Jan 4, 2015, 2:01 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This wiki was created to distill SDC (and related standby) down to a set of rules in the hopes of benefiting others.
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
Please note that the United.com “change flight” link before checking in within T-24, is broken. The website may not show all available options and will often attempt to collect the change fee rather than the SDC fee (if any).
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Standby
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
- The departure time of the first segment of the old itinerary and the departure time of the first segment of the new itinerary must both be within 24 hours of the moment that the change is made.
- Only applies to UA/UX operated flights, domestic or international. Changing from a non-UA operated to UA operated may be possible.
- The ultimate origin and destination airports must remain the same.
- Routing can be changed (addition, deletion, or change of connection points) but the routing rules of the original fare usually apply.
- All remaining unflown segments in single fared itinerary are considered together (i.e., if you're flying WWW-XXX-YYY-ZZZ, you can go to a kiosk at XXX and potentially fly XXX-AAA-ZZZ or XXX-ZZZ direct).
- SDC can be done an unlimited number of times, and can therefore be used to extend a trip indefinitely (pending availability).
- SDC costs $75 for Members and Silvers - the fee is waived for Golds and up (plus any applicable fare difference, see below). *G's may also get free SDC, although there is no mention of this in the official rules. Once in-route, fees for an earlier connecting flight may be waived per GG SDC Line 118.
- Non-elites on the same PNR benefit from any waived fees for SDC.
- No fare difference is charged so long as there is availability on all of the new segments in the originally ticketed fare class. Fare class availability in all classes often opens up after T-24 and almost always opens up at T-3 unless the plane is very full.
- SDC on bulk tickets, including United Specials, is not permitted.
- SDC is permitted on both domestic and international itineraries.
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
- United mobile app
- Kiosk
- Phone
- On united.com, right now only the "Search Other Flight Options" button during On-Line Check-In (OLCI) works. This has spotty availability, particularly if the change would involve paying an additional fare due to fare bucket non-availability.
- Counter/Gate (although reports are that most airport agents are not familiar with the SDC policy and may not allow you to SDC to a valid itinerary--you can try to direct them to look up GG SDC, but they often won't understand that what you're trying to do is permitted by those rules)
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
- Violating various non-routing fare rules (day/time, minimum stay, etc.): Y
- Change destination to ultra-close airport (see the old S*FAR/STANDBY): A
- Change destination to a co-terminal: N*
- Change destination to an entirely different place: N
- Change itinerary at the beginning to include illegal layovers (> 4 hours): N*
- Change itinerary at the layover point (using kiosk, app, or agent) to create an otherwise illegal layover: Y
- Change itinerary at the beginning to add a layover point not permitted by the routing rules: N*
- Change itinerary at a layover point to add another layover not permitted (either in terms of number of segments or routing rules) by the routing rules: Y
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before or after the original flight: N*
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before the original flight, if the previous day's flight has been delayed: Y (based on one report)
- Combining separately-fared segments to do SDC (e.g. XXX-YYY+YYY-ZZZ -> XXX-ZZZ): A
- Change UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to UA metal: A
- Change from UA metal to UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: N (see post 1813 for one exception)
- Change from UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to a different UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: ??
- Change on a non-UA ticketed segment: N* (with potential dire consequences)
- Change from an upgraded flight into Y on the new flight: Y
- Change from a GPU-upgraded flight into J/F on the new flight: A
- Change from a CPU-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: N*
- Change from an instrument-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: A*
- Non-elite on different PNR benefiting from Elite's waived-fee SDC: A
- Change at origin airport after tendering a checked bag: N
- Change at layover airport when a bag has been checked: N
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Code:
EVERYDAY AWARD AND REVENUE BUCKETS ARE TO LEVEL OUT WITHIN 2H OF DEPARTURE
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions (with Wiki) {Archive}
Apr 20, 2015, 11:09 am
#256
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K (MM), DL, AA, AS, HHonors, SPG, Kimpton, Hyatt, IC PC, Marriott Titanium (LT PLT), Hertz PC
Posts: 7,231
I won't have any bags checked. It's a short trip.
My main concern was that the first segment of my trip was not operated by UA. I'll have 6+ hours on the ground between flights and likely ~4.5 hours at NRT before my scheduled departure.
