United MP Club Card Free Bags, 1 Award ticket, 1 Paid ticket?
 

I have the United MP Club card which gives me and a companion 2 free bags each.

I am trying to book a trip for my wife and I.

I want to pay for my ticket (to get EQMs) and use miles to pay for my wife's ticket.

UA is telling me there is no way to put these ticket on the same reservation and therefore no free bags for my wife!!!

Is there any way around this?

Hman

Pack more compactly?

Ha, ha good recommendation...

This is a total misrepresentation of this card on United's and Chase's part.

They advertise all these benefits and mile accrual possibilities.

But when you want to take advantage of the benefits and actually use the miles you have accumulated, you get a big GOTCHA!!!

Ridiculous...

Not at all. You just have to follow the rules.

When I signed up for the Club card there was nothing in the "rules" that said you cannot pay for one ticket with miles and the other with cash and have them both on the same reservation to satisfy the requirements for companion benefits. I just found that out today when I tried to book this trip...

I want to help the OP - but the interpretation he has just to fit his predicament stretches the imagination.

This is not a limitation of the card benefits at all, but a choice the OP is making to book a revenue separate from paid (it has been known since Day 1 of airline flying one cannot mix the two on one PNR).

Consider, though, rational thought for a minute and these options:

1. Book one-ways, one revenue, one paid. Gets you all the bags you want - you lose some PQMs on the 2nd leg, but that's a trade-off.

2. Club card gives you two bags free and United is very generous with carry-ons.

:rolleyes: It is not Chase's responsibility to explain to you the vagaries of United's ticketing processes. Seriously. United doesn't send you the rules on banking at Chase, do they?
That being said, aacharya provides an excellent work-around (assuming the one-way revenue fares do not carry much/any of a premium).

And it's not UA's ticketing process. It's how airline ticketing works in general.

Since the Chase card has United's name on it (i.e. they have a partnership), yes I think Chase does have some responsibility to explain the shortcomings of the benefits, especially when paying $450 a year for the card.

Chase explains very clearly the UNITED Club benefit (how many guests you can bring in, etc.)

If the Chase card did NOT have United's name on it, then no they would not have any responsibility, but that is not the case...

Chase tells you the passengers must be on the same reservation. That's all they need to say. Does Chase tell you a premium wine on the Club is $12? Are you going to complain about that "non-disclosure" also?

Chase does not explain the entirety of the guest policy to Club Card holders (dress guidelines, for example) - I guess with your logic, you'd be screaming at Chase because United denied you entrance for not wearing footwear.

We'll have to agree to disagree. Companies that have deals with each other do not (and should not) have to disclose all the policies, administrative workings, etc of the other company. Just a ludicrous expectation. Chase told you all you need to know to get the bag waiver - it has to be on the same reservation. It is your responsibility to go to United (if you want the benefit) and get the travelers on one reservation.

Actually, Chase delivers as promised.

You are the cardholder. So you do get what you are entitled.

Chase makes it clear that the companion must be in the same reservation to get the baggage waiver. So if UA can't do that, it is not Chase's problem that no waiver for the companion.

Totally incorrect logic.

Based on the same logic, does that mean Visa has to be responsible for every stupid mistake that Chase makes?

What's confusing about the fact that, you CAN"T book a reservation with miles and $ on the same itinerary?:confused:


There have been very good suggestions above on how to deal with this problem, so just go with those solutions!^

... is the OP really planning on taking on Chase, Visa, and UAL over a rule that has been around forever, and he wasn't aware of, even after every poster has told him that he is mistaken?

The benefits such as 2 free bags and Premier Access per passenger are very specific benefits. The Club membership is something one would have to do more research on to see if it was for them (and then one would find out what exactly the club has to offer).

I apologize fellow flyertalkers with thousands of posts (to my 20)! I have been traveling on business for over 20 years and did not realize this.

I would like to think I have done pretty well over the years getting travel perks for family, friends, myself. I guess I am still squarely a novice at this for not knowing and understanding how airline ticketing works...


Because I am a novice can you please explain exactly how I can do this?

My wife and I are flying from ORD to MIA (direct, round trip).

I want to buy my ticket (to get EQM) and pay for my wife's ticket with my accumulated miles.

I am paying for everything with the Club card and I want to get the 2+2 free bags.

Thanks!

Because you can't put an award ticket and a purchased ticket on the same reservation, it can't be done. However, you can maximize your own 2-bag limit. When I've done this, I've checked two large bags myself, and taken a carry-on in addition to my wife taking a carry-on. This way we're able to take what we need, and use my 2-bags free. The only time this kind of thing wouldn't work would be if we wanted to check golf clubs, skis, etc.

Actually, it seems like a perfectly reasonable request to me to want to combine a paid and an award ticket on the same reservation. This comes up regularly, in fact. It's not possible to do it, unfortunately, but I don't think it's a crazy suggestion.

One of the suggestions was to purchase ORD-MIA with cash (for both of you) and MIA-ORD with miles (again, for both of you). While you'll only get half of the PQMs that you wanted, you'll get the bag waiver that you wanted.

Incidentally, why are you looking to collect PQMs? Besides access to Economy Plus, there aren't a whole lot of benefits to Silver status beyond what you already get with the United Club card.

Another option is to buy your wife a first class award ticket, which will get her two checked bags at 70 pounds each. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to find saver first class awards. (If you also buy up to first class for your own paid ticket, you'd get (at least) twice as many PQMs).

Hope this helps. :-)