Grandparents insist on taking my kids’ first class seats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has done some investigating and has an idea. Curious to people’s thoughts. My parents could cancel their current tickets and keep the $3K future flight credit. Then, DH can buy them two new round-trip business class tickets using FF miles. It will cost 744,000 FF miles for both at current prices. For reference, we spent about 320,000 for the four we already have, so they are way more expensive now, but still better than paying cash. Then, all 6 of us will be in Polaris business class both ways and all 6 of us can access the IAD Polaris Lounge before departure. In exchange, DH thinks we should ask my parents for $3K to help offset the FF costs since they’re still walking away with $3K in future flight credits that only my parents can use for themselves in the future.

I think my parents would go for this. They will have spent $6K total on airfare, $3K of which they can use in the future and the $3K they committed to spending on flights to ATH. The other alternative is to upgrade my parents current tix to business class using $8K cash (PlusPoints and miles upgrades are waitlist only and DH says they’ll never clear). The cash upgrade seems like a bad value vs. the FF miles option.

Okay now I am curious how you got 4 roundtrips to Europe in business for 320k. Even under the old.award chart (which United blew up last month), it was 60k each way per person, so would be 480k.

Yes, we need a spin off thread about this! When booking 4 tickets to Paris earlier this spring, 60k would maybe cover 1 ticket in Economy and I am not even sure it was both ways. I don’t have as high status on United, though. We ended up booking another airline

PP who posted the question here. There are a few possibilities. I think the most likely is that they bought 2 tickets as straight business class awards- I could see getting 2 tickets for say 60k one way as a saver, and then 100k the other way, for 160k/person, so 320k total for 2 people. And then bought economy tickets for the other 2 people and upgraded them using Plus Points. A GS member would have minimum 320 Plus Points per year, and you can upgrade on international flights from very low fare economy (usually S class economy fares are what the average joe booking well in advance would get) for 80 Plus Points per person, per direction. That would use the 320 Plus Points.

But there are other permutations of how you could do it.

It is possible to upgrade award tickets purchased in coach for those carrying a co-branded United credit card. It is further possible (only for Global Services members) to pay for such upgrades using PlusPoints when either PN or PZ upgrade space is available. Supervisors working the 1K/GS help desk can also open up I, IN, PZ, and PN availability at their discretion.

Now that is one I didn't know about (never been higher than Silver and that was from Marriott status actually). I have to imagine asking for 4 IN tickets in summer on a route like this is a big ask even for a GS member. And even if they were made available, 4 roundtrips would still be 480k under the old award chart. Would be interesting to hear how OP/DH booked this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has to be a troll. Of course grandparents should be in first class, unless the kids have special needs or a really large / tall.

The question is, is their daughter obligated to pay for that when the parents would otherwise choose to fly coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has done some investigating and has an idea. Curious to people’s thoughts. My parents could cancel their current tickets and keep the $3K future flight credit. Then, DH can buy them two new round-trip business class tickets using FF miles. It will cost 744,000 FF miles for both at current prices. For reference, we spent about 320,000 for the four we already have, so they are way more expensive now, but still better than paying cash. Then, all 6 of us will be in Polaris business class both ways and all 6 of us can access the IAD Polaris Lounge before departure. In exchange, DH thinks we should ask my parents for $3K to help offset the FF costs since they’re still walking away with $3K in future flight credits that only my parents can use for themselves in the future.

I think my parents would go for this. They will have spent $6K total on airfare, $3K of which they can use in the future and the $3K they committed to spending on flights to ATH. The other alternative is to upgrade my parents current tix to business class using $8K cash (PlusPoints and miles upgrades are waitlist only and DH says they’ll never clear). The cash upgrade seems like a bad value vs. the FF miles option.

Okay now I am curious how you got 4 roundtrips to Europe in business for 320k. Even under the old.award chart (which United blew up last month), it was 60k each way per person, so would be 480k.

