Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Related thread: Basic Economy Airport and Plane Experiences (First or Second Hand)
If purchased on united.com you will have to accept a warning about choosing Basic Economy and there will be orange "Basic Economy" highlights everywhere during the booking process.
Link to UA's description of how these fares will work: Basic Economy.
Here are the key facts:
To avoid domestic BE fares ITA Matrix ~bc=N . Ignoring them on international flights is much trickier because they do not have a consistent pattern in the fare basis; it appears to change by market / region. (That said, as UA is lifting BE from legacy GDS systems, it may result in them disappearing from ITA Matrix anyway).
Google Flights -- select 1 Carry-on bag
NO UNUSED TICKET MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.
-------
NO RESIDUAL VALUE MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.
How is this different from buying up BE to regular economy?
related threads
New UA/*A TATL -LGT Economy fare - no free first bag, no changes/upgrades allowed
Benefit impact of restricted economy fares on UA Elites (Basic Econ, -LGT, Light Econ
Pre-announcement speculation thread (now closed) New "Budget Economy" fares
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ... {Archive}
If purchased on united.com you will have to accept a warning about choosing Basic Economy and there will be orange "Basic Economy" highlights everywhere during the booking process.
Link to UA's description of how these fares will work: Basic Economy.
Here are the key facts:
- No free seat assignments until check-in. Seats will be assigned by the system. Flyers (including elite) have the option to purchase regular economy and preferred economy (white seats with black triangle on seat map) seats after ticket purchase. E+ seats are not available for purchase until check-in. If you don’t purchase an advance seat assignment, your seat will be automatically assigned to you prior to boarding, and you won't be able to change your seat once it's been assigned.
- No guarantee of adjacent seats with companions
- No voluntary ticket changes after 24 hour purchase period including SDC (occasionally 1K's have successfully used Same Day Standby and received a confirmed seat without penalty)
- Carry on limited to one personal item unless the customer is a MP Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card, or Star Alliance *G, or traveling on an international BE product
- Customers ineligible for carry-on who bring one to the gate will be charged a $25 convenience fee to gate-check in addition to standard baggage fees (source: @united twitter)
- Customers are not eligible for premium cabin upgrades either via CPU, mileage upgrade award or PlusPoints
- Customers will board in the last boarding group (currently Group 5) unless the customer is a MP Premier member, primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card, or Star Alliance *G, or traveling on an international BE product
- Companions on same PNR will have same boarding group and carry-on if one on the PNR has a waiver
- No combinability with regular economy fares or partner carriers. Interline travel is not permitted.
- Normal PQPs / RDMs based on fare and elite multipliers
- No PQFs
- Flight(s) do count towards the 4 flight minimum for UA-operated
- Full Lifetime mileage
- Domestic Basic Economy tickets will use booking code 'N'. International BE can be in any class.
- Online check-in only with paid checked bag, otherwise need to see a United representative to verify the onboard bag allowance and receive a boarding pass
- Canceling a basic economy ticket will receive a flight credit for the price of the ticket, minus a fee. For domestic flights, the fee is $49.50 for one-way tickets and $99 for roundtrip tickets. For international flights, the fee is $99.50 for one-way tickets and $199 for roundtrip tickets
To avoid domestic BE fares ITA Matrix ~bc=N . Ignoring them on international flights is much trickier because they do not have a consistent pattern in the fare basis; it appears to change by market / region. (That said, as UA is lifting BE from legacy GDS systems, it may result in them disappearing from ITA Matrix anyway).
Google Flights -- select 1 Carry-on bag
NO UNUSED TICKET MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.
-------
NO RESIDUAL VALUE MAY BE USED TOWARD THE PURCHASE
OF A BASIC ECONOMY TICKET.
How is this different from buying up BE to regular economy?
related threads
New UA/*A TATL -LGT Economy fare - no free first bag, no changes/upgrades allowed
Benefit impact of restricted economy fares on UA Elites (Basic Econ, -LGT, Light Econ
Pre-announcement speculation thread (now closed) New "Budget Economy" fares
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ... {Archive}
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...Now cancellable for a fee
#1
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: BOS, PVG
Programs: United 1K and 1MM, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 10,000
Saw this regarding adding Economy Benefits to BE
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...c-economy.html
But where can I add Economy Benefits? Can't find it in the reservation.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...c-economy.html
But where can I add Economy Benefits? Can't find it in the reservation.
#2
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 29
Booked a basic economy ticket last November (11/2021) using travel back credit expring in May this year (05/2022). I have to cancel the reservation due to confilcts. United says I could pay $45 to upgrade my Basic Economy ticket to Economy ticket, with the economy ticket . United says I could then "Change or cancel your flight without paying a change fee".
Does this mean I could cancel my upgraded basic economy ticket and get my economy fare credit? My travel credit will expire in November this year, irrelavent to my travel bank expiration date (05/2022), correct?
Does this mean I could cancel my upgraded basic economy ticket and get my economy fare credit? My travel credit will expire in November this year, irrelavent to my travel bank expiration date (05/2022), correct?
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,878
Booked a basic economy ticket last November (11/2021) using travel back credit expring in May this year (05/2022). I have to cancel the reservation due to confilcts. United says I could pay $45 to upgrade my Basic Economy ticket to Economy ticket, with the economy ticket . United says I could then "Change or cancel your flight without paying a change fee".
Does this mean I could cancel my upgraded basic economy ticket and get my economy fare credit? My travel credit will expire in November this year, irrelavent to my travel bank expiration date (05/2022), correct?
Does this mean I could cancel my upgraded basic economy ticket and get my economy fare credit? My travel credit will expire in November this year, irrelavent to my travel bank expiration date (05/2022), correct?
