I'm planning ahead for a trip to Japan [I know, it's not Europe - but my niece will be working there for a year!] and want to use my United ff miles to upgrade to business class. United now has a "miles plus dollars" deal for upgrades if you buy one of the cheap, low-class tickets - but I can't figure out how to tell what class ticket I'm looking at online. Is there a code somewhere that I am missing? I hope I don't have to go all the way to buying the ticket before finding out what class it is! Any guidance will be much appreciated.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1601 posts
When you are booking a ticket on UA's website, once you select the a specific flight option, it will show you a display something like this - you may need to look for the link that says (flight details):
United 0067
DEN 06:10 AM
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 LAX 07:37 AM
Sat, Aug 7, 2010
Economy (K) N/A
Select seat(s)
Equipment: Airbus A319 | Duration: 2h 27m | Non-stop | Fare code: KA14KN
From the above - this leg of the ticket is a K fare (the first letter of the fare code)
If you did not click on the flight details it would show the following under the Cabin heading Economy (K) -- this too indicates it is a K fare.
Hope this helps.
Posted by
OP
Reston, VA, USA
810 posts
Thanks for the help! Steve, I appreciate your point about booking a ticket and then not being able to upgrade. I usually do things online, but this time the phone [and trained professionals] sounds like the safest route.
Posted by
Freedonia
16283 posts
Don't necessarily assume you're getting well trained professionals. Some are horrid and don't really care. And will not necessarily find you the best deal.
If you can't get what you want on your first call...wait awhile and call back. Keep doing this until you find one that is competent, understands what you want, and is willing to help.
It's best to go in knowing the current price for that discount ticket and how much it will cost you upgrade. If you leave it up to the agent, they might sell you a more expensive ticket and then the upgrade. After all, their job is to help the airline make money.