WineCountryUA

The OP's question was about ORD. Not systemwide

giblet

Apologies in advance for a series of rookie questions that show a fundamental lack of understanding of how the system works....

I'm a United Silver hoping to re-qualify again this year, with an international address so I only need miles to qualify, I understand correctly. I have a couple of flights coming up and I'm not sure if I fully understand why I shouldn't book Basic Economy. So, do I still accrue miles for my purposes (qualifying again for silver) if I fly BE? And would I still get a checked bag as a PR Silver? So is the reason not to fly BE is that I won't be able to upgraded to Economy Plus or have an assigned seat?

I did read the page about Premier benefits but it's not clear to me if the baggage benefits they mention for Economy apply to BE as well, and the difference in price ($100) on transatlantic flights seems worth investigating.

aacharya

1. BE earns half the PQM of regular economy and half the PQS.
2. BE does not impact your checked bag situation.
3. BE gives you no leverage to SDC or change your flight in anyways.

If you are fine withi this, then feel free to book BE. But if you're a Silver, and were relying on full PQMs for a TA flight (let's say 7000 PQM RT) be aware you will earn 3500 PQM instead.

FWIW, I book BE if it's US originating ($160 difference) but will not book BE if EU-originating (80 to 90 Euro difference).

giblet

Thanks, aacharya, thanks very helpful.

FlyingHighlander

I'm seeing a new option when making an app booking to select if the flight is Business or Personal.
Theres also a "Business" checkbox on the website.

What is this for, and what difference does it make?

WineCountryUA

Does you employer use a corporate travel agency, like Concur?

Corporate booking option on United.com & UA App

FlyingHighlander

They do now! We just went live with it and I connected various accounts, so it must be related to that. I'm experiencing exactly the same things people discussed in the thread you linked. Thanks

giblet

I'm looking at flights from LHR to EWR at for mid-late July, and they are all pricing at around $900. Is this normal for this time of year? I've been flying that route for a lot less recently. Is it worth waiting and seeing if I can find something better, or will the prices just go up?

fumje

One-way or round trip? Economy or basic? That is about $300 lower than I paid for UK-ORD r/t economy summer last year, but generally I'm not that familiar with the route.

FlyingHighlander

$900 round trip TATL in economy in the summer seems pretty normal to me. Lots of variables....you could get more or less, but I think $900 is a good average. That's certainly around what I've paid the last few years.

giblet

Round-trip in economy. I've been flying this route on United for sub-$400 a lot recently, if $900 is good/average for summer, I'll get these tickets fast.

Kacee

That is exceptionally cheap for a TATL. You should not confuse a deep discount sale fare with regular fare pricing.

fumje

Sorry if I cursed you. In my experience when the fare jumps like that, you may as well wait a few more days. It doesn't usually go up twice. But, f course, it may.

threeoh

NYC-LON is in my experience often the cheapest TATL fare. $900 seems normal for summer, though you might occasionally find cheaper I'd say that's the exception. I was just looking for CHI-PAR/GVA in June/July and couldn't find anything under $1,200, finally snagged a $9xx fare on Iberia that only existed for one day that happened to be perfect timing for me.

One idea is to look at other airlines. If ST and OW are all around the same price as *A, then that's likely the "real" price. If UA is way higher than other legacy airlines, might be worth waiting to see if they come down (or book with the other airline).

Kacee

About $185 per passenger. Most of that is UK taxes and fees. The US departure costs only $5.60.