It's likely that I'll only do this if I see a flight with R space available, because as far as Y seats go, I have a good one... Who would you say is the best person to try to get this done with? An NRT checkin agent, NRT UA club agent, or 1k/premier phone agent?
My main concern was that the first segment of my trip was not operated by UA. I'll have 6+ hours on the ground between flights and likely ~4.5 hours at NRT before my scheduled departure.
It's likely that I'll only do this if I see a flight with R space available, because as far as Y seats go, I have a good one... Who would you say is the best person to try to get this done with? An NRT checkin agent, NRT UA club agent, or 1k/premier phone agent?
Apr 20, 2015, 11:19 am
#257
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 734
First bet: skype or phone agent that's based in the United States.
Second bet: NRT transfer desk person (their hours of availability could be quite limited)
Tied for second: NRT UA club agent (their numbers and their capabilities seem quite limited)
A related observation I have is that while you're mid-international-itinerary, online self-service with seat changes rarely seems to work. The website may say that you've changed something, but you'll never get a boarding pass that reflects it. You need a live agent to get seat assignment changes to work.
Apr 20, 2015, 11:48 am
#258
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Houston Texas USA
Programs: UA Gold MM, SWA A-List
Posts: 150
I have very recently done an SDC in the middle of an international trip where the first leg was not United. In my case, it was ABZ-LHR-IAH with the first leg on Virgin Atlantic. Got on an earlier United flight to IAH. I did this at the United Club in LHR.
Apr 20, 2015, 1:15 pm
#259
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K (MM), DL, AA, AS, HHonors, SPG, Kimpton, Hyatt, IC PC, Marriott Titanium (LT PLT), Hertz PC
Posts: 7,231
Thanks -- One final question: If I'm reading things correctly, because I have an ANA segment up front, it likely won't be possible to change anything until after I've arrived in Tokyo, correct? In other words, if I see R availability the night before, I likely won't be able to change anything at that point?
If that's the case, I'll likely just monitor from the minute I hit the ground at Haneda and call immediately if I see R space somewhere.
If that's the case, I'll likely just monitor from the minute I hit the ground at Haneda and call immediately if I see R space somewhere.
Apr 20, 2015, 3:01 pm
#260
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Thanks -- One final question: If I'm reading things correctly, because I have an ANA segment up front, it likely won't be possible to change anything until after I've arrived in Tokyo, correct? In other words, if I see R availability the night before, I likely won't be able to change anything at that point?
If that's the case, I'll likely just monitor from the minute I hit the ground at Haneda and call immediately if I see R space somewhere.
If that's the case, I'll likely just monitor from the minute I hit the ground at Haneda and call immediately if I see R space somewhere.
Also, remember that UA has basically stopped releasing all fare buckets 3 hours before flights - and this is especially apparent in the "R" bucket. Even if J is not 0 on a given flight to the US it's highly likely that R=0 and you will go on the waitlist. As a "W" fare flyer you are almost near the bottom given that your time of request for the upgrade is one of the last on the list. Any 1K or GS on a higher fare or even a "W" fare will be correctly listed before you. You'd have to find a flight with J>0 and a small waiting list with only maybe non-revs on it.
Not saying it's impossible. Just giving you a heads up it's highly unlikely you will fly in BF back to the US on UA from Japan.
-RM
Apr 20, 2015, 3:21 pm
#261
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K (MM), DL, AA, AS, HHonors, SPG, Kimpton, Hyatt, IC PC, Marriott Titanium (LT PLT), Hertz PC
Posts: 7,231
Correct. You can't touch it until you get to Tokyo.
Also, remember that UA has basically stopped releasing all fare buckets 3 hours before flights - and this is especially apparent in the "R" bucket. Even if J is not 0 on a given flight to the US it's highly likely that R=0 and you will go on the waitlist. As a "W" fare flyer you are almost near the bottom given that your time of request for the upgrade is one of the last on the list. Any 1K or GS on a higher fare or even a "W" fare will be correctly listed before you. You'd have to find a flight with J>0 and a small waiting list with only maybe non-revs on it.
Not saying it's impossible. Just giving you a heads up it's highly unlikely you will fly in BF back to the US on UA from Japan.
