If you travel on
cheap economy fares, then stick with the Citi ThankYou Premier card for its redemption rebate.
With the introduction of so many different award classes, the miles needed for an award have changed drastically: Some of the «Standard» awards have dropped by more than 20 % — that was to be expected as all the routes in question have offered very
cheap economy fares over the last year, making a redemption on these routes generally unattractive.
Even
cheap economy fares are eligible for 5,000 miles per roundtrip.
Tango disbanded as an airline in 2003 but remains the name for Air Canada's
cheapest economy fares.
The big drag on value for American miles for international flights are fuel surcharges on British Airways, which often cost more than just buying
the cheapest economy fare outright.
6 Global Premier Upgrade (GPU) certificates per year (subject to fare class restrictions on international routes —
cheapest economy fares not eligible)
6 Global Premier Upgrade (GPU) certificates per year (subject to fare class restrictions on international routes —
cheapest economy fares not eligible)
The three
cheapest economy fare classes (the ones most of us try to book!)
Not exact matches
Discount carriers like Southwest and JetBlue were reshaping the industry with
cheap fares and an easy - to - understand business model: fly one type of plane, sell only
economy - class seats and treat passengers like human beings.
Sure it wasn't the best program; miles expired after 3 years regardless of activity and fuel surcharges were added to award bookings but the majority of United's
cheapest fares (all but Basic
Economy) still credited to KrisFlyer at 100 % of mileage flown.
Airline cards can get you extra perks, even in the
cheap seats — The right airline cards can make rock - bottom
fare airline restrictions bearable... (See
Economy fare perks)
The basic
economy fare was $ 50 or about 3,300 points
cheaper round - trip, so I booked that, knowing that a couple of my cards, the Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator Red card and the Citi AAdvantage Executive card come with perks that counteract some of the downsides of basic
economy.
To put the price into perspective, on 7 April the
cheapest fare from Astana to Frankfurt is around $ 440 one - way, while an
Economy Sleeper ticket is more than double that at $ 990.
The last group, nine, is reserved for those that pay the
cheapest Basic
Economy fares when they become available.
For
Economy Class flyers this will probably make little difference as the British Airways Executive Club already essentially factors in the cost of a
fare when it awards Avios — that's why the
cheaper Economy Class tickets only earn Avios based on 25 % of the distance traveled.
Normally I would simply book the
cheapest fare I could find that didn't leave me in a cramped seat with just 30 ″ of seat pitch — this usually means booking
Economy Class with a oneworld airline where my status allows me to select an exit row seat at the time of booking — but that's not what I did this time.
You'll see
economy and business class
fares on the next page regardless, but each day shows the
cheapest award on that date.
It would take over 14 round - trips with the
cheapest Premium
Economy fares and almost 10 round - trips with the
cheapest Business Class
fares.
Around June last year I spotted a reasonable Premium
Economy roundtrip
fare out of Dusseldorf but, at $ 820 (~ $ 918), it wasn't
cheap enough for me to consider it:
For
economy cash tickets, the Saver
fare level is the
cheapest, followed by Value, Flexible and Premium levels.
On the negative side of things the fee increases are brutal, the drop in mileage earnings for semi-flexible
Economy Class
fares seems a little harsh and the
cheapest Premium
Economy Class
fares will now earn 10 % fewer miles than before.
Economy Class tickets booked into
fare code «U» will now earn miles equivalent to 75 % of the distance flown (compared to 100 %) and some of the
cheaper Economy Class
fares (
fare codes T, E, N, G & R) will earn 5 % fewer miles from 1 November.
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.
If you book into
Economy Class cabins earning elite qualifying miles on American's partners has never been harder — the
cheapest fares on most of American's partners earn between 0 and 0.25 EQM per mile flown.
If American's SWUs only allow upgrades from
Economy to Premium Economy it could be a lot cheaper to pay for a more expensive economy fare on United and upgrade from there into Business Class than to pay for Premium Economy on American and upgrade to Business from
Economy to Premium
Economy it could be a lot cheaper to pay for a more expensive economy fare on United and upgrade from there into Business Class than to pay for Premium Economy on American and upgrade to Business from
Economy it could be a lot
cheaper to pay for a more expensive
economy fare on United and upgrade from there into Business Class than to pay for Premium Economy on American and upgrade to Business from
economy fare on United and upgrade from there into Business Class than to pay for Premium
Economy on American and upgrade to Business from
Economy on American and upgrade to Business from there.
I've ruled out a
cheap American Airlines
Economy Class
fare from Europe as the economics make it a poor option... especially when you also add in the hassle that I would have with my checked bags.
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).
Back in July last year I started to notice some very good
Economy Class
fares between Europe and the US and I decided that I had to see just how practical it was to purchase a
cheap flight from the UK to a European city and to then start my long - haul journey from there.
No notable changes to the S7 earnings chart but, like Malaysia Airlines and Royal Jordanian, the
cheapest Economy class
fares not only fail to earn EQM but EQD too.
Just like Malaysia Airlines, the
cheapest Economy Class
fares on Royal Jordanian don't earn any EQD at all.
I mainly book long - haul flights and, up until now, I've had a very simple tactic: Book
economy class fares on American Airlines for as cheap as possible and use systemwide upgrades to move from Economy Class into Business
economy class
fares on American Airlines for as
cheap as possible and use systemwide upgrades to move from
Economy Class into Business
Economy Class into Business Class.
There is some very good news here for those booking
Economy Class
fares — 20,000 miles for a roundtrip award between the UK and the East coast is
cheap.
I may be being cynical but this wording gives Flying Blue the option to restrict which
Economy Class
fares can upgrade to Business Class with the
cheaper fares only eligible for upgrades to Premium
Economy.
If you were able to find a
cheap J
fare, this $ 1,000 discount could potentially have you traveling in business class for
economy prices.
If you aren't familiar, Basic
Economy fares are the newer economy fares that are supposed to be cheaper than economy but come with less benefits (many of which are sta
Economy fares are the newer
economy fares that are supposed to be cheaper than economy but come with less benefits (many of which are sta
economy fares that are supposed to be
cheaper than
economy but come with less benefits (many of which are sta
economy but come with less benefits (many of which are standard).
The
cheapest premium
economy fares we could find this weekend for summer trips are in the $ 1,200 to $ 1,500 range — a very good deal for a bigger seat, better service, and fewer fees!
So how do award tickets work now that airlines offer a category of
fares cheaper than regular
economy?
Beware bargain - hunters: American Airlines has become the last of the Big Three legacy carriers to unveil a new,
cheap but highly restricted Basic
Economy fare category.
This is a huge reduction in miles for
economy class
fares, but it is only fair, as American Airlines also plans to award customer traveling on the
cheapest fare (discount
economy tickets
fare) fewer miles as the ticket is likly to be inexpensive.
Fares are
cheaper, but there are tradeoffs: 10 - abreast in
economy class on United's new B777 - 300ER (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Valid only with purchase of
economy ticket in certain
fare classes (not the
cheapest).
Air Canada this week began selling a five - tier
economy fare structure that provides stripped - down airport and onboard amenities at the
cheapest rates, with more comfort for the most expensive
fares.
And if United is aiming to match prices with low - cost carriers like Norwegian or WOW Air, which already operate using what is equal to basic
economy tickets that are even
cheaper than most
fares, all the other major carriers are likely to follow suit.