Booking flights using UR points through Chase Freedom

[Frwinkley]

i posted this earlier on the CC thread, but it was getting buried so I decided to begin a new thread.

I'm attempting to book my first flight using my UR points accumulated through my Chase Freedom card. Is there anything I should be aware of?

I'm booking flights on Air Canada, Pittsburgh to Vancouver. The flights through the UR portal are a bit cheaper than through Air Canada's website. Is that possible? Looks like all taxes are included, however Air Canada is one of those airlines that you pay for baggage and seat assignments. Since I will not be checking baggage, I usually just pay for my seats separately, after booking the flights.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[MillauFr]

I booked a flight using the same portal. The prices of the flights will be the same. The difference you are seeing is probably because the website that appears to be lower in price isn't including all of the fees that they will tack on. I believe Chase is using Expedia's website to book the flights. I booked some flights on this site a couple of months ago for a trip in January. They gave the confirmation codes that I was able to add to the Alaska Airlines app on my phone. My flights then showed up on the app so I should be good to go.

 

[imbatman]

Also used the UR portal earlier this year and my flights were less expensive. I didn't pay to check my carry-on, but they asked for volunteers to check at the gate and I did that instead. Confirmation codes went into the United app and the miles counted toward my United mileage account.

 

[Eastern]

I often book United on the Chase portal. The prices may look lower because they are listing basic economy fares as the starting point, so look for the wording when you start your transaction. When I begin my booking on United, it gives me a warning like, 'you are booking the basic economy fare but you may have a chance to upgrade before payment'. I've always been able to upgrade to regular economy on United before payment, which includes seat choice and a *carry-on* bag. I don't know if Air Canada is similar but that could be the reason the fares seem lower.