So, it's interview season for consulting firms and college seniors, and I'm taking my licks. It turns out that there's going to be enough travel involved with all these shenanigans that the miles will actually add up, so I'm looking to maximize my United time. Last week I put in a request through one company's travel site for flights on United, which were actually cheaper than their "preferred carriers"; still, this morning I got an email from their travel service confirming me back DL -- in full Y, and at absurd expense to them. Is there any point in pressing the issue (and if so, how should I go about it?), or is it not worth the risk of ticking someone off?

Gracias!

A lot of times companies get a rather large rebate / discount on the back end of these ticket prices. Where it may loook more expensive for the individual ticket in question they may save morein the long run by booking with a preferred airline. There are actually positives to this process such that if you were to work there it makes it easy to consitently book with the same airline and obtain status.

I would prefer this to a company that just always hunts around for the lowest price and books you with all different carriers. IMHO

No.

As the CEO of a small company, I take the position that if someone asks (nicely) and is trying to save me money and also gets to fly (and maybe upgrade) on their preferred carrier I always let them. If they approach me in a manner that is self-serving or disrespectful I do not support a change.

My guess is that the person that you are dealing with at the consulting firm may have no idea about travel (unless they are an FTer), and my advice would be to happily use the itinerary that they provided.

As your question is more of a general nature and not specifically related to United, I'm going to move it to Travel Buzz.

letiole
UA mod

Use the itin that they provided. Rocking the boat before you even get an interview is not in your best interests.

I work for a large corporation. We have an in-house travel department and all flights, rooms and cars are booked through them, with few exceptions, online. We have "preferred" vendors in all 3 categories and earn discounts & rebates with them. Those concessions are volume dependent, and we are encouraged to follow the recommendations even in cases where an individual trip looks like it may cost more than if we were using alternative carriers/properties. Our annual savings are in the millions of dollars. If we all made completely independent travel decisions, that might not be the case. It's a team effort, and sometimes you're called on to bunt. There are methods to get around specific preferred carriers and I will be happy to share some hints (it's not rocket science) after you have landed the job. It should still be possible to maximize miles, points and status while staying within bounds. Meanwhile, you're still trying out for the team. It might be appropriate to discuss it during a light moment on interview day, maybe over lunch, but don't think about showing them how much smarter you are than their travel department/agent.

Your travel saavy will rarely be your competitive advantage that gets you the job, even in consulting. Sure, you may forgo full-fare miles during recruiting season, but use the signing bonus to fuel your flying habit, and then work to optimise the travel opportunities once you land the job.

I've called out two people during the interview for inappropriately booking their travel (who would book a $400+ flight from Champaign, IL to downtown Chicago?)

I did admire one candidate who was upgraded on his DL Y-fare returning to Atlanta. I got to walk right past him to a middle seat in economy since I missed my flight (with a confirmed F seat) an hour earlier. Somehow he was also upgraded at the Peninsula Hotel the previous night (and despite multiple stays, I was moved to another hotel).

Agree here.

But you may want to figure out which FF program to put the DL miles into. If you expect to do a lot of west coast flying, AS is a good secondary program for mopping up non-*A miles, since DL, CO, NW, and AA are all mileage partners with AS.

On the other hand, if you do end up working there, you may end up flying on DL a lot, which may make its program more attractive than the partner programs (DL partners with CO, NW, and AS, but not AA).

Of course, if you already have mileage in an account with DL, CO, NW, or AS, you may want to keep concentrating the mileage there.

Take what they give you. They may have an agreement with Delta where all their flights MUST be booked with them, they could be using certs, you don't know. Now isn't the time to come off as a know it all.

Well, it appears your first mistake was becoming a Wahoo....

Just kidding......

Seriously, I agree with others here, there are probably rebates and other corporate discounts involved. The prices shown on my correspondence with the corporate travel office always are much higher than what they actually pay for the flights. Or so I'm told by higher ups....

Good luck on your search.

Tim

As a former Wahoo, I resent that remark!

Best of luck to the OP. Not worth pushing, but if you do ask again (as mentioned earlier), just tee it up politely as a savings opportunity. I don't see much of a need to even bring up your FF preference.

You will miss Charlottesville!

"maximize my United time"

Why? It's not like they upgrade you automatically. You'll get upgraded a TON more on CO or NW. Your DL full Y fare ticket get you plenty of points.

The reason why companies do things like that often have to do with negotiated rates that they have with an airline. They might get a break on the most heavily travelled routes and in return agree to buy everything from that airline.

In terms of the interview though, they're paying so be quiet and fly as you're told. If anyone questions you going against their wishes, you can just say that you wanted to save them money. Let it drop and get an NW World Perks membership. I was gold on UA and am gold on CO now, and I get upgraded 234098725908345908345 times as much.