Put a hold on an award ticket before purchase?
Nov 3, 2006, 10:32 pm
#1
Original Poster
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Put a hold on an award ticket before purchase?
AA allows to put a hold on an award ticket before purchase for as long as two weeks.
I could not put a hold on a UA award ticket before purachse, something wrong?
I could not put a hold on a UA award ticket before purachse, something wrong?
Nov 3, 2006, 10:40 pm
#2
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
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You can get a courtesy hold of 24-72 hours (someone else will remember exactly which), but you can't do it online, only over the phone.
Nov 3, 2006, 10:46 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Wow, AA allows for a two week hold? I'm glad UA doesn't do that. People would be holding six different itineraries trying to decide what they wanted while blocking other people from that inventory. It's hard enough to get saver awards without that happening.
Nov 3, 2006, 10:49 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2004
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You can put awards on hold for 3 days, but only when calling.
Nov 3, 2006, 10:59 pm
#5
Moderator Hilton Honors, Travel News, West, The Suggestion Box, Smoking Lounge & DiningBuzz
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And when I did it about a month ago, I was told the new rule was the the miles were immediately deducted for a courtesy hold and would be put back if the hold expired.
Nov 3, 2006, 11:13 pm
#6
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
And when I did it about a month ago, I was told the new rule was the the miles were immediately deducted for a courtesy hold and would be put back if the hold expired.
Nov 3, 2006, 11:16 pm
#7
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
And when I did it about a month ago, I was told the new rule was the the miles were immediately deducted for a courtesy hold and would be put back if the hold expired.
Nov 3, 2006, 11:28 pm
#8
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To add some *A perspective, M&M still has a 3 week courtesy hold (that can be extended under certain circumstances) w/o deducting any miles until ticketing. Combined with M&M's unrestricted *A award bucket availability (unfiltered, unlike MP), holding multiple alternatives provides additional flexibility. OTOH, most M&M awards are still more expensive than comparable MP awards, at least on a mile by mile comparison. However, M&M *A awards remain date changable ($40 change fee) even after flying the first segment, which adds another level of flexibility. Also, through some of its partners, M&M offers plenty of opportunities to "buy" miles in large chunks (six figures and more) for about 1 cent per mile or less. In conclusion, it's very nice to have mileage balances on more than one program.
Two examples from 2006: In order to get from LAX to the World Cup in Germany this summer (flying F or C), MP was utterly useless (no availability except for ridiculous routings on inferior UA metal), while M&M provided several convenient options on NZ and LH metal. I put some of them on hold and eventually made my decision. OTOH, in order to get from LAX to SYD in F next month, MP awards are much cheaper (at least until 15OCT) and, since on UA metal anway, easier to book. I could do it online on ual.bomb, and it actually worked! Amazing.
Two examples from 2006: In order to get from LAX to the World Cup in Germany this summer (flying F or C), MP was utterly useless (no availability except for ridiculous routings on inferior UA metal), while M&M provided several convenient options on NZ and LH metal. I put some of them on hold and eventually made my decision. OTOH, in order to get from LAX to SYD in F next month, MP awards are much cheaper (at least until 15OCT) and, since on UA metal anway, easier to book. I could do it online on ual.bomb, and it actually worked! Amazing.
Nov 3, 2006, 11:36 pm
#9
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Originally Posted by cblaisd
And when I did it about a month ago, I was told the new rule was the the miles were immediately deducted for a courtesy hold and would be put back if the hold expired.
Nov 4, 2006, 12:37 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: BNA
Posts: 2,076
Originally Posted by TakeMeToEZE
Wow, AA allows for a two week hold? I'm glad UA doesn't do that. People would be holding six different itineraries trying to decide what they wanted while blocking other people from that inventory. It's hard enough to get saver awards without that happening.
I've heard of people having them held for up to a week, something about sending something in the mail I think. Not sure exactly, but it's in another of the award threads.