akm

I am trying to use a bump voucher for my daughter. I know that I can't book the ticket online and will call in. Do I have to pay the telephone booking charges like I do for award tickets? Also, are bump vouchers transferable at all? I searched the FAQs but could not find the relevant information (thought I had seen something related to that in the VDB related faqs but can't find the relevant info).

Astriker

No fee for the VDB free vouchers. I recommend that you book the ticket online and hold it, then call Reservations and tell them you will be using the voucher. Since you need to mail it in, or ticket within 24 hours, you can ticket it at the airport. I have been able to use VDB vouchers for friends and family at the airport, but the voucher was in my name all but one time. Never had a problem with the ticket agent at ORD. Good Luck.

TA

If you go to the airport to issue the ticket, they are easily transferable. But *you* must go to the airport.

I believe if you mail them in, and enclose a copy of your id (proving it is you redeeming for someone else), it also works fine.

Instructions found here:
http://faq.ua2go.com/al/12/1/article...earch&bt=4n&s=
(it is for how to use a free ticket voucher, but the VDB certs are the same procedure)
Either method I suggest making the reservation online and holding it, to eliminate the time and possible errors of booking the itinerary with an agent. Then provide the itinerary locator when you talk to them.

jetsetter

I don't know how that could be booked on-line because those DBCFree tickets have to be booked in Q or V class, and not sure how you would specify those booking codes? Are you able to enter the promotion code
DBCFREE
on the web site? Conversely typically free economy award tickets book in XY booking code.

If its a dollars off type travel credit voucher then certainly you can book it on-line and apply it to the fare you have.

cepheid

Let's not confuse the chap. First, the OP is talking about a DBCFREE voucher, and said that he knows it can't be booked online. Second, no paper vouchers are redeemable online, even dollars-off-type travel credits. Only e-certs are redeemable online. You cannot book online with a paper voucher; the best you can do is hold an itin online, then call or go to the airport to complete booking using the vouchers. But either way, that's not relevant to the OP.

(And Y awards book into XY only if they are Saver awards.)

akm

Thanks folks.
I managed to make a booking on the phone (and verified the booking details online on my itineraries). There are no fees whatsoever - not even a security fee. Will have to go and pick the ticket up at the airport. According to the booking agent, this is because the travel date is too close to the booking date (though the travel is 15 days away).

littlen

If this has been overdone in the past let me know but I'm posting since search hasn't provided the details I needed. I got a "FREE TICKET VOUCHER" and it is a a Type B Voucher valid for a round trip ticket anywhere in the lower 48.

The question I have is states Ticket by: 08 May 24. Does that mean I have to make a reservation before that date (meaning that I can fly after May 24th) or does all travel have to be completed before the 24th? All the instructions are unclear on the site.

Thanks in advance.

cepheid

Welcome to FT, littlen!

What you have isn't a Type B voucher, it's a VDB (DBCFREE) voucher... Type B vouchers have a fixed cash-equivalent value, used as forms of payment.

"Ticket by" means exactly that - the ticket has to be issued by that day. That means you only need to make your reservation and have it ticketed by the date printed... your travel can be for anything through End of Schedule (330 days out).

Search for "DBCFREE" to find more info on this particular voucher.

blondedawn

I used a DBCFree voucher to book a ticket to Las Vegas for later this month. I got a call from United a bit ago -- my layover in Dulles has been cut from an hour to 50 minutes. I was uneasy about the hour layover to begin with -- especially because the next flight isn't until 5 hours later -- so although I know 10 minutes is not objectively that much, it just makes me even more nervous. However, United is now showing a routing through Denver that didn't exist when I booked my ticket -- I guess maybe as the result of other schedule changes -- that would have a 90 minute layover and get me into Las Vegas only 30 minutes later than I was originally supposed to arrive.

Do DBCFree tickets work kind of like award tickets in that you can change flights as long as you keep your origin/destination the same? Or would they try to hit me with a change fee (I'm thinking that a 10 minute schedule change is not on its own significant enough to get a reroute -- am I right?)?

raptor288

i don't know much about dbc free rules, but you can try and call and bring up the schedule change, but i'm not 100% sure if it works but you can mention that you would have taken the other routing had it been available and you were not happy with the tight connection. you might get a nice agent who understands that 10 minutes does mean a lot with connections.

goalie

my two hockey pucks is that if the schedule change is a result of united changing things, then you should be ok in making a change more suited to you (within reason of course) as this is no different than a schedule change on a paid ticket. if it's a change made by you, then you would have to pay the change fees.

labeach

Typically, I have never had a problem changing DBC free tix. Although I have never changed connecting cities. best guess would to try and call and see what they say. Worst case Senario, call a few diff agents. sooner or later one will do it for you situation

hobo13

Technically, the routing for a DBC FREE itin must remain the same. i.e. if you book ORD-DEN-LAX-SFO, you can change the dates, but must continue to fly ORD-DEN-LAX-SFO. If you change the connecting cities, you have to pay $100.

If a schedule change breaks your connection, I imagine you get a free re-route to something of your choosing. Whether UA will view a 10-min reduction in connection time as 'breaking your connection' is the real question. Give it a try. Claim you are horrified at the thought of sprinting around IAD and I expect you'll be OK.

DCBob

50 minutes is plenty of time to make a connection at IAD. You aren't likely to get UA to change your ticket to a different connecting city unless you want to pay a change fee, but YMMV.

chewy3

You can change the routing for $100 on DBC Free ticket, however, in this case it should be free since they changed the schedule.