buaya00

I called Reservations to inquire about possibly cancelling a flight to Europe at the end of June. In previous situations, I was given a full refund (credit for future travel) and when time came to book the new ticket, the change fee was deducted from the total remaining balance of the credit. The balance after was what I could apply to the new ticket .

I have read a few threads where folks seem to say the same thing but they are telling me I will have to pay out of pocket for the change fee before I can use the credit. That means in addition to the $2K I have in credit, I now have to spend an additional $250 out of pocket? The agent was adamant then put me on hold and called ticketing (was on hold for 20 mins). She came back and told me they 'looked at it from every way and angle possible'. Its a 'W' fare outbound and 'V' fare return.

Any ideas?

SEA1K4EVR

Yes this is how it works now..it was the CO way after all. The way to avoid laying out any additional cash is to always use the credit to purchase a new ticket that has a greater value than the old ticket. Then it's all a wash.. when you buy the new ticket you do pay the $250 fee, but then you get the full value of the credit towards your new ticket.

If you use the credit towards a less expensive ticket then there's no way around it..you will have to pay the $250 fee.. and then you'll have a residual value to use on yet another ticket later.

If you always use your credits in the end you're never out any extra money, but you do have to give UA more cash up front.

buaya00

Sorry SEA1K4EVR, I may be a little slow here but I don't get how buying as new ticket eliminates the change fee because any way you look at it, if you buy a higher fare, don't you pay the fare difference + $250?

Also, how does paying with a credit card end up one not forking out extra money? Appreciate your insight.

Thanks.

SEA1K4EVR

Ok... you have a $1,000 ticket that you cancel. It's time to buy a new ticket and you find one that's $1,100 which is more than the one you canceled. The fare classes don't matter... you're using a $$ value credit towards another ticket.

Under the old way.. the transaction would look like this:

$1,100 New Ticket
($750) Old ticket... (which was $1,000 but they deduct the $250 service fee)
$350 is what you would have to pay out of pocket

Under the new way it would be like this:

$1,100 New Ticket
($1,000) Full value credit of old ticket
$250 Charge for the service fee
$350 is your out of pocket cost...exactly the same

But if you are going to use the credit for a cheaper ticket then you'll have to pay out some extra cash..say you're going to apply it to a $500 ticket:

The old way:

$500 New Ticket
($750) Old ticket... (which was $1,000 but they deduct the $250 service fee)
No out of pocket cost, and you have a $250 credit remaining

The new way:

$500 New Ticket
($1,000) Full value credit of old ticket
$250 service fee must be paid at the time booking the new ticket..but then you have a $500 credit remaining

So as you can see.. it all works out in the end but you just have to put out more cash up front when you use it on a cheaper ticket where there is going to be residual credit remaining.

Paying with a credit card makes no difference...when I say "cash" I just mean additional payment by you in any form.

buaya00

Ok thanks for clearing that up!

BTW - If there is remaining value from the credit after a new ticket is purchased, the validity of the new residual value after the new ticket is issued remains valid for one year from the date of the new ticket issue correct?

SEA1K4EVR

Yes I believe that's correct.

The long and short of the new way of doing things.. it used to be possible to exchange a ticket and have no out of pocket expense at the time of the exchange. That is no longer possible..when doing an exchange there will always be an additional payment required.

rperci

I had to cancel a United flight that resulted in a $681.60 credit. I then booked a new flight that cost $551.60. I expected that I would have to pay $20 extra when the $150 change fee was added in. But the United reservation staff told me that while this formerly would have been true, the post-merger computer reservation system could not deal with this and that I would have to pay a separate $150 change fee and receive a $130 travel credit. This seems pretty petty of United.

I apologize if there already is a thread dealing with this, but I searched "change fee" and did not see anything.

joshwex90

There is no specific thread (at least not that I'm aware of) about this, but this is a well-known fact of life at the new United, and quite annoying for PMUA flyers. As a PMCO flyer, I never understood why CO did that, and seeing that other airlines didn't bother with this strengthens the question.

wilp888

I also have a cancelled reservation that I haven't rebooked yet. This policy is petty for you and me but it's a lot of other people's money in UA's bank account.

mduell

This is the "new money" scheme/scam. Cancellation/change fees require "new money" and can't come out of the refund due in the same transaction. Long-time sCO policy now implemented UA-wide. More cash in their coffers.

johnru36

Plus they love to issue the credit in terms of a voucher. So its NOT a refund to your original credit card - its effectively a time limited "store credit."

They not only keep the money longer - you have the PITA of keeping track of a paper cert and then punching in the numbers. Plus just like with rebate coupons- a certain amount will go unredeemed.

COdbaUA is gaming this to really maximize their profits. And you only get your $ "back" if you book another flight within 12 months. AFTER you paid your $150 change fee.

Can only imagine the fallout if I were to treat MY customers this way...

Dan-

US does the same thing. It was only a matter of time really.

PTahCha

Doesn't US Airways use SHARES as well? Hmmmm....

Often1

This is the growing pattern industry-wide (including internationally). It's not a systems failure, it's an intentional policy to better differentiate refundable & non-refundable fares (and has the impact of having many large businesses which can't possibly track all of this, simply going with refundable/changeable fare buckets).

buaya00

Discussed here as well:

Out of Pocket Change Fee