While traveling as a student is fun, getting a flight ticket will often be a source of high costs. If you are going on holiday travel, semester abroad travel, friend visiting, or just taking a holiday, getting a cheap flight can help you save money significantly. For your information, in the event you are interested in seeking out a discount from United Airlines for students, it is worth noting that the discount currently offered by United Airlines is the Youth Discount and not the student discount.
Does United Airlines Provide a Student Discount?
No form of student discount seems to be provided by United Airlines simply because a person is a student of a certain university.
There is a Young Adult Discount through which younger travelers get a 5% discount off qualifying United Economy and Basic Economy fares. According to current sources within the industry, the discount is available to MileagePlus members aged 18 to 23.
This implies that one may not be a student in order to get the discount.However, this does not imply that one automatically becomes eligible for the discount since one is a student who exceeds the specified age limit.
Who Is Eligible?
These eligibility criteria are pretty simple. Most people are supposed to be between 18 and 23 years old and have an account on United MileagePlus. It is necessary that the date of birth be accurately entered into the MileagePlus account, since this information is used by United to assess eligibility. The 5% discount from United offered by Student Beans is available at present for the younger members of the MileagePlus account.
As eligibility might depend on the particular fare and itinerary, it is essential that you verify the availability of the offer while booking the ticket.
How to Get the United Airlines Student Discount?
Obtaining the discount often requires opening or logging into an existing MileagePlus account for free. After setting up the account with your date of birth, you may look for your flight using the United Airlines app. Travel guides indicate that the discount is available during bookings by choosing the Young Adult Discount option. The appropriate discount will be applied to the cost of your ticket.
While making the payment, consider the discounted cost versus the standard cost. The discount is usually a percentage of the eligible fare and not always the total costs of your trip.
Which Flights Qualify?
The Young Adult Discount is not a blanket discount across all United tickets. Current information suggests that this discount applies to eligible Economy and Basic Economy fares. These may include United and United Express flights, and sometimes, international and partner-operated flights may be eligible depending on their eligible United flight numbers.
Some premium cabin fares and partners/codeshares may not qualify for this discount. This is because there are chances of fare variations according to route, date, and availability of seats. Thus, it would be wise for the students to verify the eligibility of the fare offered on the United App prior to making any bookings.
Tips for Saving Even More
It might be useful for you to have a student discount, but at the same time, there is no need to rely only on it. Try to look at the difference between several departure days. You may find out that choosing a less busy day will allow you to save money in comparison with traveling immediately before or after the weekend and holidays.
It is important also to consider the cost, and not to concentrate only on the discount percent. A more expensive ticket will give you more freedom in choice of services. The students that visit other countries need to be very careful about the baggage allowance because the cost of additional baggage will increase the total price.
It is necessary to purchase tickets in advance, particularly when it is connected to the holidays or the breaks from university.
It is also important to buy tickets in advance, especially if it is connected with vacation or university breaks. You should create your MileagePlus account beforehand to see if you can choose the appropriate Young Adult fare.
What If You Are Older Than 23?
While you may be a student and not eligible for the discount provided by the Young Adult Discount, remember that being a student does not guarantee your eligibility to purchase student fares with United Airlines. In order to make sure that you are getting the best deal on your flights, compare the prices offered by United Airlines with those offered by third-party student travel websites as well as other airlines that have their own student travel programs.
In case of overseas travel, this becomes particularly important as there is a possibility that you may get extra benefit by opting for another airline that provides student ticket services.
Final Thoughts
The United Airlines Student Discount program can be helpful for young people who are entitled to use it and who have to buy tickets; however, it is more likely that it should be called a Young Adult Discount instead of a typical college student fare. From the current data, the program provides a 5% discount on the flights for MileagePlus members aged from 18 to 23 years old who have chosen a qualifying Economy and Basic Economy ticket via the United mobile application.
If you plan a trip, open your MileagePlus account, maintain your personal information up to date, find your options in the United application, and see if the Young Adult Discount is available for your flight. The most important thing is to compare the price, luggage and fare rules before purchasing.
Read Also: What Happens If You Miss a Delta Airlines Flight?
