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Changing/Canceling/Replacing a ticket costing less than the change fee?

Changing/Canceling/Replacing a ticket costing less than the change fee?

Old Oct 26, 2013, 1:55 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
But realistically this has the order of magnitude of 100:1 odds of work.
Without knowing the flight pairs, the month of travel, i'm surprised you put this out there. I'd gladly pay OP $5 (20:1 odds) for his ticket for the chance to get the refund if he was flying November-February in/out of EWR/IAD/PHL/ORD.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 2:18 pm
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by j8s8er
I've a one-way ticket (in booking class K) that cost $100 that I don't plan to take. Is there any benefit to calling United to cancel the ticket instead of doing nothing and simply not taking the flight?
UA gives you NO benefit to cancel. So do not cancel it. Just let it expire. This gives you the potential to get a refund if there is a significant change in the flight times or a weather waiver.

Never give up an option unless you are given value for it, because ALL options have value.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 2:33 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by blueman2
UA gives you NO benefit to cancel. So do not cancel it. Just let it expire. This gives you the potential to get a refund if there is a significant change in the flight times or a weather waiver.

Never give up an option unless you are given value for it, because ALL options have value.
OP says he's 1K in his profile. If flight time is coming up and there have been no significant changes, try to do a SDC to the next day and hope for a change/waiver on that day. Wash, rinse, repeat.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 2:45 pm
  #19  
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There's also the potential that if OP has another specific use for the $100, that as a 1K, he might hit the right CSR and get a fee-free change and then simply owe the fare difference for his next flight.

Basically UA could likely care less whether you cancel because they build no shows into their inventory control. I would wager that there's a higher no show rate on tickets costing under $200 (the change fee), so there's a greater likelihood that UA overbooks more on those #'s.

It's your fellow pax you benefit.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 2:58 pm
  #20  
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It's good manners to cancel and indeed it helps out both United and the potential purchaser of one's seat.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 3:48 pm
  #21  
 
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It's a SFO-SEA flight, no bad weather/delays/waivers expected, and plenty of seats available so it's not like I'm denying someone else a spot.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 3:53 pm
  #22  
 
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I'm with those who would wait...perhaps a sched change will come up and you would have the option to cancel. Otherwise, I would probably cancel day before flight... at least giving same day changers some hope.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 7:06 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
But realistically this has the order of magnitude of 100:1 odds of work.
Much higher. With delays, cancelations, schedule changes, and overbookings the chance that the OP will be able to get a refund is much higher than 100:1.
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 7:42 pm
  #24  
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I just let a <$200 ticket go without canceling. If UA wants pax to cancel in these situations, it should give us an economic incentive to do so. As it currently stands, there is zero incentive where the fare is less than the change fee (And please no comments about SDC'ing it day after to day until I can get a refund. Not going to play that game, which I view as the type of abuse that could lead to UA ultimately restricting this extremely valuable benefit.)
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Old Oct 26, 2013, 11:10 pm
  #25  
 
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The Washington Post just ran an article on this very topic. Sorry I don't have the link
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 4:26 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by dcpdxtrans
The Washington Post just ran an article on this very topic. Sorry I don't have the link
Here ya go:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifest...=auto_complete
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 5:46 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by aacharya
Without knowing the flight pairs, the month of travel, i'm surprised you put this out there. I'd gladly pay OP $5 (20:1 odds) for his ticket for the chance to get the refund if he was flying November-February in/out of EWR/IAD/PHL/ORD.
This would be an interesting category to add to CC. @:-)

Originally Posted by cblaisd
It's good manners to cancel and indeed it helps out both United and the potential purchaser of one's seat.
Well if is not the first segment of an itin, the downside for the pax outweighs the benefit to UA and the other customer.

As you might guess, (as you likely do) I book lots of flights originating from COS, with returns connecting through DEN. Irrops or other considerations such as additional travel plans, sometimes cause me to skip that segment. Being accused on the phone of violating fare rules is not in my self interest. I let it go.

If UA wants the opportunity to sell my ticket then it should eliminate change fees like WN. Pax are not inclined to let UA double dip.

Last edited by mre5765; Oct 27, 2013 at 5:51 am
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 6:20 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by mre5765
...I book lots of flights originating from COS, with returns connecting through DEN. Irrops or other considerations such as additional travel plans, sometimes cause me to skip that segment. Being accused on the phone of violating fare rules is not in my self interest. I let it go....
While in this case I think you are right, particularly with irrops mid-itin, for what I think the op is talking about -- knowing that he/she won't be flying a ticketed itin at all -- I would still maintain it's good manners to cancel and is the way that I would want to be treated were the roles reversed.
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 6:50 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Volga981
Much higher. With delays, cancelations, schedule changes, and overbookings the chance that the OP will be able to get a refund is much higher than 100:1.
An oversale is going to require showing up to the airport, milling about for a while, and only then having a shot at getting a voucher (while being put on a later flight that may be of no interest to the OP)...
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Old Oct 27, 2013, 8:58 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by kenn0223
Canceling also opens up seats for others to use if the flight is full. UA doesn't automatically cancel your reservation until shortly before departure which limits the use of your seat by others to those who are standing by.
The OP's transaction is with the airline not with its other passengers—standing by or not. If there is a bad guy here it is UA with its piratical change fees—which by the way will be brought under control by re-regulation.

RNE, mark my words—and I'm a Jeffersonian.
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