
Business class?
Do they have a business class or similar?
If so, can the miles be used for flights with that? Even at a massively bad ratio, it might make using United feasible for some hats.
A teenage hacker from the Netherlands has received a million airline miles for finding 20 bugs in the travel business' code base. Unfortunately for him it's United Airlines that's paying out. Olivier Beg, a 19-year-old security researcher based in Amsterdam, flew into last week's Black Hat and DEF CON security conferences in …
Yes, United has business/first classes, and you can use miles to purchase those tickets directly or upgrade a cheap coach fare.
Upgrading when traveling internationally is the only thing I use miles for anymore. It isn't worth it for free flights due to all the restrictions, and it isn't worth it to me to upgrade when flying domestically since I live at the center of the US, and the longest flight I can have is less than three hours. I can live with coach for that. It is the 7 to 12 hour long hauls where you gotta have business class so you aren't ready to murder someone by the time you arrive at customs!
A friend of mine used to regulary be asked to provide consultancy in the US from his company in the UK. He hated United so much that he refused to keep going unless they started booking a better airline.
Who does long haul without providing free drinkies? even the airlines from dry countries do that.
My condolences. I remember when United was a great airline, and I told my travel agent to be sure to book me on their flights. But that was 30 years ago, and things have sure changed, from all the horror stories I've heard.
To find about others' horror stories with United, or to report yours, check out this site.
Eh? On my last air ticket (Toronto to USA) there was
$25.00 airport improvement fee
$46.12 USA transportation tax
$ 6.51 USA agriculture fee
$11.55 Canada GST
$ 5.86 US passenger facility charge
$ 3.25 Canada HST
$ 9.12 USA Immigration user fee
$12.10 Air travellers security charge
$ 7.30 September 11 security fee
$ 7.17 US Federal customs fee
------------
$133.98 Canadian, or €92
Good luck on getting anywhere with that €5.
Why do I feel like a fleeced sheep?
I'd been quietly saving my British Airways Avios for years for a free flight. Paid for an Amex, solely as if put enough over the card I got a partner voucher for my free flight.
Putting aside the "no flights I wanted available when released" and "even then having to call for stuff that wasn't available online"(and incurring a charge) and "not getting to fly to the airports I wanted, when "... well that was a "free" booking with £1300 mystery-tax chucked on it.
As far as I could work out. I could have booked any 2 seats on economy flights I wanted cheaper.
100k points and a voucher gets you a bump to business of a flight you don't want.
Entirely off topic, but still pissy over this..Grrrr.
You flew out of Toronto? You know it's not a long drive to fly out of Buffalo right?
Not just lower surcharges, but the ticket itself is always at least $100.00 CDN cheaper and 1/2 the price for parking.
Probably less total travel time too given how much faster customs is at the border instead of the airport.
Great airline; the last (and I really mean LAST) time I flew with them, they upgraded my direct San Francisco to London Heathrow flight to include an additional 8 hours at the airport and a free visit to Dulles Washington. I effectively gained a WHOLE DAY of extra traveling for no extra charge and skipped a Monday at work; what's not to like!?
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Jesus, can't imagine how bad American airlines and airports are then. Thankfully I've never been to the U.S. but BA are so utterly shite compared to Emirates, KLM or any of the other usual airlines I use to long haul east with its untrue...
In fact I think the only airline I've been with I'd say was a worse experience for long haul than BA was FinnAir, and the only reason I flew with them was because of a BA staff strike that abandoned me in ShangHai...
And as for Heathrow... *shudder* Paris CDG is nicer and thats a shit hole...
The last time I flew United (transatlantic from the UK, earlier this year) it was comfy, the wifi was pretty reasonable, and the food was actually the best airline food I've ever eaten. Also, they no longer charge for booze.
They've come a long way from just a few years ago.