-RM
Also, remember that UA has basically stopped releasing all fare buckets 3 hours before flights - and this is especially apparent in the "R" bucket. Even if J is not 0 on a given flight to the US it's highly likely that R=0 and you will go on the waitlist. As a "W" fare flyer you are almost near the bottom given that your time of request for the upgrade is one of the last on the list. Any 1K or GS on a higher fare or even a "W" fare will be correctly listed before you. You'd have to find a flight with J>0 and a small waiting list with only maybe non-revs on it.
Not saying it's impossible. Just giving you a heads up it's highly unlikely you will fly in BF back to the US on UA from Japan.
-RM
I will look at the waitlists. It's a Thursday departure, so flights are likely to be pretty full... Fortunately my IAD departure is one of the earlier ones, so I can check out all of the options (SFO, LAX, ORD, IAH, EWR, DEN, HNL -- did I miss any?)
Apr 21, 2015, 7:33 am
#262
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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NRT-SFO often has open BF seats these days. I would check frequently once the 24 hour window opens. Release of R space is simply not predictable anymore.
Apr 21, 2015, 1:10 pm
#263
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: DEN
Programs: UA 1K (MM), DL, AA, AS, HHonors, SPG, Kimpton, Hyatt, IC PC, Marriott Titanium (LT PLT), Hertz PC
Posts: 7,231
You're telling me -- the outbound of this trip still hasn't cleared either. I'm pretty sure R has not been released since I waitlisted nearly three months ago. Even now, 3 days out, it's J9C9D9, 19 open BF seats on the seat map (I know, I know...), and no R is being released. C'mon UA -- throw me a bone!
Apr 21, 2015, 10:53 pm
#264
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K, NW forever
Posts: 1,390
Trying to SDC tomorrow with non-status family on different PNR. Two agents have refused to waive the $75 fee...any tips/suggestions?
Apr 21, 2015, 11:10 pm
#265
Moderator: United Airlines
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Apr 22, 2015, 11:10 am
#266
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K, NW forever
Posts: 1,390
Seats aren't a problem -- all SEA-SFO flights are wide open today. The flight I'm trying to get on has 8 E+ seats booked.
Apr 23, 2015, 8:54 am
#267
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Join Date: Apr 2013
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SDC With Fare Break
Just had an interesting experience SDC'ing on ps. Booked JFK-LAX-SFO, with upgrade confirmed. Saw space this morning on the nonstop JFK-SFO (a minor miracle these days!). Called in.
First agent gave off that "I will be as unhelpful as possible vibe," muttered something about routing rules, and put me on hold. At the ten minute mark, I hung up and called again. Second agent told me I had a broken fare, L/G, and that this would preclude an SDC. I mentioned that all the fare buckets were wide open, and she said she'd see what she could do. Was able to get an exception granted and confirm me into R. All done very quickly and efficiently.
^^
First agent gave off that "I will be as unhelpful as possible vibe," muttered something about routing rules, and put me on hold. At the ten minute mark, I hung up and called again. Second agent told me I had a broken fare, L/G, and that this would preclude an SDC. I mentioned that all the fare buckets were wide open, and she said she'd see what she could do. Was able to get an exception granted and confirm me into R. All done very quickly and efficiently.
^^
Apr 26, 2015, 11:26 am
#268
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: SFO
Programs: United 1K 2MM / Marriott LTP
Posts: 5,071
I have rarely had to try to do a SDC, but might need to in the near future. If you are on a multi-city itinerary are you pretty much SOL if trying to change the first segment of an itinerary will impact downward sectors which might be outside the 24 hour mark (i.e. SFO-EWR-HKG-SIN) where SFO-EWR is a redeye.
Apr 26, 2015, 1:33 pm
#269
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I have rarely had to try to do a SDC, but might need to in the near future. If you are on a multi-city itinerary are you pretty much SOL if trying to change the first segment of an itinerary will impact downward sectors which might be outside the 24 hour mark (i.e. SFO-EWR-HKG-SIN) where SFO-EWR is a redeye.
If you're changing that to SFO-HKG-SIN, for example, you should be able to do it as soon as you're within 24 hours of the SFO-HKG departure.
Apr 26, 2015, 9:55 pm
#270
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: SFO South Bay
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 3,052
If I accept SDC from A to Y fare, can I SDC later back to A?
I have an A fare ticket that I will probably be using SDC for. Anyone know what happens if I SDC from A to Y (due to no A/P buckets being open), but then later try to SDC to another flight that does have A open? Will I only be allowed to move to another Y, or can I go back to A since that was my original ticket?