However, look closely at the fare — it's double the normal
Basic Economy fare for this flight.
About a year ago, United announced their new
basic economy fare for domestic flights.
And if they do, can you bypass
a Basic Economy fare for a regular fare?
The fares will have similar options and restrictions as the airline's current
Basic Economy fares for domestic and transborder routes, albeit with a few differences.
I'd argue that this is a poor development for travelers, because many
Basic Economy fares for flights in the future are the same price as the lowest fares out today, yet come with fewer benefits.
Unfortunately, it seems that all bank point portals show Basic Economy fares instead of regular fares, and none of them allow you to bypass
Basic Economy fares for regular fares online.
Not exact matches
In an effort to grow revenue and profits amid margin - crimping cost increases, American and its rivals are segmenting their cabins into smaller classes of service, including no - frills
basic economy and premium
economy, which offers a larger seat, more leg room and an amenities kit
for a higher
fare.
Basic economy is one prong of a broader effort by the largest U.S. carriers to bolster revenue from each seat flown a mile, a standard industry measure that has been battered
for about a year, partly because of
fare wars with discounters such as Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines Holdings.
Plus, there are some new routes
for mileage earning and redemption that are worth exploring, but beware the
basic economy fares that seem to be expanding from third - party sites.
For example,
basic economy fares on United and American Airlines only get one small personal item (like a purse of laptop bag) to carry on.
In doing so, they join Delta in offering the
fares in multiple markets, but with additional... [Read more...] about
Basic Economy Is Bad News
For Bank Points
Plus, there are some new routes
for mileage earning and redemption that are worth exploring, but beware the
basic economy fares that seem to be expanding from third - party sites.
Scott McCartney, Travel Editor
for The Wall Street Journal, discusses the labyrinth of
basic economy fares, and some insidious — and hidden — new airline «service» fees.
(2)
Basic Economy (E)
fares are not eligible
for: paid or complimentary upgrades; paid, complimentary or discounted Delta Comfort +, paid or complimentary Preferred Seats; and are not eligible to make same - day confirmed or same - day standby travel changes, regardless of Medallion or other elite status.
Keep your eyes peeled
for the
fare classes when it comes to
basic economy: B»
for American, «E» on Delta, and «N» class on United.
For passengers who are happy traveling just with hand baggage the introduction of
Basic Economy fares won't make too much difference (especially if they have elite status).
Additionally, to be eligible to qualify
for Premier Silver status, you must fly a minimum of four paid flight segments on flights operated by United and / or United Express during a calendar year, excluding
Basic Economy (N)
fares.
The last group, nine, is reserved
for those that pay the cheapest
Basic Economy fares when they become available.
If you're going to only save $ 50 or less roundtrip,
basic economy fares probably aren't worth the savings — unless you know
for sure that you can travel with the carry - on restrictions and don't need the additional frequent flyer benefits and upgrades.
MileagePlus Upgrade Awards can be used on any United -, United Express - or Copa - operated flight, with no
fare restrictions except
for tickets containing a
Basic Economy fare.
When United launched the
Basic Economy fare they likewise made it very clear throughout the booking process that the customer was purchasing a BE
fare, and
for the same reason: insurance.
Flights are already on sale
for the Boston — Las Vegas route with roundtrip
fares starting at around $ 257
for Basic Economy, $ 287
for regular
Economy Class and $ 447
for Delta Comfort +
Executive Platinum flyers are already bracing themselves
for the inevitable «no free upgrades from the cheapest
fares» when
Basic Economy fares are introduced later this year but Scott Kirby's comments could mean that it's actually worse than that.
I hope that bank programs like Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou realize how poor a change
Basic Economy is for many members and implement a way to easily book regular economy fares
Economy is
for many members and implement a way to easily book regular
economy fares
economy fares online.
Delta's
Basic Economy is
for those on unadorned
fares of the same name, which the airline introduced two years ago to stay competitive with low - cost carriers, and has been expanding to more routes in recent months.
