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What You Need to Know Before Booking Your Basic Economy Flight

airplanes on a runway

Basic Economy fares are here to stay. While the basics of these fares have stayed the same, airlines change some of the details from time to time.

Below is the breakdown for each airline when flying a domestic U.S. route. Please keep in mind that these restrictions can change frequently, so it’s important to check the airline websites through the provided links to confirm the information. Rules for international flights booked in Basic Economy may be different and can be found on each airline’s website.

American Airlines – Basic Economy

When you book a Basic Economy ticket with American, here’s what you get:

American does have some exemptions for elite members of their AAdvantage program and those who hold a co-branded American Airlines credit card. They can:

When it comes to earning miles for your flights or qualifying for status, you’ll earn full redeemable miles but will get no qualifying credit for elite status.

Delta Airlines – Basic Economy

Delta Air Lines N130DL by Richard Snyder from San Jose, CA is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A basic economy ticket on Delta comes with the following restrictions.

Frequent Delta flyers and cardholders of the co-branded Delta SkyMiles American Express cards get some benefits when flying basic economy:

United Airlines – Basic Economy

United has some of the harshest restrictions on its Basic Economy passengers.

Alaska Airlines – Saver Fares

Alaska chose to name their bare-bones ticket differently but don’t let the name fool you, this is still a restrictive ticket.

JetBlue – Blue Basic

JetBlue introduced its low-cost ticket in 2019 and tweaked the rules for flights after July 20, 2021.

Summary

Airlines sure don’t make it easy to know what you’re getting yourself into when you buy a basic economy seat. If you’re considering buying one of these seats (or now redeeming points for one of them, no thanks to Delta for that option), here are some of the takeaways:

Certain travelers might not mind these restrictions. For example, if you’re a frequent flyer with status or have an airline credit card, you’ll keep your preferred boarding and ability to bring a full-size carry-on for the overhead, except for JetBlue co-brand cardholders.

Then, who are these fares bad for? They are terrible for families since they’re most likely the customers buying solely based on price. This is why you have a situation like I had on a United flight. These passengers aren’t going to know the rules of basic economy fares. In fairness, airlines have strengthened the language to stress the downsides of these fares, telling families or people wanting to sit together simply not to purchase basic economy. It seems that instead of offering a lower fare to value customers, airlines have imposed extra costs and fees upon families going on a vacation they’ve been saving up (or going into debt) to take.

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