Booking Award Flights on United

[Anonymous]

For long haul international 5 months is the sweet spot to get the best price. Milage flights are always last to be made available so they always hold those back as they want people to pay in cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For long haul international 5 months is the sweet spot to get the best price. Milage flights are always last to be made available so they always hold those back as they want people to pay in cash.

Again, these blanket statements are simply inaccurate when looking at specific flights/routes. They have complex algorithms running that run pricing and availability release. There are some general patterns but in detail it bounces around all the time.

[Anonymous]

They allocate award seats. The bargain ones go first. Eventually they are gone. Some higher loyalty levels may get award seats after they are gone for lower levels.
Moral: get them. You can always cancel and get points back.

[Anonymous]

Book something else on that same date for saver award that you’d be ok flying - a connection in Newark for example. Hope and wait for a schedule change that allows you to switch to the nonstop for free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For long haul international 5 months is the sweet spot to get the best price. Milage flights are always last to be made available so they always hold those back as they want people to pay in cash.

5 months is not the “sweet spot” for award seats. That is false.

[Anonymous]

From what I’ve seen, 40K for IAD–CDG in economy is about as low as it gets on United, so if you see that again it’s worth locking in. Early on, they focus more on selling cash seats, so award space can dry up or jump around. It usually takes some monitoring because there’s no reliable window when prices drop. It would be ideal if there were a tool that could watch for a target range in miles or cash and auto-book, but for now it’s mostly just checking back regularly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They allocate award seats. The bargain ones go first. Eventually they are gone. Some higher loyalty levels may get award seats after they are gone for lower levels.
Moral: get them. You can always cancel and get points back.

That is an incorrect summary. Some seats are released into save r nventory at schedule open. Sometimes later on more are released. Some times they are pulled out of inventory even without being booked. The system is dynamic and things shift constantly.

The last two sentences are correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve booked domestic flights on United with miles, but this is my first time booking an international flight. Below are the details on pricing. Does this seem normal?

-three days ago nonstop economy flight from IAD to Paris (CDG) was 40,000 points

-two days ago, same nonstop flights, IAD to CDG, are 70,000 points

-today there are no nonstop flights with miles for the same trip

Now I wish we had grabbed the seats for 40,000 points. Didn’t pull the trigger, because the trip isn’t until June and now seems like way too early to book the trip. Do you think the nonstop award flights will come back? I feel like United bots are tracking me and trying to price gouge me!

OP, this has happened to me many times. Walk away from the website for a few days and then come back to it. I think there's some algorithm whereby prices will increase based on the number of hits or searches. It's a complete scam. I had a flight double in price in the same day after clicking on it a million times. I left it for a week and found that it had dropped back to the original price. Not sure if that is a thing but FYI

Also, if you look for flights in September they are always cheaper. I read somewhere that Sept after the summer craze is the best time to buy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you already have the miles in your United account, always best to book if you see something at the saver level (40k in this case), because United awards are fully refundable. No risk in grabbing them now and figuring out later if you will actually use them.

I've booked and cancelled two international United award flights within the last two months. I had the fees and miles both refunded within minutes of cancelling the flights.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve booked domestic flights on United with miles, but this is my first time booking an international flight. Below are the details on pricing. Does this seem normal?

-three days ago nonstop economy flight from IAD to Paris (CDG) was 40,000 points

-two days ago, same nonstop flights, IAD to CDG, are 70,000 points

-today there are no nonstop flights with miles for the same trip

Now I wish we had grabbed the seats for 40,000 points. Didn’t pull the trigger, because the trip isn’t until June and now seems like way too early to book the trip. Do you think the nonstop award flights will come back? I feel like United bots are tracking me and trying to price gouge me!

OP, this has happened to me many times. Walk away from the website for a few days and then come back to it. I think there's some algorithm whereby prices will increase based on the number of hits or searches. It's a complete scam. I had a flight double in price in the same day after clicking on it a million times. I left it for a week and found that it had dropped back to the original price. Not sure if that is a thing but FYI

Also, if you look for flights in September they are always cheaper. I read somewhere that Sept after the summer craze is the best time to buy

Yeah none of this is actually a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve booked domestic flights on United with miles, but this is my first time booking an international flight. Below are the details on pricing. Does this seem normal?

-three days ago nonstop economy flight from IAD to Paris (CDG) was 40,000 points

-two days ago, same nonstop flights, IAD to CDG, are 70,000 points

-today there are no nonstop flights with miles for the same trip

Now I wish we had grabbed the seats for 40,000 points. Didn’t pull the trigger, because the trip isn’t until June and now seems like way too early to book the trip. Do you think the nonstop award flights will come back? I feel like United bots are tracking me and trying to price gouge me!

OP, this has happened to me many times. Walk away from the website for a few days and then come back to it. I think there's some algorithm whereby prices will increase based on the number of hits or searches. It's a complete scam. I had a flight double in price in the same day after clicking on it a million times. I left it for a week and found that it had dropped back to the original price. Not sure if that is a thing but FYI

Also, if you look for flights in September they are always cheaper. I read somewhere that Sept after the summer craze is the best time to buy

Yeah none of this is actually a thing.

I do love these old wives tales. If you book on a Tuesday at 6:34 AM you get the best fares, it's just science.