findark

R is correct. Fare class doesn't matter for long-haul (other than for priority) - all non-GS instrument upgrades (RPU/GPU/miles+cash) clear to R.

CLEguy

Got it, thanks.

scracer14

I asked Delta to re-book me onto UA due to the weather in ATL last night. I was rebooked into full Y and got the instant upgrade which was nice. I was just wondering if I will get PQM and PQD for that flight?

Also wondering if it's typical to rebook into full Y when interlining? I was not on a full fare ticket on DL but it was a refundable fare.

mahasamatman

You should get RDM and PQM, but I'm not sure how PQD works in this situation. Let us know what happens when the flight posts.

Rebooking in Y is generally the easiest for the agent, so that's why it often happens, but no guarantees.

3ch0

Am booking my wife to accompany me to LHR for a business trip. Since UA's prices for business on SFO-LHR are $2-3k more expensive, my company has me flying on Virgin (787!). So I lose potential points, but will get to fly VS Upper class which seems quite nice. Especially the services at LHR.

With that said, I need to book my wife on UA with miles. Looks like she is not getting Economy Plus. Is that only extended to her if we fly together? This means 60k miles plus $500 total.
I am UA Gold and have a Chase Explorer card.

Thank you!

WineCountryUA

Yes, as long as you MP account was attached (which it seems it was due to the upgrade) and there will be PQDs but impossible to predict how much -- this is one of the great mysterious of PQDs on how this is handled.

As previously mentioned, this is the path of least work for agents -- in this case, for the DL agent.

When UA agents do this for alternative UA flights, the mileage posting many times will be adjusted back to the original fare class. Not sure what will happen with the DL agent took the shortcut.

That is correct. If there are going to be other cases of this, you may want to look at an E+ subscription. It doesn't take many flights to make it a better approach.

3ch0

Good idea! Hopefully this is not a recurring issue. British and Virgin are kicking UA's behind on SFO-LHR business on price, but this trip is a bit of a one off for me.

arsoisaen

Wanted to confirm something here before I buy.

I'm booking a business class flight. It will be a Lufthansa flight but I want as many UA miles (PQM and the normal miles) as I can get. Cost is roughly $6k and I'm UA Gold. Flight miles is around 6k miles

I should definitely be booking this through UA right? And not Lufthansa directly? I only ask because my work travel agent suggested Lufthansa to have more flexibility for flight changes.

WineCountryUA

This is a case of trade-offs.

Your travel agent has a valid issue but the UA/LH is usually not too tricky on codeshares. It can be a problem with other airlines. Additionally if you are going to use miles or GPU to upgrade to LH F, a codeshare create an additional step.

As for mileage earning -- it can get tricky.

If you care about PQDs, it must be booked with UA. PQDs only relate to earning status.

For PQMs, another status metric, there is no difference.

For RDMs (awards) it depends. LH will provide UA RDMs based on distance traveled, a potential fare bonus depending on the fare booked and an MP elite bonus.

UA will provide RDMs based on ticket price multiple with higher multipliers based on status.

The status impact is similar but not exact the same for both.

Assuming with Gold status and ticket of approximately $6K x8 as Gold), you will get roughly 48,000 RDMs on UA (maybe 5-10% less -- no bonus on taxes, airport fees, ...)

On LH, it will depend on where you are flying from -- you say 6K miles, that sounds like SFO/LAX-FRA -- but we use your 6K (a little high for SFO/LAX)
RT 12,000
Z fare bonus (50%) -- J,C,D are 100% bonus and P 0% - 6,000
Gold bonus 6,000

So total is 24K RDMs

So in this case UA wins and in generally for higher fares UA will win but say LH had a fare sale , $3,000 or so -- it would be a tossup.

Will Dearborn

How easy is it to change an award flight? Example: There is no business saver available on my preferred date but I'm flexible and want to book an earlier date (same flight) to make sure I have a seat. If saver availability appears later, how can I make the switch? Flight is 8 months out FWIW.

WineCountryUA

It can be done but it has gotten more difficult.
Depending on your status level, there is a scaled fee or changes (none for 1Ks/GSs).

One option is to waitlist for the second option, upon booking the first.

Will Dearborn

I am a 1K.

​​​​​​​What​​​ do you mean by waitlist? I understand for RPU/GPU but not in this context. Thanks.

WineCountryUA

You are waitlisting for an alternative flights -- different list from the upgrade waitlist. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ns-issues.html especially the wiki.

scracer14

Looks like I got $280 PQM, 750 PQM and 1.5 segments for the rebooked flight in Y. The original fare on Delta was ~$500 MQD (PQD).

Looks like they might award PQD/PQM based on discounted contract rates with interline carriers?

I'm not complaining, the agent said I'll still get Delta qualifying miles and dollars based on the original ticket as well.

arsoisaen

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. And you are correct on the trip (I was just rounding up the miles). The $6k cost is one way so I think it makes even more sense to be on UA