Fare Basis on E-Receipt Changed After the Flight
 

Flew earlier this week on UA metal with a US codeshare flight number. The flight was booked as a government Y fare (YCA) and the fare basis "Y" appeared on 'My Reservations' on line and on the e-receipt.

The miles posted and the fare basis appeared as "E" so I didin't get the Y fare EQM bonus. However, My Reservations and e-reciept still showed the Y fare basis.

I called and ultimately got routed to the Web C/S folks in India. The first rep I spoke to stated that since it was a US codeshare the fare basis on US was Y but the UA basis was E. I pushed back that government contract flights booked in YCA were Y on all carriers regardless of codeshares and that my reciept showed Y (true for every one of dozens of my previous codeshare YCA flights). It escallated to a supervisor and the supe quickly agreed that it they saw it as a Y fare and I should wait a few days for it to clear up. He stated that he'd make a note in the record.

Sometime in the last 8 hours my e-receipt and My Reservations changed and the flights earlier this week now show an E fare basis (not cool!). The return flights still show as Y.

Anyone have an idea about what happened here and what I can do?

Never heard of that. I assume you have a record (e-mail or otherwise) of your original itinerary booked in Y?

My advice would be too keep calling till you get someone who will help. Try to get Rapid City--those ladies tend to be helpful.

I don't think web CS is the appropriate place for this issue. I would just print out everything you can, wait until after the flights, and contact MP customer service to have your account adjusted.

I would mail in a copies of your ticket, which should have original fare basis, along with a letter explaining you situation.

Yca (us) = edg (ua)
 

What probably happened is that UA offered an EDG on that route that is the same as US's YCA. When your fare mapped over to UA, UA "corrected" it to its government fare. Had you flown your YCA on US metal, UA wouldn't have known anything other than US reported a Y, so you get your Y.

For what it's worth - unless the rules have changed recently (which is certainly possible) - domestic codeshares on YCA fares haven't been allowed for a while. You may have gotten lucky with that particular route's routing rules or maybe someone forced the fare, but for most routes I've seen the contract carrier's fare rules specifically require flying their metal domestically. I wonder if the booking system you used saw the US/UA codeshare number as USExpress instead of UA? Just a thought.

I'm surprised you were sent to web support. I'd wait a few days to see if anything changes, and if not, contact Mileage Plus. They are based in the US, so they should also not have any problems understanding the real rules about YCA.

Good luck!

That's not it. I called my travel agent and they confirmed that it was booked in a Y basis on UA as well. Like I said before, I've done this many times and never once had this happen.

I've done numerous domestic codeshares on YCA flights over the past several years and all of the flights booked as YCA on the contract carrier were also booked as Y on the operating carrier. It is possible that it's route specific, but I know it's not dependent on mainline vs. express since I've done both and never had a problem. Also, if they booked as a lower fare on the contract carrier, they booked as the same fare basis on the operating carrier (eg. TCA fare always booked as a T fare, etc.).


As an update, I called MP C/S and the agent immediately saw that it should be corrected in my MP account and did so. Now at least my EQMs are correct, but I'm still annoyed about the e-receipt being wrong.

Ongoing issue
 

The US Y to UA E change at MP posting is still happening :mad:. Every government Y US codeshare flight I've flown since February has had this problem. Every time I've called MP C/S and spent 20 to 30 minutes on the phone bickering with an agent. Each time it escallates to a supervisor and ultimately I get the Y basis EQM posted.

The last supe I spoke with suggested I contact 1kVoice about the issue.

Thoughts on my next steps? Contact 1kVoice? Write a letter? Keep playing the MP C/S game?

Stop booking codeshares? Is US the only airline that offers a government fare for the route you're flying?

Unfortunately, yes. The contract for the route I've been flying a TON is with US :eek:. There are a few UA metal flights that I can book as codeshares so its not a total loss, just a big pain about upgrades and fare basis EQM.

OP notes a base in PHL... probably needs to fly US for many direct routings?