hawk2985

I am trying to book a surprise trip for myself and my girlfriend on United. We are both Premier members, but I don't want the trip to show up on her account since she travels frequently and would surely ask what this is about.

If I make the reservations for both tickets under my MP #, what happens when:
-We check in, would I have to check in for both of us, or does she have to do herself
-Would she get the credit for her ticket
-Would she be able to do mobile checkin/ mobile board pass

Any light that can be shed on this would be appreciated.

Thanks.

USFdonWill

To keep it a secret, you can check-in both of you. She will get credit for it once you put her MP # on the reservation...at the airport since you want to surprise her. And yes, she can do mobile check-in she would just need the PNR.

jhayes_1780

+1, While I commend the OP's thoughtfulness and effort..... IME, after a surprise concert/hotel stay one time mrs_1780 asked for no surprises ever again.

BTW, welcome to FT

zrs70

Welcome to FT! Won't comment on whether or not to do this.

My suggestion is that you just leave her number off the reservation until the day travel.

6rugrats

Welcome to FT!

joedish is a wise man. He and jhayes expressed it quite well, and I agree. I would not like a surprise trip like this; women need to prepare for their vacations!

That said, you must leave her FF number off this reservation, or she will be able to see it under her itineraries.

drummingcraig

I am going to chime in and disagree with this poster and the others who share his/her sentiment. I planned a surprise trip for my wife and she couldn't have been more elated. Are there some people out there who would not like to go on a surprise trip?....of course. But there are also plenty who would love the spontaneity of an unplanned getaway.

We'll leave it up to you to decide which category your girlfriend falls into, but do not be discouraged if you think its a good idea. I say...go for it! @:-)

Continental250K

Do you know his wife? You come in here like the Millionaire Matchmaker when in fact this may be right up her alley. Then say Hawaii, maybe they are going to NYC or somewhere close for a night or 2.

Joedish the ladies man LOL

LizzyDragon84

As a woman, I think a surprise trip would be fantastic. Not all women are the same.

To the OP, just keep your girlfriend's MP# off the record until you get to the airport. Have a great trip!

aacharya

I did this for my fiancee. But I compromised. I told her we're flying, and that it was far enough away to not use a prop plane. I told her the weather in the region...and that she hadn't been there before.

She didn't login (does not fly all that often) to see where we were going, and was very happy at the airport.

I'd recommend what other posters have said - keep her MP number off until the day of the flight, or even at OLCI>

soccerguy985

Why doesn't the OP talk to one of his GF's girlfriends who could make a list for the OP of what to pack for her. Maybe said friend would be able to help him get all the womanly things the OP's GF would need.

A side note, I did this for my wife when we were dating. I do not know if my GF's best friend told my now wife, but she sure acted surprised if she knew. She freaked out a little bit about not having all of her things, then when she saw that her bag was packed with a note from her best friend stating that her best friend helped me she relaxed.

Good luck OP!

Ericka

I did a surprise trip for my husband once. I told him we were going somewhere but the surprise was, he did not know where. He cleared his schedule and stayed out of his United account in order to keep it a surprise.

I had him make three packing piles (one for a beach, one for a city, one for mountain/hiking). Then I packed his bag with the appropriate gear after he left the room and hid the rest until we returned home.

We left from our local airport, connecting at IAD. At IAD, I gave him a series of gifts that provided clues to where we were going until he was able to "guess" correctly. Then we proceeded to the appropriate gate....for our flight to Rome.

P.S. You may want to have her MP number in the reservation if status will at all be a factor for upgrades, etc. In which case you will need to keep her out of her account.

hawk2985

Perhaps I should elaborate.

She knows we are going on a trip. It is actually for our engagement. She will have plenty of time to pack and get everything together, I just don't want her to know where we are going.

I am confident that she will be excited once she finds out, I just don't want to ruin the surprise. My main concern is that she is able to check in easily and we won't have any hiccups getting her the miles.

jhayes_1780

Well, thats TOTALLY different. You have the green light from me

Anyway, I trust you are both flying on the same flights?

If so, book the trip, don't enter a FF number for her. Then have the number entered at the gate.

drummingcraig

Trust me, you don't know what you're talking about (or more importantly, who you're talking about). @:-)

^^^

This will be awesome.

trm2

I did this for my wife for a birthday that ended in 0. She knew we were flying somewhere warm, so she knew what to pack. She didn't find out where we were going until we got to the gate, well, at least where we were flying to. Once we got there, we got on a cruise.

She still talks about it today.