Buying Individual Bulk Fares Directly from United / United Vacations
Mar 1, 2023, 11:55 pm
#61
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TAs can issue Bulk tixs ( published fares) via TO or consolidator; I was told by someone in the know that I trust who issues bulk tixs.
There are several large tour operators in USA,Canada, & Europe that negotiate on publish fares & sign contracts. .
Contracts these TO sign allows them not show the publish fare I guess. Thus Bulk Tix.
Some contracts are one year contracts others multi year.
Due to Covid & many international destination were closed & Airlines can fill their seats I guess the airlines likes of United are not in a hurry to Neg.
Someone in the know who does bulk tixs I trust 100% ; informed me The contracts for bulk fares for this year to Asia or Australia( those are the ones I am interested in & on United only ) have not been fully signed as yet should be soon. Keeping my fingers cross.
I would guess. Any bulk tixs that were issued in Jan 2023 were from previous year /years contract
United is filling their seats. United is not going to be rushing to sign contracts with consolidators.
Typically the contracts are for South America ,Asia & Oceania. I was told First tier *A carriers that I am interested in : UA,AC, LH group do not neg. for Western Europe thus no bulk fares to Europe.
UA's partners currently have such great Business Class fares to Asia & Europe No need for Bulk fares. YYZ-KIX in "P" on AC is under USD 3K. Netting 5K+ PQP.
There are several large tour operators in USA,Canada, & Europe that negotiate on publish fares & sign contracts. .
Contracts these TO sign allows them not show the publish fare I guess. Thus Bulk Tix.
Some contracts are one year contracts others multi year.
Due to Covid & many international destination were closed & Airlines can fill their seats I guess the airlines likes of United are not in a hurry to Neg.
Someone in the know who does bulk tixs I trust 100% ; informed me The contracts for bulk fares for this year to Asia or Australia( those are the ones I am interested in & on United only ) have not been fully signed as yet should be soon. Keeping my fingers cross.
I would guess. Any bulk tixs that were issued in Jan 2023 were from previous year /years contract
United is filling their seats. United is not going to be rushing to sign contracts with consolidators.
Typically the contracts are for South America ,Asia & Oceania. I was told First tier *A carriers that I am interested in : UA,AC, LH group do not neg. for Western Europe thus no bulk fares to Europe.
UA's partners currently have such great Business Class fares to Asia & Europe No need for Bulk fares. YYZ-KIX in "P" on AC is under USD 3K. Netting 5K+ PQP.
Mar 2, 2023, 6:47 am
#62
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The TAs in US who have access to UA's Bulk fares I discovered offer more UA destinations on Bulk fare. The bulk fare deals are better than Canadian Base TAs The CA TA's cost tends to be 2-3% higher than US TAs.,
More important some Canadian TAs tag on high cancelation & change fee in addition to UAs cancellation fee..
Talking to other Business Travellers in Canada; Canadian TA tend to have fantastic deals with non based US carriers including Asian carrier Cathay, Asiana.
For Partners airlines ANA, LH group & AC no need for bulk fares. PQP on the partners is distance based & class of service.
From my understanding do not have to be consolidators to neg bulk fare contracts. It is based on how much UA tixs the company sells. It all comes down to $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
May 26, 2023, 2:08 pm
#63
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I'm looking at purchasing a ticket from United Vacations. The package price is $1000 and the actual flight miles add up to around 13000. The itinerary shows "Bulk" and "Class T".
As I understand it, for PQP I would get 13,000 miles X 50% for T class / 5 = 1300 PQP.
My question is, what happens if United has a schedule change? Could they rebook me in a lower class, say L (which only earns 25% instead of 50%) that would cut my PQP in half? If so, do I have any way to change the flight back to my original fare class?
I really need the 1300 PQP. If that got cut in half then I'd be better off booking directly with United where the same flight is $1300 for 1100 PQP.
As I understand it, for PQP I would get 13,000 miles X 50% for T class / 5 = 1300 PQP.
My question is, what happens if United has a schedule change? Could they rebook me in a lower class, say L (which only earns 25% instead of 50%) that would cut my PQP in half? If so, do I have any way to change the flight back to my original fare class?
I really need the 1300 PQP. If that got cut in half then I'd be better off booking directly with United where the same flight is $1300 for 1100 PQP.
May 26, 2023, 3:14 pm
#64
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I'm looking at purchasing a ticket from United Vacations. The package price is $1000 and the actual flight miles add up to around 13000. The itinerary shows "Bulk" and "Class T".
As I understand it, for PQP I would get 13,000 miles X 50% for T class / 5 = 1300 PQP.
My question is, what happens if United has a schedule change? Could they rebook me in a lower class, say L (which only earns 25% instead of 50%) that would cut my PQP in half? If so, do I have any way to change the flight back to my original fare class?
I really need the 1300 PQP. If that got cut in half then I'd be better off booking directly with United where the same flight is $1300 for 1100 PQP.
As I understand it, for PQP I would get 13,000 miles X 50% for T class / 5 = 1300 PQP.
My question is, what happens if United has a schedule change? Could they rebook me in a lower class, say L (which only earns 25% instead of 50%) that would cut my PQP in half? If so, do I have any way to change the flight back to my original fare class?
I really need the 1300 PQP. If that got cut in half then I'd be better off booking directly with United where the same flight is $1300 for 1100 PQP.
). In the unlikely event that a re-booking would be into L then UA would be able to correct that fairly easily. While the BULK price is opaque, the booking class is not.
Sep 4, 2023, 2:26 am
#65
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United Vacations PQM earning, bulk fares? restrictions?
Trying to figure out how many PQMs I'd get on a United Vacations trip. Does this fit into the "Bulk Tickets" category? I found this on United's website-
"For bulk ticket types operated by United, you’ll earn PQP according to a formula: award miles earned divided by 5. You can find more information on how award miles are earned for bulk ticket types by visiting Earning miles on United flights."
But not sure how to calculate the award miles. The itin would be SFO-HKG and SIN-SFO in PE. Platinum status but not sure if that factors in. Reason for considering this is a savings of about $3k per ticket vs normal fares, booking two days at a (nice) hotel in Hong Kong. Thanks!
"For bulk ticket types operated by United, you’ll earn PQP according to a formula: award miles earned divided by 5. You can find more information on how award miles are earned for bulk ticket types by visiting Earning miles on United flights."
But not sure how to calculate the award miles. The itin would be SFO-HKG and SIN-SFO in PE. Platinum status but not sure if that factors in. Reason for considering this is a savings of about $3k per ticket vs normal fares, booking two days at a (nice) hotel in Hong Kong. Thanks!
Sep 4, 2023, 8:09 am
#66
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For PE award miles should be 100 of distance. 100% for O, A & R fares.https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...r/qualify.html
Sep 4, 2023, 8:52 am
#67
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For PE award miles should be 100 of distance. 100% for O, A & R fares.https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...r/qualify.html
Follow up question. Can bulk fares be upgraded with miles and $$$ like regular fares? And would a PE bulk fare still outrank all regular economy fares for upgrades?
Sep 4, 2023, 7:26 pm
#68
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I bought a UA vaca fare recently and it ended up NOT being a bulk fare, despite a significant saving over published fares. Yes, you can upgrade bulk fares with miles and +Ps, there is no limitation.
Booking class was stated when I booked mine. Don’t think you can just cancel and re-use like regular tickets outside of irops, but it is an interesting question. Mine says paid by ‘check’.
Booking class was stated when I booked mine. Don’t think you can just cancel and re-use like regular tickets outside of irops, but it is an interesting question. Mine says paid by ‘check’.