Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
& Kellie Jez
Kellie’s professional experience has led her to a deep passion for compliance, data reporting, and process improvement. Kellie’s learned the ins and outs of the points and miles world and leads UP’s c...
8 comments
Eric
November 23, 2019
What if the booking class is different from the first letter of fare code? Do you earn miles based on which?
Stephen Au
November 26, 2019
Hi Eric,
Your fare class will determine your mileage accrual scheme. Booking class can be different from fare class if you’re on a full-fare or instantly upgradeable ticket. Thanks for reading.
Merritt
May 30, 2020
Very thorough article; very informative. But, how do we find the booking fare codes before we select our flight? The United or Swiss Websites don’t show that information when selecting a flight.
Stephen Au
May 30, 2020
Hi Merritt,
If you are looking for the fare codes, you should be able to find it on United’s website.
Simply pretend as though you’re booking a flight and right before you submit your payment information, the reservation summary should have the fare code in parentheses. For example, it may say “Economy (V)”.
John
June 04, 2020
Sometimes you book FIRST and it’s mixed classes along the journey because First is not offered on a specific flight. Does the fare code in any way show that a passenger is paying for First but flying Business?
Christine Krzyszton
June 06, 2020
Hi John. Each flight segment will have its own fare code. An itinerary, as a whole, may state that it is First Class but then you’ll see a warning that it is a mixed itinerary meaning that
one or more segments are not in First Class. Thank you for the question and for reading.
robert
October 13, 2022
on American, if you get upgraded to first class, do you get the first class bonus? or do you only get it when you buy the first class ticket?
Jarrod West
October 14, 2022
Hi Robert,
You will only earn miles for the ticket you paid for.
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.