So, I am trying to plan a visit to see my parents in the summer and they are going to be paying for my kids tickets because they have 2 flyer mile tickets with united. So, I just need to pay for myself. Since their deal is with united, I went to their website and it's $700 for only 1 ticket!!! So, I was curious and was looking at other websites and all other companies (jet blue, delta, american...) were only around $450. Why is united so much higher priced than everyone else? What makes them so special? That is a huge gap between the airlines and I can't imagine paying $700 round trip to fly to Arizona. So, if you have ever flown with united, do they do anything extra for you that makes it more worth the higher cost? Or are they just crazy? lol!
yeah when I think of it like getting 3 tickets for only $700 that does seem pretty good.
We don't have a date set. I was thinking sometime in July so I was just randomly putting in dates. Nothing is set yet, so I was just curious to see how much it would be. Also I wasn't putting in the flyer miles either, just looking up how much 1 ticket is, so that I have an idea of how much it will cost. Maybe that will make a difference?
Thanks and I will keep checking back on it. We have plenty of time and it doesn't have to be in July. We could also do it in August. I'm just excited to see them. I haven't seen my dad in a year and a half and my mom came to visit in October, but we are super close so it's hard to be away from her. Also my sister will be home from college too, so it will be great to see her too :)
Just a little tip . . . I had heard on the news from a travel expert that 3 months in advance is when there are the best prices. Before and after that, the prices are supposedly higher.
No, in fact my experience with united is that they are not child friendly - they had the captain speak to me because my son's booster seat was part of our carry on (not willing to check it too important of an item) and I placed it on the seat for a min while I got us settled in. You can not sit in a booster seat on an air plane - but a car seat no prolems. I thought it was udder stupidity that they did not see that I had a 4yr old, a booster seat, a purse and his backpack to contend with and EVERYTHING went on my seat while I got him situated (had to take off his safety harness). So, I do not suggest United personally.
I think United has incentives that ends up lowering the price if you are a member.
Kind of like Kohls. The original price is high, but if you use your Kohls card you get 15% off, go during power hour and get another 20% off and $10 Kohls cash for the next visit. By the time you add up all the incentives, it ends up being reasonable.
United is always higher. I hate the company and love Southwest and Jetblue.
Do you have flexibility on when your mom can book the kid's tickets? I almost exclusively fly United (even with their merger ughhh) and the prices can vary with the time of day.
definitely keep in mind that you can't use mileage tickets on every flight offered. you are sort of at united's mercy of what flights they'll allow those tickets to be used on. so don't book yours, and then automatically think you can get your kids on the same flight. something to consider.
It all has to do with stuff like where the hub is, how many flights a day, etc. Not anything about how good they are. It costs me more to fly across my state than across the country! There is no rhyme or reason.
I'm not very familiar with United, but I agree with another post that it all depends on whether you are flying into a hub, and also the days you are flying. Tues, Wed and Sat are typically the cheapest days to fly, so if you are flexible, try for those. Sunday is always very expensive to fly (b/c everyone wants to!). Also, the best prices are usually advertised on Tues or Wednesday, and can change on a dime, as one other post said.
I would sign up for any farefinder, or email updates for United so that they keep you up to date on any fare changes. Also, you can book your ticket through travelocity, orbitz, etc which might have cheaper fares. But I would do that immediately AFTER your kids are booked, so that you can get the same flight. Also, if you go to kayak.com, they have a nice website where you can look at how the fares price-out over a few months time, so you can choose the days where prices are cheapest. Better than typing in and searching for individual days.
Good luck!
My mom goes on priceline I think to get hers. Btu not sure if you can choose your airline or not.
Keep watching - the fares at United change on a dime.
If you are matching to a ff ticket that is most likely why it's so expensive - for some reason the fares they offer for their ff program are ridiculously high. Think of it this way - you're only paying $700 for all 3 of you to get to AZ - which is quite good.
:-)
I use Expedia for all my trips. Love the redeemable Bonus points.