Yes, we need a spin off thread about this! When booking 4 tickets to Paris earlier this spring, 60k would maybe cover 1 ticket in Economy and I am not even sure it was both ways. I don’t have as high status on United, though. We ended up booking another airline

PP who posted the question here. There are a few possibilities. I think the most likely is that they bought 2 tickets as straight business class awards- I could see getting 2 tickets for say 60k one way as a saver, and then 100k the other way, for 160k/person, so 320k total for 2 people. And then bought economy tickets for the other 2 people and upgraded them using Plus Points. A GS member would have minimum 320 Plus Points per year, and you can upgrade on international flights from very low fare economy (usually S class economy fares are what the average joe booking well in advance would get) for 80 Plus Points per person, per direction. That would use the 320 Plus Points.

But there are other permutations of how you could do it.

I'm so invested in this now, I'm going to look into it. Probably flying on a Wednesday, but I think it must be higher as it's a direct flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DH has done some investigating and has an idea. Curious to people’s thoughts. My parents could cancel their current tickets and keep the $3K future flight credit. Then, DH can buy them two new round-trip business class tickets using FF miles. It will cost 744,000 FF miles for both at current prices. For reference, we spent about 320,000 for the four we already have, so they are way more expensive now, but still better than paying cash. Then, all 6 of us will be in Polaris business class both ways and all 6 of us can access the IAD Polaris Lounge before departure. In exchange, DH thinks we should ask my parents for $3K to help offset the FF costs since they’re still walking away with $3K in future flight credits that only my parents can use for themselves in the future.

I think my parents would go for this. They will have spent $6K total on airfare, $3K of which they can use in the future and the $3K they committed to spending on flights to ATH. The other alternative is to upgrade my parents current tix to business class using $8K cash (PlusPoints and miles upgrades are waitlist only and DH says they’ll never clear). The cash upgrade seems like a bad value vs. the FF miles option.

Okay now I am curious how you got 4 roundtrips to Europe in business for 320k. Even under the old.award chart (which United blew up last month), it was 60k each way per person, so would be 480k.

Yes, we need a spin off thread about this! When booking 4 tickets to Paris earlier this spring, 60k would maybe cover 1 ticket in Economy and I am not even sure it was both ways. I don’t have as high status on United, though. We ended up booking another airline

PP who posted the question here. There are a few possibilities. I think the most likely is that they bought 2 tickets as straight business class awards- I could see getting 2 tickets for say 60k one way as a saver, and then 100k the other way, for 160k/person, so 320k total for 2 people. And then bought economy tickets for the other 2 people and upgraded them using Plus Points. A GS member would have minimum 320 Plus Points per year, and you can upgrade on international flights from very low fare economy (usually S class economy fares are what the average joe booking well in advance would get) for 80 Plus Points per person, per direction. That would use the 320 Plus Points.

But there are other permutations of how you could do it.

It is possible to upgrade award tickets purchased in coach for those carrying a co-branded United credit card. It is further possible (only for Global Services members) to pay for such upgrades using PlusPoints when either PN or PZ upgrade space is available. Supervisors working the 1K/GS help desk can also open up I, IN, PZ, and PN availability at their discretion.

I didn't know this and we are GS - that's interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already know what would happen in my family. We were upgraded but my mother was on a separate itinerary so she wasn't. My kids had a full on argument with my mother trying to convince her to take one of their first class seats. She kept refusing, they kept insisting. We finally worked out a compromise (with the help of a very nice purser who was amused by the boys) of letting the two boys rotate their seats and my mother acquiesced to taking one of the first class seats.

Anyway, I don't think your parents should demand it, but I'm a little surprised that your kids wouldn't want to give their grandparents the better seats.

I will take things that didn't happen for $100

And you will lose. We always travel with my mother, and since she lives in another city she meets us at IAD as a connection for onward travel. Not sure why you find this hard to believe.

[Anonymous]

Someone do a s/o on the award tickets to Europe

[Anonymous]

We are GS and as soon as our kids are older than 12, they will fly coach while dh and I fly 1st class. It means that we can take more vacations with miles.

Even in Home Alone the parents rode 1st class and the kids were in coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already know what would happen in my family. We were upgraded but my mother was on a separate itinerary so she wasn't. My kids had a full on argument with my mother trying to convince her to take one of their first class seats. She kept refusing, they kept insisting. We finally worked out a compromise (with the help of a very nice purser who was amused by the boys) of letting the two boys rotate their seats and my mother acquiesced to taking one of the first class seats.

