booking

Fare Class

Booking Class / Fare Bucket

Definition

Single-letter code (F, J, Z, etc.) indicating the type of fare on an airline ticket. Determines eligibility for upgrades, mileage earning, and refunds.

Why it matters

Common premium fare classes: F = full first, J = full business, Z = discounted business, P/D = upgradeable business, R = reward inventory. Knowing your fare class predicts whether your ticket will earn elite-qualifying miles.

Related terms in booking

Saver Award

The cheapest published points price for a flight or hotel night. Award charts publish two tiers: saver (lower, capacity-controlled) and standard (higher, more available).

Saver-Level Inventory

Award seats released at the cheapest published price. Typically 0-4 saver seats per flight, often released 11 months out and then closed within hours.

Stopover

An overnight (or longer) layover on an award ticket, usually allowed once per direction on certain programs. Effectively two destinations on a single award.

Open Jaw

An award ticket where the outbound destination and return origin (or outbound origin and return destination) are different cities.