dimramon

Welcome to Flyertalk!
I believe the answer is no. I assume that a priceline ticket would book into a G bucket and I don't think you'll get any miles for that.

Wiggums

I did upgrade on Priceline tickets, but getting miles.. absolutely not.

plat

i've never booked priceline tickets so I have no idea. the only thing i can think of is doing confirmed standby (free for 1ks) which books into H. maybe you can get miles there.

denCSA

When you book a Priceline or Hotwire ticket, usually they load in a dummy MP number. Something like UA99999999999 if I remember correctly. The only way you can get this taken care of is if you find an agent that doesn't really know the rules and will delete the dummy MP# and put in yours. Needless to say, I booked a hotwire ticket several years ago that ended up on AQ to Hawaii, and they added my MP# and I got credit for that flight without any issues.

anishub

I have always got miles for both Priceline and Hotwire bookings^ . Even got miles for the hotel stays from Priceline bookings^ ^ . I think it depend on the airline, though never flown UA or US, mine usually DL and once on NW. Usually fly, then send the boarding pass with e-ticket copy, (just the part w/out Priceline heading). As for the hotel stays, give ur FF# while checking-out (not checking-in).

Happy Bidding!!!!!!!!!

mahasamatman

That would prevent you from gettine E+ seating, though. I haven't tried Priceline for airfare, but I can't imagine losing that benefit.

fastair

How could you expect LOYALTY points or econo plus for booking thru an OPAQUE booking engine? By doing so, you show that you are loyal not to UA (and therefore not deserving of any benefits of the loyalty program) but to price only.

That's like voting for Gore and going to the Bush victory party a few years ago.

GUWonder

It's possible, on some routings, to know that bidding on PCLN will result in a UA ticket.

Given past (including recent past) experiences, I'd say that expecting to get E+ seating on a PCLN ticket is not a wholly unreasonable expectation. After all, past patterns (of getting E+ seating) play a role in setting up future expectations.

Some are definitely batting 100% at earning miles on PCLN bookings for flights operated by UA.

The first sentence in the above paragraph is an accurate representation of the current state of affairs for UA tickets booked through PCLN bidding. The second sentence of the above paragraph doesn't gel with my experience.

pbr6891

can you explain what you mean by "confirmed standby" : are you suggesting there is a way to buy a cheap ticket that allow you to get on a flight only on a standby basis ?

Spiff

If you're tempted to go to hotwire.com or priceline.com, do not give into temptation.

That's the easiest way to earn miles.

aisleorwindow

Priceline tickets do not allow standbys of any kind (at least officially).

gfowler-ord-1k

I think it is unethical to try to get miles from a flight when where clearly you are not entitled to them and FT should not be a vehicle for encouraging such activity. I have never used Priceline for air tickets but if I did I would try to get my MP# entered into the record so that I would obtain the other elite benefits such as boarding priority and E+.

GUWonder

Getting UA to change a PCLN ticket is definitely not easy, especially given any look at the fare rule basis/fare rules generally produces a knee-jerk reaction. Getting a change on PCLN tickets only seems to happen for us when there are irregular operations such as weather-related issues or an oversold situation. That said, I've known others who have walked up to the gate to ask to jump onto an earlier flight after informing the agent that there was no checked luggage involved.

I see nothing unethical about getting miles when the ticket purchased is booked into a class that is eligible for earning miles -- and that has seemingly been the case for my PCLN ticket purchases as this year we're batting 100% mileage earning on them.

GUWonder

True, but there are those exceptions where the savings of using PCLN are substantial enough that the money saved can be used to earn a whole lot more miles on another ticket purchase.

Example: there's one route on which UA has limited service (and on which PCLN has no other vendor tie-ins or has vendor tie-ins that I can eliminate). On that sub-500 mile route UA wants to routinely charge me $600+ one-way or c. $1400-$1500 roundtrip if purchased on UAL.com because it's always a purchase decision made 1 day in advance of desired travel date from origin. I end up making those roundtrip purchases on PCLN for under $150 all-in (and sometimes under $130 all-in) knowing the timing of the outbound or inbound segments (and sometimes even of both segments) in advance. I've gotten miles on each and every one of those segments this year, including all applicable bonuses.

Even if this mileage earning opporunity were to go away, I'd still be satisfied with such a purchase decision (i.e., the one mentioned in my example), especially as the savings would finance earning more miles on the cheap. ^^

brahms77

I agree here as well. It's not about whether such act is ethical or unethical, but is the question of whether or not UA can prevent it from happening. If UA can catch what the person is trying to do (obtain miles on a Priceline or Hotwire ticket where it clearly states no miles), then there is no problem. If UA misses this opportunity, then the pax gets the "benefit." I see this as similar to FTers taking advantage of mis-quoted/published fares, hotel rates, etc... where many FTers have taken advantage of in the mileage run section.

Likewise, if I ever book priceline or hotwire ticket and get assigned to UA, I will try to enter my FF number and "hope" I get mileage credit. If they find out that I am on a hotwire or priceline ticket and not give me those miles, I won't be angry because UA is doing what they have told me they would do on these tickets. There really is no ethical problem here, in my honest opinion.

Of course, one could argue that he/she has never part-taken in the act of taking advantage of mistake fares and hotel rates, but it was because you decided not to because of whatever reason. The opportunity presented to oneself and it is one's decision to take it or not take it, fully knowing the potential consequences. Others who have been successful, I am sure, were aware of potential risk of fare/rate not being honors, but it seems like a trend that these mistake fares/rates are often honors to keep the integrity of the business.