I was recently pricing some Delta travel from Fort Lauderdale, a big Spirit market, and stumbled across this.
That’s a mighty attractive fare, but note that it’s a “Basic Economy” E fare. If you’re a Medallion flier that matters because you will essentially lose your biggest Medallion benefits if you buy it for this trip. No sweat as I would gladly pay an extra $15 for access to all the benefits of my Platinum Medallion status.
Just for giggles, I decided to price the Delta flights using Ultimate Rewards points and here’s what I found.
Notice something? Ultimate Rewards travel was about to sell me the $78.10 Basic Economy fare, not something I’m at all interested in. Granted, I did not call UR travel and try to see if they could “up fare” me because points are not something I’d really consider using at fares like this. However, this is something to be aware of if you are a Delta Medallion thinking of spending some Ultimate Rewards for a Delta flight in markets where E fares are sold and care about things like upgrades, priority boarding, and same day flight changes.
-MJ, May 28, 2015
Noticed that too today. I called ultimate rewards and they were able to book V class tickets instead of Basic Economy (E class). Too bad you can not make the choice on the UR website.
Noticed the same thing that week too MJ and I did call and the rep told me she could not upsell me. I had accidentally grabbed the 153$ E fare and not the 158$ V fare.only noticed the difference when the point withdraw was slightly off my calc (then verified on delta.com). UR cancelled it for me. Close one.
Great catch, MJ. Just my own opinion, but I assume that’s why DL (and other airlines, for that matter) prefer to sell tickets through their own distribution channels. Reduces costs and allows you to not rely on a third-party for not displaying (or not fully disclosing) your product type.