Flying Basic Economy with United and American Airlines?

I booked two round tickets but didn't realize they were basic economy. They will be 4 hour long trips and I was wondering if it was as bad as they say? Or would anyone recommend an upgrade? It's my first time flying and United doesn't allow carry on bag is that bad? American Airlines does allow it.

The main differences between basic economy and regular economy is in baggage and its fees and you should check carefully about personal items, carry on bag, and checked baggage allowance and fees. The second difference is that basic economy can't be upgraded after you buy it. You can check the details of the fare but that is typical. You can pay extra for the bag. You'll get your seat and get to the destination and the seat itself is the same as regular economy. When you buy the cheapest fare, you get stripped down services.

There were no less than 3 prompts that let you know you're booking a basic economy ticket and the differences between the basic ticket and main cabin fare.

Basic economy means you'll be sitting in the same seats as regular economy. 4 hours is not horrible- take something to do. There's limited leg room, and they won't feed you unless you pay for food, but you're just sitting in a chair for 4 hours.

The differences between basic economy and economy basically come down to when you board (basic economy is last, even if you have status), whether or not you get to pick your seat, and whether or not you can use the overhead bin. Even though American allows you to have a carry on, you will still probably have to gate check it because they tend to run out of room before they get to the last boarding group. On the plus side, that ends up being a free checked bag.

I don't know how you didn't realize it. I just booked basic economy through American and I had to verify at least 3 times that I understood it was basic economy and that I was aware of the restrictions.

Basic economy can't be upgraded once purchased. If you're within 24 hours of booking, you can cancel it and rebook at a different level.

With basic economy on AA, you don't get to choose your seats in advance and you board last. You still get a free carry-on item. Whether there will be room for it in the overhead is another question. I try to make sure mine is one that will fit under the seat in front of me.

Basic Economy may not be upgraded