The return of the ZFV fares! For a while, United fares from Philadelphia excluded originating and departures from Philadelphia Railway Station (ZFV). Fares from/to ZFV are a little less than flying from PHL because taxes are slightly less.

Seattle Skyline at Night Photo: bryce_edwards, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)

Sample Travel Date:

• April 26th – 28th

Fare Availability:

• Valid for travel until June 7th for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday departure. Must purchase at least 14 days in advance of departure and by April 7th

How to Search for Availability:

• Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and use the following search criteria:
  • Departing from: ZFV
  • Outbound Advanced Routing Code: ua+
  • Destination:  SEA
  • Return Advanced Routing Code: ua+
  • (Click on Advanced Routing Codes link to enable advanced routing code input)
  • Select “See calendar of lowest fares”
  • Length of stay “0-7” (the max date range is 7 days. So 0-7, 5-12, 7-14 etc)
• Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Matrix by ITA Software
• How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage

Fare Class:

• N

Elite Qualifying Dollars:

• $193.48

Routing:

• ZFV – EWR (Newar) – SEA (Seattle) – EWR – ZFV
• ZFV is the the airport code for Philadelphia 30th Street Amtrak Station. The ZFV – EWR // EWR – ZFV segment is operated by Amtrak.
• A few things to remember about fares from ZFV from our reader Sean
  • You do NOT earn Premier Qualifying mileage on the ZFV-EWR and EWR-ZFV segments
  • You do earn 250 Redeemable miles, but do NOT earn status bonuses.
  • You do have to take the train to start the reservation
  • In the case of a schedule change, you may be able to drop the ZFV-EWR segment. (Your Mileage May Vary)
  • You can only print out your Amtrak boarding pass the day the train departs from the departing terminal kiosk or ticket desk.
• United travel vouchers cannot be combined or used with fares from ZFV.
• Logistics of the train to plane transfer
  • From Newark:
    • Follow sign for AirTrain
    • Take AirTrain to Rail Link Stop (Past Terminal C and P4)
    • And exit using your Amtrak ticket. AirTrain fare is included
    • NJ Transit and Amtrak shares a platform, so look for the right departure platform
  • To Newark from Newark Amtrak Station:
    • The above reversed

Mileage:

• 4,948 miles or 4.5 cents per mile.

How to Book:

• Book with United with dates found on ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search.

Accommodations:

For hotel bookings, we recommend that you only book using online travel agencies (Hotels.com, HotelsCombined.com or Hotwire.com) if it is a non-chain hotel. We don’t want you to miss out on earning rewards with chain hotels.

• Accor Hotels
  • Sofitel, Pullman, M Gallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis
• Aloft Hotels
• CheapTickets
• Four Points
• Hilton Hotels
  • Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, Hilton, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2
• Hotels.com
• HotelsCombined.com
• Hotwire
• Intercontinental Group
  • Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites
• Le Meridien
• Orbitz
• Preferred Hotels & Resorts
  • Preferred, Sterling, Summit
• Sheraton
• Westin
• W Hotels
• Wyndham Hotels
  • Wyndham, Tryp, Wingate, Hawthorn, Microtel, Dream, Planet Hollywood, Ramada, Night, Baymont, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn

Car Rentals

• Avis – US and Canadian Rentals
• CarRentals.com
• Fox Rent A Car
• Hotwire
• Orbitz
• Payless Car Rental
• Sixt Car Rental – Good Agency for Rentals in Europe

For more of the latest cheap Philadelphia Flight Deals:

• Go to the The Philadelphia Flight Deals page

For more of the latest cheap Seattle Flight Deals:

• Go to the The Seattle Flight Deals page

* The Flight Deal will receive a small commission if you use the accommodation or car rental affiliate links to make a booking. Thank you for your continuing support.

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