For example, a brief search for a United Basic Economy fare showed me this one from Los Angeles to Minneapolis roundtr
For example, a brief search
for a United Basic Economy fare showed me this one from Los Angeles to Minneapolis roundtr
for a United
Basic Economy fare showed me this one from Los Angeles to Minneapolis roundtrip:
The following unpublished
fares are not eligible for Mileage Upgrade Awards: Basic Economy fares, Delta bulk fares, companion fares, group fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World fares, and International Bereavement F
fares are not eligible
for Mileage Upgrade Awards:
Basic Economy fares, Delta bulk fares, companion fares, group fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World fares, and International Bereavement F
fares, Delta bulk
fares, companion fares, group fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World fares, and International Bereavement F
fares, companion
fares, group fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World fares, and International Bereavement F
fares, group
fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World fares, and International Bereavement F
fares, certain pricing programs, Round the World
fares, and International Bereavement F
fares, and International Bereavement
FaresFares.
Additionally, to be eligible to qualify
for Premier Platinum status, you must fly a minimum of four paid flight segments on flights operated by United and / or United Express during a calendar year, excluding
Basic Economy (N)
fares.
Delta was the first legacy airline to introduce these
Basic Economy fares, and the only restrictions they placed were that seat assignments would occur at the airport and that these
fares would not be eligible
for upgrades.
Delta doesn't yet offer
Basic Economy fares on its Seattle — Hong Kong route so the
fare being quoted is
for a Main Cabin
fare which is upgradable and allows elites to make the most of their perks.
Just keep in mind that tickets purchased in
Basic Economy (N
fare class) are not eligible
for this promotion.
When I searched
for the same itinerary on Delta's website, I found the same price listed
for a regular
economy fare, minus the Amex Travel fee waiver: $ 199.40 (
basic economy, which was not available through Amex Travel, was a little bit cheaper).
For the most part these inclusions have all disappeared from
basic economy fares.
Overall it's worth reiterating what I've said about
basic Economy / hand baggage only
fares before — these
fares are not about offering flyers seats at a new low price point, they're about getting passengers to pay what they've always paid but
for a ticket that comes with fewer benefits.
Note that every United credit card discussed above except
for the TravelBank and MileagePlus Rewards Card will allow you to bring your carry on if you decide to purchase a
basic economy fare with United.
Level will offer 6
fare classes:
Basic Economy offers a flight from A to B with 1 piece of handluggage and you'll pay extra
for seat assignment, food and checked luggage, but do earn (some) Avios award miles.
In reality, the old
economy fares become the baseline
for basic economy fares and you end up paying more
for the same.
But
for $ 136, you get one of Delta's new bare bones
basic economy fares.
And this week Delta announced that
Basic Economy fares are now available on more than half of its flights to Europe
for travel starting April 10.
With
basic economy fares on many domestic flights in the U.S. and quickly expanding abroad — Singapore Airlines has started unbundling
fares and Virgin Atlantic just announced
economy «light»
fares — it's getting harder and harder
for travelers to find the flights they want.
For example, you can see the price of a
basic economy / coach
fare,
economy / coach, premium
economy, business class and first class.
But
for the first time recently, when encountering the horrible new
basic economy fares, I found value in paying
for first class.
As a
basic Premier member, you'll earn 5 miles
for every dollar spent on the base airfare, so $ 5,000 worth of standard
economy base
fares (M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T, L, K, G) on United could net you 25,000 PQM.
If customers are inclined to bite at the lowest available
fare when searching
for a flight, how will they know what they're getting with
Basic Economy?
Rules vary
for mileage credits earned with
Basic Economy fares.
Whether you're using the new
Basic Economy fare, on United,
for a quick weekend getaway, flying another budget airline with draconian carry on rules, or taking a 10 - day road trip in a new part of the U.S.,
To keep it simple, I deliberately searched
for the same American one - way from DFW to LAX that I knew offered
Basic Economy fares.
For example, F is first class, Y is full -
fare economy and N is
basic economy.
An Infant in arms on a Transatlantic (TATL)
Basic Economy Fare is not eligible
for a free baggage allowance.
Even
for the more expensive upgrade, you can only upgrade from the three most expensive of the 13 different
basic economy fare classes.