Time to dispel the myth that booking over the phone is necessarily a drag or lacks rich opportunity.
You’ve been asking—so we’re delivering: Here are easy steps to booking FCF’s “sweet redeem” mileage-award alert deals that we find, starting with United and United’s partners. (Other airlines to come.)
How to book an award ticket with United miles
First, you have the option to book online or by phone, but which is best?
Is one method better in some cases and less so in others?
The chart below lays it out in an easy comparison.
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[["","<big><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/en\/us\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Online<\/strong><\/big>","<big><strong><span style=\"color: #c34155;\">On Phone: (800) 864-8331<\/span><\/strong><\/big>"],["Access to award data","View availability: 7 or 30 days with online calendar.","Waiting for reservationist to manually check days is not nearly as fast as online."],["#rowspan#","You can easily look at what options are available for routes by checking space one way or round-trip, as well as for Star Alliance partner award space.","#rowspan#"],["Accuracy of availability","Data can be inaccurate and there\u2019s no way to know when this happens.","You may encounter kinks with the online calendar. When this happens, call and have an agent check the award data for you."],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","All United airline partners can be booked online, BUT at times, not all airline partner award space shows up online. By calling, no airline partner space options are missed. "],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Online partner space may not be updated online."],["Displays upgrade award availability","You can easily see what flights have upgrade space available online and book on the spot.","A reservationist can just as easily tell you about upgrade space on the phone."],["Book advanced or complex trips","You can\u2019t book open jaws, longer\/overnight layovers, or multi-city stops online.","If allowed per United's <a href=\"https:\/\/www.united.com\/ual\/en\/us\/fly\/mileageplus\/rules.html\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">terms and conditions<\/a>, you can book over the phone."],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","Best to call when there are more than three segments in your trip."],["Mileage award hold","Three or seven days on United flights only, not partner flights, for a small fee.","#colspan#"],["Booking fees","None.","$25 booking fee per ticket (no fees for Premier Platinum and Premier 1K). If you plead that the itinerary could not be priced online, the fee is usually waived."],["Wait-listing","\u00a0Not possible.","Permitted in premium cabins on flights operated by United."],["Elite membership advantages","Premier Platinum and Premier 1K have access to better availability for United Saver Awards in select premium cabins.","#colspan#"],["Short on United miles","<a href=\"https:\/\/buymiles.mileageplus.com\/united\/united_landing_page\/#\/en-US\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy up to 150,000 miles<\/a> per account\/per calendar year over the phone or online.","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","United is a credit card point transfer partner with Chase and Marriott\/Starwood.","#colspan#"]]