WineCountryUA

preqs of being a high level elite -- which you don;t get on a different airline when you are not an elite. I doubt AA would get me such a freebie.


believe you find change fees vary between domestic & international and other factors


there is probably more to this ....

Same-day flight changes

Golds now get free SDC (originally did not) but it changed (5/2011). (thanks dmurphynj for the correction)

Wx4caster

Sure enough! Thanks for the link - it's not every day I see a fee that UA eliminated

dmurphynj

Not true. Golds get free SDC. I'm a newly minted Lowly Plat and spent most of 2012 as a Lowly Gold, and trust me, SDCs are free for Lowly Golds.

Edit: yup, there's the link. I was a Gold with pmCO (not a Lowly Gold - thats only a UA thing! as well, so this isn't so much eliminating a fee as aligning with CO policy. One in the traveler's favor in this case... Much like the fact that SDC meant 24 hrs previously with pmCO and only 3 hrs previously (and truly the same calendar day) with pmUA.
Threw me for a loop when I had to fly a pmUA flight and couldn't SDC from a morning flight to the previous evening like I could with pmCO. Another policy change in our favor with New United.

Good stuff all around!

raehl311

Fly 50,000 miles on UA before this trip departs and you can SDC for free.

yupyup63

True! I wasn't blaming anyone but myself, just was wondering my options how to fix my mistake with out paying the $850 requested by UA, which the experts on this board here so articulately did.

Doc Savage

It would help if you weren't being so cryptic. For example, since the first flight has been purchased on a separate PNR from the next, why would you pay a whole $800 to change rather than simply buy new tickets for the first leg?

Often1

Since OP hasn't provided details, it's hard to help him, but the rock bottom is that since he's booked non-refundable tickets and has separate tickets onward, he can't rely on SDC or anything last minute because his whole itinerary falls apart if the changes can't be made. Remember, SDC is space available. No space = no SDC.

I'e never heard of a $850 change fee. If this is an intl. non-changeable ticket xUSA, the penalty is typically $250. Anything over and above $250 is usually a fare change most likely because the cheap seats OP bought on his original itinerary aren't available on the new flight.

OP has to weigh the risk of waiting for a schedule change or SDC, neither of which may be possible, against the $850. A risk analysis nobody on FT can conduct for him.

CO FF

As MP Gold, I was particularly pleased (NOT!) to have to pay $150 to change a $4500 "D" fare LAX-JFK...oh, well...

dmurphynj

A change and a "same day change" are two totally different things.

That $150 change (non-same-day) applies to EVERYONE - 1K's pay it, Plats pay it, I think even GS pays it.

djjj

OP, have you checked on what the fare change would be if you flew a day earlier? An earlier date might have cheaper fares remaining, which could more than offset a night in a hotel.

privacylawyer

don't know when you bought it, but can cancel within 24 hours. also, not sure if that is limited to mileage plus tier pax.

WineCountryUA

that is an universal rule for all airline purchases in the USA and other locations. This option has been discussed multiple times in the thread by not an option for the OP, who stated

lkar

Just out of curiosity, what's the big secret? Wife thinks it's a business trip?

Details might help others give a sense of standby potential.

Middle_Seat

I need to cancel a March trip (US-Japan RT) booked with UA miles. Is there a way to eliminate the $150 cancellation fee?

I see on the United site that changing the departure date incurs no fee...can it be changed to a departure next year?

I don't find the answers in the FAQ, so am asking here.

Thank you.

SEA1K4EVR

Yes you can change it to a date more than 21 in the future that has availability for no fee.. you'll need to keep the origin/destination and carrier the same.