Can someone explain to me the different between Y and B class in United? The FAQ states that B has "minimal restrictions", but I can't figure out what these are. In my (admittedly limited) experience with domestic flights, Y and B class seem to have comparable fares (generally around $1700 from SFO to JFK or IAD). So then wouldn't Y always be better since you get higher priority for upgrades?

Next question is how you can actually purchase a Y-class ticket on the united.com web site. I've tried selecting "economy (no restrictions)" and/or "Miles-YB" on the web site, but this doesn't work reliably. Sometimes I get Y, sometimes B, sometimes even another class like M (which is too bad if I'm hoping for a free upgrade).

I even called united and asked about this several times. One representative told me United doesn't sell Y-class tickets any more, except the day of the flight. I didn't believe her, so I called back and got someone else who sent me over to technical support who told me there's a bug in the web site. Surely it can't be the case that Y tickets are this hard to buy, can it? I must be missing something.

Thanks.

You cannot force united.com to give you a specific fare class. it will always offer the cheapest fare that fits your search. If you want to purchase a Y fare when B fares are available, you need to do it over the phone or in person.

I would imagine your curiosity about the Y/B fares stems from a corporate travel policy of "coach-only?"
If so, don't forget about the QUAUP/YUAUP fares, which, when available, book into A (first class) but appear to be Q (coach) for just this purpose. Many of these fares are less expensive than a Y/B, are still fully changeable and refundable, and don't require an upgrade. They also earn the mileage bonus associated with A fares (150% EQM/RDM.)

YUAUP books into P.

You CAN, however, use the "Upgraade - Miles YB" option to limit your search to Y or B. @:-)

All true, but a note of caution: Some (but not all) companies now look at fare BOOKING CLASS rather than FARE BASIS. This is a new trend to combat QUP's in general. NW's "B2C" fares are also "ruined" if your company does this.

That can be a problem if you book through a corporate travel agency. However, if you book your own travel and submit expenses you can have Mr. Chicken print a duplicate receipt that to my knowledge does not list booking class.

1. That's why I said that fits your search,
2. That's not what the OP asked for,
3. He says he did that, and
4. It's not reliable, as evidenced by the OP's comment that the search returned M fares.

AFAIK, this is :correcteyes:

Since the fare construction is on there, just hope nobody has :auditoreyes:

I will try try to answer the question about restrictions of B fares. In some cases there are real restrictions: I have used non-refundable B fares to LHR. But the main restriction is that for rerouting. With Y fare you can change to *any* applicable flight with open economy class seats. With B fare you need B class to be open which may not be the case even if they are selling economy on the flight. This is meant to be main restriction, though it very rarely works as such in practice.

As to the price being equal, I am not sure. Here are a few samples:

BOS-SFO:
BUA UA B One-Way 899.00 (USD)
YUA UA Y One-Way 1049.00 (USD)

ORD-BZN:
BUA UA B One-Way 659.00 (USD)
YUA UA Y One-Way 933.00 (USD)

BOS-LHR:
B12E UA B One-Way 847.00 (USD)
Y UA Y One-Way 1463.00 (USD)
YCE UA Y One-Way 1488.00 (USD)

NYC-FRA:
BEE UA B Round-Trip 2677.00 (USD)
Y UA Y One-Way 2211.00 (USD) (4422 Roundtrip!)

Thanks for the information. Can you tell me how you got these numbers? If I knew how to find out the fares for all the different classes available, then I could do the cost-benefit analysis and buy the best ticket for myself.

I know that sometimes I've flown Y and B at different times on the same route and had it be approximately the same price. However, I've never been able to compare Y and B prices for the exact same trip, since I don't know how to work the web site properly.

I keep seeing these mentioned in various threads, but don't know how to buy them. Where can I find out more about these fare classes including how to buy them?

I'm sorry for asking a question most people probably know the answer to, but I've already searched and looked in the obvious places like the United FAQ and not really found a definitive answer. Thanks.

I call UA reservations and specifically ask for fares on my outbound and return flights. My general formula is lowest fare outbound and B fare on return.

Regarding upgrade priority, since I am a GK member, I am not too concerned if someone else has a Y fare. I have almost always recieved my upgrade when booking B. The only exceptions were last minute changes on Fridays from very busy airports. I think this has happened two times.