The New Basic Economy

American Airlines just announced that it's following suit with its competitors and eliminating overhead carry-ons for their cheapest flight options. Get in the know before you get stuck with a $25 fee!

United Basic Economy
Begins in the second quarter in 2017

  • Still one personal item that fits under the seat
  • Still earn MileagePlus miles (however you will NOT earn Premier qualifying credit or lifetime miles or toward the four-segment minimum, and they won't receive some benefits.)
  • No seat assignment until check-in (family may not sit together)
  • No carry-ons unless you're a MileagePlus Premier member or companion traveling on the same reservation, the primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card or a Star Alliance™ Gold member. If you bring a full-sized carry-on bag to the gate, your bag will need to be checked and you will be required to pay the applicable checked bag fee plus a $25 gate handling charge.
  • No miles towards elite status
  • Not eligible for paid or complimentary upgrades or preferred seats. You won't be able to change your seat once it's been assigned. 
  • Last to board unless you're a MileagePlus Premier member or companion traveling on the same reservation, the primary cardmember of a qualifying MileagePlus credit card or a Star Alliance Gold member.


    Begins basic-economy fares on Feb 10, 2017

      • Still one personal item that fits under the seat
      • Still get seat, snacks and inflight service
      • Still earn AAdvantage miles
      • You can choose a specific seat within 48 hours of departure, but a fee will apply. Otherwise, seats will be automatically assigned for free when you check in (family may not sit together)
      • No carry-ons unless it fits under your chair unless you're Elite status or with certain AAdvantage credit cardmembers. ($25 gate handling fee plus checked bag fee if not!)
        Recommends you check-in your bag at the counter. Arriving at the gate with a bag would add a $25 gate-handling fee on top of the checked bag fee!)
      • No same-day standby or flight changes
      • Last to board
      • Not eligible for upgrades
      • Reduced miles for elite status (reduced rate of 0.5 per mile/flight segment flown)
      Currently running
      • Still get complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.
      • Still get complimentary access to hours of movies, shows and more on DeltaStudio
      • Still get a overhead carry-on
      • No seat assignment until after check-in or at the gate
      • Not eligible for same-day changes or ticket refunds after the Risk Free Cancellation Period
      • Last to board
      • Not eligible for paid or complimentary upgrades or preferred seats


      I made this chart to compare the three. Let me know if I missed anything or should add anything!





      Comments

      Post a Comment

      Popular posts from this blog

      Kirby Cafe Tokyo Reservations

      Image
      Reservations open at 6pm JST on the 10th of each month! Tokyo, Japan To get an idea before reservations open, click on HAKATA and choose 1 person. You'll probably see some openings (circles) to get yourself acquainted with the form. Tokyo Kirby Cafe Reservations Reservations for the next month open at 6pm JST on the 10th (May reservations opened at April 10, 6pm JST.) I signed on right before it turned 6pm JST to check the website. Thankfully it wasn't crashing like other websites (cough Ghibli Museum!) but there are some things I wish I knew beforehand.  There is a dropdown menu on the top right that allows you to change from Japanese to English. This is helpful if you are just looking at the website but it defaults back to Japanese every time you refresh.  EVERY SECOND COUNTS. JUST SKIP THE ENGLISH . Remember how I said you can change it to English? I feel like I wasted a good amount of time doing that... Really it was just a couple of seconds but by the time I got int...
      Read more

      Tokyo Pokemon Cafe Reservations Tips

      Image
      Reservations open at 6pm JST, about 31 days before. https://www.pokemoncenter-online.com/cafe/en/reservation.php Current Time in Tokyo I got some amazing tips for getting a Pokemon Cafe reservation so I'm sharing it here. Pokemon Cafe reservations open at 6pm JST, 31 days before! This is great because you are not competing with everyone else who might not even want to go on the same day as you. BUT you are competing with people who want to go on the same day as you, so you need to be QUICK! TIP #1. Scope it out first! Go to the reservation page and take a look around to familiarize yourself with the page. You don't want to be looking at this for the first time when you're trying to book. TIP #2. Turn off the Google auto-translate to English.  The Japanese version is pretty straightforward and the translation messes up the calendar. The first month is fine but since you're booking out 31 days out, you want the second month. I'm trying to book May 21st here. You c...
      Read more

      JR Pass

       The JR Pass is an option for non-residents of Japan to purchase. Instructions: Purchase the JR Pass before you travel to Japan (It doesn't seem like there's an "official" website as many vendors do sell it. Just do your research to make sure it's legit. Personally, I have used japan-rail-pass.com before. I think the top choices in your Google search is probably safe.) Receive the Exchange Order Fly to Japan  Exchange the Exchange Order at a participating JR Pass ticket office Enjoy the JR lines! How to Use: Previously, the JR Pass was a booklet that you had to show each station's ticket attendant but I've heard that they've upgraded it to a ticket now! It looks just like a train fare ticket would and you insert it into the ticket gate like any other ticket. The only concern is that it looks just like a regular ticket so do not lose it ! PROs: The JR Pass is convenient because you don't need to think about it. You just scan your ticket and can get...
      Read more