Anyway, I don't think your parents should demand it, but I'm a little surprised that your kids wouldn't want to give their grandparents the better seats.

I will take things that didn't happen for $100

And you will lose. We always travel with my mother, and since she lives in another city she meets us at IAD as a connection for onward travel. Not sure why you find this hard to believe.

I'm sure that's the case, but your amazing perfect children arguing to have her sit in business and your mother arguing back and the "purser" kindly looking at your wonderful family while they are blocking the aisles as everyone wants to board the plane is a magical story I can't get behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are GS and as soon as our kids are older than 12, they will fly coach while dh and I fly 1st class. It means that we can take more vacations with miles.

Even in Home Alone the parents rode 1st class and the kids were in coach.

But they couldn't even keep track of their kids - so I'm not sure they are the model of parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the parents wanted to sit in first class so badly, why didn't they purchase first class to begin with?

Because they didn't want to pay for it. They figured they could whine and guilt their way into first class.

It's the typical Boomer mentality. They want the most expensive option, but want someone else to pay for it.

This.

Normally, I would always say put the kids in coach and put the adults in 1st class, but these grandparents are being awful. I would seriously want to cancel the entire trip.

I’m a boomer and we pay for our kids and grandkids.
The reason is not all of them are in the same income bracket. If we were to get together as a family, some could afford to travel, and some could not.
So do we as parents/grandparents only pay for the ones who can’t afford it? The answer is no. We pay for all.
Don’t be so quick to judge boomers. I’m still trying to figure out how we raised a bunch of entitled brats!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know that your husband is United GS but don’t know that the flight doesn’t have first?
99% sure I am correct on that.

Calling troll on this one.

NP. They’re loving the pages of people going of on this.

I called it out on page 3 of this. OP was like oopsie! Definitely a troll.

My husband and I fly monthly internationally and we often use first and business interchangeably. Even though, I rarely fly first (always business). Some people just say it as an all encompassing statement for premium seating.

Also, US airlines call their highest premium domestic cabin "First Class". It's an understandable mistake especially for the non-status family member who isn't the one constantly flying/booking.

We do the same - use biz and first class interchangeably. whatever the fanciest area of the plane, we call first. my husband insists on flying first class because he's a big guy who gets claustrophobic in coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are GS and as soon as our kids are older than 12, they will fly coach while dh and I fly 1st class. It means that we can take more vacations with miles.

Even in Home Alone the parents rode 1st class and the kids were in coach.

Well those parents literally accidentally left one of their kids at home and didn’t realize it until they were halfway to Europe so I’m not sure they are a good example. Just say “people do this all the time.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already know what would happen in my family. We were upgraded but my mother was on a separate itinerary so she wasn't. My kids had a full on argument with my mother trying to convince her to take one of their first class seats. She kept refusing, they kept insisting. We finally worked out a compromise (with the help of a very nice purser who was amused by the boys) of letting the two boys rotate their seats and my mother acquiesced to taking one of the first class seats.

Anyway, I don't think your parents should demand it, but I'm a little surprised that your kids wouldn't want to give their grandparents the better seats.

I will take things that didn't happen for $100

And you will lose. We always travel with my mother, and since she lives in another city she meets us at IAD as a connection for onward travel. Not sure why you find this hard to believe.

I'm sure that's the case, but your amazing perfect children arguing to have her sit in business and your mother arguing back and the "purser" kindly looking at your wonderful family while they are blocking the aisles as everyone wants to board the plane is a magical story I can't get behind.

FYI, Purser is the title of the highest ranking flight attendant on the plane. It's not commonly used by the average passenger, but is a commonly used term among airline staff and frequent flyers. It's descended from ocean liners, when the head of the cabin attendants kept the books/money handled on board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This has to be a troll. Of course grandparents should be in first class, unless the kids have special needs or a really large / tall.

Bratty grandparents don’t deserve anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did the OP ever come back to say who is paying for the cruise? Are the parents paying their own way there or are OP and spouse paying for everyone?

She has said this several times. Read the thread.