Cash and miles on a RT ticket?
Sep 20, 2014, 1:06 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 53
Cash and miles on a RT ticket?
I looked through older posts and could not find an answer, so sorry if this has been discussed before.
I only have miles for a one-way flight, but not for the return one. How do I buy the return at the "both ways" rate and not the "one way" rate, when using miles to get the other way? Thanks
I only have miles for a one-way flight, but not for the return one. How do I buy the return at the "both ways" rate and not the "one way" rate, when using miles to get the other way? Thanks
Sep 20, 2014, 1:14 pm
#2
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA LT Plat 2MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 67,266
I looked through older posts and could not find an answer, so sorry if this has been discussed before.
I only have miles for a one-way flight, but not for the return one. How do I buy the return at the "both ways" rate and not the "one way" rate, when using miles to get the other way? Thanks
I only have miles for a one-way flight, but not for the return one. How do I buy the return at the "both ways" rate and not the "one way" rate, when using miles to get the other way? Thanks
You might consider purchasing the needed miles for the return. The Award Accelerate seems to be 1.9 cpm for most and can lead to a reasonable purchase cost (but is a bit more complex than the more expensive PurhasePersonal Miles)
Sep 20, 2014, 1:16 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BOS, BWI, DCA, IAD
Programs: American, Delta, JetBlue, United
Posts: 2,075
You can't do that. On UA (and AA), you can use miles for a one-way award ticket at half the mileage of RT. For the return, you could use AA miles on the same basis, if you have miles with AA. But if you wish to buy a one-way ticket with $, you'll pay the one-way rate on whichever airline you choose to book. For some routes, that will be half the RT fare in $. But for other routes, especially those involving transatlantic flights, one-way fares in $ are more expensive than a RT. Check carefully before you commit your miles.
Sep 21, 2014, 9:48 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BOS, BWI, DCA, IAD
Programs: American, Delta, JetBlue, United
Posts: 2,075
Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something, but your original post used the word "I", while the post quoted above reads "we". If two people are travelling and each has enough miles for a one-way award, the best procedure may be to obtain two one-way award seats for Passenger A, while Passenger B purchases a RT ticket with $.
Sep 21, 2014, 1:17 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 53
JPG, it's 2 of us, and we both have some miles, plus some UR points that can go to either account. Between the 2 of us, we have enough for 1 RT and just one way for the other. So I guess buying some miles is what we need to do.
But thanks for your suggestion, it really makes sense, and somehow I was not thinking of it.
But thanks for your suggestion, it really makes sense, and somehow I was not thinking of it.
Sep 22, 2014, 8:00 am
#9
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BOS, BWI, DCA, IAD
Programs: American, Delta, JetBlue, United
Posts: 2,075
For the random dates I checked, the lowest RT fare JFK-Johannesburg is $1178.00. The lowest one-way fare flying to Johannesburg is $3166.00. I did not check one-way travel Johannesburg-JFK.
Sep 22, 2014, 9:27 am
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
The return is likely to be quite a bit cheaper. I did it for ~$650 o/w in April 2013. But that's not on UA. It was on TK with QR and EK offering similar fares.
Sep 22, 2014, 4:00 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 53
Thanks - my dates are not out yet, so I will need to wait a little bit longer. We really want the non-stop, so that will definitely add to the price. ANy idea, when buying miles, do they post right away? Or is there a delay?