One of the great benefits of top-tier airline elite status is the upgrade certificates the programs issue. While American Airlines offers eVIPs which are valid on all fares, Delta and United Airlines have fare limitations on theirs, making shopping for upgradable fares a bit more difficult. On top of that, comparing the fares from nearby departure points or to nearby destination points can be time consuming and annoying.
Well, it is time for the annoyance and frustration to go away. It is time for an easier search interface. It is time for another update to the Wandering Aramean Travel Tools!
The United SWUable tool has been around for a while now, though it has recently seen a number of updates to get it back online after a short hiatus due to data source issues. The Delta version of the tool is a new addition and has just come out of beta and is ready for action.
Here’s how it works:
- Head to either the United or Delta version of the tool.
- Zoom in on the map to find your departure city or destination airport.
- Or scroll down and choose from the airports or price points listed.
- Check out the fare data and pick the option that works for you!
The fares listed are EXCLUSIVE of taxes and fees. This means that any YQ fuel surcharges are not included. I wish they were, but the GDS from which the data comes doesn’t have them and I cannot just make up the data so I’m publishing what I’ve got. Still better than a poke in the eye. Also, the fares are published fares, not necessarily the lowest available on your specific dates of travel. Not perfect, but a good starting point. And the CPM is point-to-point, so odds are you can do better than that with creative routings on most city pairs.
Not seeing the fare you want, but hoping that it will happen? I’ve got a system set up for that, too. Click on the "Manage My Alerts" link and you can set up email alerts for various cities and price points. Every morning after the fare data is collected the system checks the alert queue and sends out emails if the fares are available.
There’s also fare history (more useful for the United data right now, but the Delta data is building) so you can watch trends.
The fare history page also has the actual numbers so you can see those bits, too. And I’ve fixed the bug that’s causing the multiple daily entries the past couple weeks.
Hopefully the tool can help you better apply the SWUs you’ve earned. Happy flying!!
Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.
