lincolnjkc

One of the rules of a PNR is that all travelers in that PNR must have the same flights and booking classes, so if you need to take a different flight the PNR will be 'split' and one of you will get a new confirmation # reflecting the split PNR.

Generally, a split should not cause the loss of E+ seating but an aircraft swap or schedule change after the split may cause those assignments to go away and it may be difficult to get them reassigned for a non-status passenger; it may also be difficult to change to a different E+ seat.for free after the split. That said -- and I'm virtually certain it's not official policy but I've never been turned down -- if you call res or visit an airport agent and explain that the PNRs were split you likely be helped as a courtesy.

Lincoln
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JALsnipe

Is United now blocking award itineraries to Asia through Africa?
Previously, I would see lots of I space USA-ADD-NRT/ICN/SIN on ET. Now these itineraries seem to be impossible to book on UA but still show up on AC.

Example:
11/2/24
IAD-ADD (stop in LFW)
ADD-NRT (stop in ICN)

cfischer

I would wait a few days. UA just ran some major changes and devaluations and I would not be surprised, if that hasn't messed up other things.

chavo88

Hi bit of a strange question!

Have booked a paid flight on united website - flying ANA round trip multi city : Jakarta - NRT- SFO - Jakarta

Booked economy outbound reurn in business as there was a special fare.

Question - On first leg (JKT-NRT) there is now an award seat avail in business using miles. Can I book this one leg as an award seat in business while holding a paid seat in economy on same flight??

Would have 2 seats on same flight - If i alert ANA to this is it allowed?

Thanks

WineCountryUA

no

no

The most likely outcome is one ticket will be cancelled

Even if that does not happen, you will not be allowed to scan two BPs . if you use the business ticket, the economy ticket will be marked as a no show and remaining legs cancelled

BOSskier

Anyone else having issues booking LH Group business award flights this summer? I've cross-referenced availability with Aeroplan and basically anything I choose errors out with "Select another option: Flight availability with other airlines are subject to real-time availability verification..." And this is regardless of whether availability exists between both inventories (or not). It's definitely a new error (for me).

dwiser

Quick question.

In practice, how long does it actually take for miles to be redeposited into one's MP account following the cancellation of an award booking? UA's website says 5-7 days - that seems long to me.

Context - I have a speculative award booking and waiting on something better to open up, and I'm wondering if I need to transfer more miles to my MP account, or if I can rely on the miles from my booking being immediately available after cancelling the award booking.

jsloan

They're usually available instantly. If they don't get redeposited immediately, a call to the MileagePlus Service Center (open during US business hours) can get them put back if you tell them that you need to make a new reservation.

Ericka

Would changing the existing reservation be easier?

cfischer

If a UA metal booking then that is indeed a solution. One has to be careful w/ these online changes with partner metal involved. Not as risky if such route is also served by UA since worse come to worse a reroute on UA with an even exchange can be done. Destinations where partner metal is the only viable option - I would avoid doing an online change TBH

SPN Lifer

TBH = to be honest

For award ticket voluntary flight changes when flying solely on aircraft operated by UA ("UA metal") or with such alternatives available, making changes online as a first attempt is optimal if comfortable with doing so. Once travel has started, if worse comes to worst, such as irregular operations (IRROPS), recovery will indeed be much simpler.

searchforfulfillment

Trends for award travel redemption:
Curious about miles required trends for international long haul business seats. Many have posted concerns regarding seeing very high redemption requirements for these seats; and for most routes. I have seen 350K-400K OW redemptions and wondering if this is tied to extraordinary demand. Some UA people have used the 'non rev' term to describe this type of traveler, but miles earned from flying and spend have value - as evidenced by airline valuations of mileage programs. Admittedly, interest in a long haul flight in anything less than E+ is not a target. I plan a number of long haul trips 9-10 months out, so always interested in foreseeable trends in redemptions.

jsloan

No, it's tied to a very high supply of miles.

If they have, it's a mistake. Non-rev refers to passengers flying either on (airline) company business or using an (airline) travel benefit. Award customers are revenue customers.

MileagePlus is not a good choice for you.

The foreseeable trend is that UA will continue to try to push the envelope on award pricing, particularly for purchases far in advance. They have no incentive to offer a discount award seat 9-10 months in advance, and while there are occasional deals to be had, award pricing has moved to be much more in line with cash pricing, where, excluding holiday travel or fare sales, the best prices are available somewhere between 3 weeks and 3 months prior to travel.

You will occasionally find a partner award that far out, but another trend is that UA appears to be in the middle of rolling out more dynamic (read: higher) prices for partner awards too. It may lead to more availability, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of miles.

At the moment, and IMO in the foreseeable future, most of the value of MileagePlus is in either (a) last-minute, (b) one-way, or (c) short-haul travel.

BOSskier

FWIW, the premium cabin itineraries involving SWISS and Lufthansa that were erroring out both on the website and the app when clicked were bookable by an agent on the phone. Well, at least the ones I checked. (None of these were complex; all partner flights with most only have a single connection.)