(Updated August 6, 2006; original text is crossed out, corrections follow in text. Reason for update is here.)
Last week we discussed coach tickets that automatically upgrade actually book into first class (usually Q-UP or Y-UP fares; Z fares book into business class on three-class or international flights). (Updated August 6, 2006: Q-UP and Y-UP fares are first class fares, NOT economy fares with an upgrade. A minor distinction, but an important one in case your flight gets overbooked, or if a gate agent tries to tell you your “upgrade” was denied. See here.)
The folks at FareCompare have come up with two useful tools for finding discounted first class fares. First, they offer a Q-UP and Y-UP fare list for U.S. cities. This link will take you to the y-up (or equivalent) fares for Chicago; change the departure city at the top of the page.
Even better, they offer a handy guide (PDF) for booking Q-UP and Y-UP fares on the airlines’ websites. (Citing problems with the airlines’ homepages, they refer you to Expedia.com instead for USAirways and Delta.)
I’d add a caveat: Some of the discounted first class fares their methods find are nonrefundable first class. For example, a United QUAUPN fare is nonrefundable; a QUAUP fare can usually be refunded.) The fare without the N at the end might just cost a few dollars more (single digits) but it offers much more flexibility. You may need to pick up the phone to buy the refundable version.
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January 8th, 2007 at 7:46 am
[...] Related: – First class for less than coach? – More tips on finding discounted first class fares (Y-UP, Q-UP, etc.) – Update/Correction re: discounted first class fares (Y-UP, Q-UP, etc.) – Y-UP and Q-UP first class fares apparently not enough: Welcome M-UP and B-UP fares – More trans-Atlantic flights, but lower prices? « Airlines boycott Bristol, UK airport, forcing it to close [...]
June 15th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
[...] Journal’s mistake in my two earlier posts on the subject of Y-UP and Q-UP fares (here and here). I erroneously called these fares coach fares with an automatic upgrade to first. They’re [...]
August 6th, 2009 at 7:35 am
I now regret the day that I ever started flying with Delta. I am a platinum medallion member, which doesn’t mean anything. Today, August 05, 2009, my 2 children, ages 8 and 5, were just pulled off of flight 121 from JFK to Sao Paulo (GRU) Brazil. They were told that they had to balance the plane. Well, the 2 of them together do not weigh more that 120 pounds. Because they were pulled off, my wife had to get off. Delta had no regard for my family’s safety. They came from Atlanta to New York to caught this flight. I have been waiting in Brazil on a business trip for 4 days to get them here. Now they are stranded in New York with no change of clothes because Delta would not take their bags off the plane. On top of that, how are they supposed to get their bags.
If anyone wants my skymiles, shoot me an email or call me at 404-556-2297. This will probably be my last flight with Delta. I am going to check into becoming a member of Continental.
Another thing that is causing a problem is that I can’t find an international number to call Delta. Their 1800 numbers do not work when you are in another country. There is nothing I can do about it. I am helpless!!!
September 5th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Mr. Richardson, I agree with you, especially since they have merged with Northwest Airlines. I was a frequent flyer with Northwest for quite some time and the end of last year they told me I had not qualified for Gold because they were changing their cut off dates. Originally, with Northwest, your anniversary date of when you signed up to be a frequent flyer was the cutoff date for earning elite qualifying miles. My anniversary was February, and as you know, Delta just goes by the calendar year, Jan 1 to Dec 31 to earn miles for elite status. Anyway, I would love to have your miles if someone else hasn’t already spoken to you about them. My email is alexjensen32 at yahoo.com your email is not posted so I cannot email you with the request, and I don’t want to bother you on your phone. I am sorry to hear about what happened with your wife and kids….