sometimes premium economy is cheaper than economy - and sometimes more expensive than business - the same time of booking, on the same flight.

Tyrolean

You could ask a travel agent to put you into a higher booking class to earn miles. If you know the price difference, you can evaluate if it is worth doing it.

TravelinSperry

Thanks all, totally understand now ^

Glad to hear full *A Gold perks apply. As Tyrolean said, might as well identify price difference so I can see whether it's worth it to "buy" miles. Highly unlikely as I checked online for different days where K Class is sold out and it costs ~$180 USD more. It's only a 3,860 miles making the purchase >4 cents per mile. One can buy United miles directly for 2.5. Hard to imagine why this particular flight would sell T class much lower than the other days.

djohannw

You might want to check UA's website for your flights and specify L class as the one you want to book - the difference should be substantially less than the 180€ for T class, and L also allows you to accrue on UA...

Greetings - Dirk

TravelinSperry

I know how to see available fare classes on United.com but is there a way to book the specific fare class I want on United.com if it is available? In this case, L class shows as avail.

djohannw

You can specify the class you want to buy on United.com using the "All search options" section - enter "L" in the "Fare classes" box. It will then show the correct fare for L-class in the first column while showing the lowest (K) in the second, and by clicking on the first column, you can buy the L-fare.

Greetings - Dirk