Airline: United • Savings: Up to 43% on select fares
The carrier’s packaged-travel arm, United Vacations, offers airand-land deals that can save you as much as 43%, but they’re not posted on the airline’s website or most booking engines.There are three great advantages to this program:
• Fares are eligible for elite credit bonuses for Business Class, including UA’s double Elite Qualification Miles promotion (until Dec. 15), Business Class fare bonuses (125%), and Elite Mileage Bonus: 25% for Premier, 100% for Premier Executive and 1K.
• No advance-purchase is required, except to Asia (30 days), and no Saturday night stay is required. (Maximum stay is 99 days for Europe, and 6 months for Asia.)
• Occasional promotions, such as last month’s 10,000-mile bonus on packages to Hawaii.
As with most package programs you must book a hotel. United Vacations requires a five-night minimum.
Our research shows that United Vacations is most effective to Europe when you’ve missed the 50-day advance-booking window, and to Asia when the 90-day advance has slipped by. It offers no savings in Business or First Class to Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, the South Pacific, and domestic U.S. destinations, except Hawaii (small savings only).
Sample savings: A 30-day advance Business Class ticket from Chicago to Frankfurt costs $5,349 round-trip (plus taxes) through United, but only $3,651 with United Vacations, a savings of $1,698 (32%). A Business Class ticket from Washington to Taipei is $6,546 round-trip versus $3,759 through United Vacations, a savings of $2,787 (43%).
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