TravelBank is irrelevant in all this - your ticket will still be non-refundable, so if you cancel, the value will be in an FFC. Typically, the FFC is valid for a year from original date of purchase, but they extended again last year, so all are valid until Dec. 31, 2022. That means your first flight must depart by then, but further flights can depart later than that.
The only way TravelBank would be relevant to anything is in the case of IRROPS and you opt for a refund. Then the value would go back to your Travel Bank - have not see. Many reports on expiration policy in this case, so not sure if that takes on the existing expiry or it gets a new one.
#5
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Posts: 14,878
i wouldn’t say an ETC won’t be done for sure, but I’d give very low probablity, that it’s barely worth asking, but you can always give it a shot. The prime benefit of an ETC over FFC is the ability to use it for any traveler, vs. the same traveler required for FFC. If you know you are going to travel again by end of the year, it’s definitely not worth the hassle (IMO) of trying to get it changed.
#6
Join Date: Aug 2021
Programs: UA 1MM
Posts: 347
What does a BE boarding pass for a MP gold/plat look like? Does it say both GROUP 1 as well as BASIC ECONOMY on it?
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
Last edited by boat stuck; Jan 26, 2022 at 6:37 pm
#8
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,846
What does a BE boarding pass for a MP gold/plat look like? Does it say both GROUP 1 as well as BASIC ECONOMY on it?
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
#9
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,761
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,878
BE does not always show up as an option, however. If the route you are flying doesn’t offer BE (eg, to Canada), the column will not display. I thought it was also that way on domestic routes where no BE fares are possible in your search (ie, the route offers BE, but no BE fares are available at the date/time), but maybe I’m wring and the column does show but it just says ‘not available’ for all options?
#12
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,015
this. Never was an ability (IME) to block this on the site.
BE does not always show up as an option, however. If the route you are flying doesn’t offer BE (eg, to Canada), the column will not display. I thought it was also that way on domestic routes where no BE fares are possible in your search (ie, the route offers BE, but no BE fares are available at the date/time), but maybe I’m wring and the column does show but it just says ‘not available’ for all options?
BE does not always show up as an option, however. If the route you are flying doesn’t offer BE (eg, to Canada), the column will not display. I thought it was also that way on domestic routes where no BE fares are possible in your search (ie, the route offers BE, but no BE fares are available at the date/time), but maybe I’m wring and the column does show but it just says ‘not available’ for all options?
#13
What does a BE boarding pass for a MP gold/plat look like? Does it say both GROUP 1 as well as BASIC ECONOMY on it?
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
And does a Gold/Plat on an intl itinerary still get United Club access?
Relatedly, has any one here with status ever tried to change from one economy seat to another economy seat (either + or -) on a BE ticket with an airport agent, and gotten declined? I know there's a lot of successes in changing seats reported in this thread, so just wondering if anyone tried and failed.
Booked BE, both me and my partner are lowly Silver, and we booked the ticket direct as a group of 4, with her sister and her friend.
We had boarding group 2 printed on our ticker, each checked had 1 free bag, had premier access as well as bolded BE printed on the boarding pass.
We checked in on the app, in person, no way we could switch the seats without charge. Was assigned to the horrid last row in front of the lavatory and no recline.
Tried asking different gate agents if we could change seats after seeing a few E+ seats open before boarding, but was turned down very dismissively almost like I was annoying them. And they were all disinterested to help.
In the past we would be able to switch to BE without issues. So maybe if you are a solo flyer, or a couple, the system could let you switch easily on the app when 24 hours before check in without any charges.
Or maybe they changed that now, but this is my first time flying as group larger than 2, so it could have affected my chances of a seat switch.
#14
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.99MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,761
We just flew UA yesterday, from ORD - LAS.
Booked BE, both me and my partner are lowly Silver, and we booked the ticket direct as a group of 4, with her sister and her friend.
We had boarding group 2 printed on our ticker, each checked had 1 free bag, had premier access as well as bolded BE printed on the boarding pass.
We checked in on the app, in person, no way we could switch the seats without charge. Was assigned to the horrid last row in front of the lavatory and no recline.
Tried asking different gate agents if we could change seats after seeing a few E+ seats open before boarding, but was turned down very dismissively almost like I was annoying them. And they were all disinterested to help.
In the past we would be able to switch to BE without issues. ....
Booked BE, both me and my partner are lowly Silver, and we booked the ticket direct as a group of 4, with her sister and her friend.
We had boarding group 2 printed on our ticker, each checked had 1 free bag, had premier access as well as bolded BE printed on the boarding pass.
We checked in on the app, in person, no way we could switch the seats without charge. Was assigned to the horrid last row in front of the lavatory and no recline.
Tried asking different gate agents if we could change seats after seeing a few E+ seats open before boarding, but was turned down very dismissively almost like I was annoying them. And they were all disinterested to help.
In the past we would be able to switch to BE without issues. ....
MileagePlus members, including Premier members, will not receive:
- Complimentary Economy Plus seating
- Paid upgrades
- Mileage upgrades
- Complimentary Premier Upgrades
- PlusPoints upgrades
That is partially the problem with agents bending the rules, people come to expect it every time.
#15
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,846
That's exactly what you signed up for
This has been true from the beginning but an occasional GA will change you to E+ but it is not what your agreed to in booking Basic Economy
That is partially the problem with agents bending the rules, people come to expect it every time.
This has been true from the beginning but an occasional GA will change you to E+ but it is not what your agreed to in booking Basic Economy
That is partially the problem with agents bending the rules, people come to expect it every time.