RobOnLI

With no ticket issued (which is the case for the OP), the DOT is not likely to look into this. If UA had issued a ticket with a valid ticket number then UA is responsible to get the OP to EDI without charging him more. But that's not the case here.

Most "new" flights get loaded with all buckets open. There's a high chance of grabbing saver award tickets on the new flights as soon as they are bookable.

-RM

mduell

I'd press UA to fix your booking. Their IT malfunction and their metal, this shouldn't be that hard.

AceReport

I agree with other posters that calling UA and speaking to a rep or more likely a supervisor may get this straightened out for the OP. The 2nd front if that doesn't work is to call Chase and explain the situation. I've never heard it in regards to Chase/UA but I have heard of examples with Amex/AC of the MR points being refunded in a similar situation.

Other good options are really for the OP to look at availability to many of the UA european flights such as FRA, DUB, AMS, etc. There are oftentimes extremely inexpensive flights from these to EDI or GLA(a very pleasant 1hr train ride to the Edinburgh city center). As others have mentioned looking at surrounding dates if you have a bit of flexibility is a good idea. Also don't always trust the UA search tool. If you are flying out of a non-hub city search first for flights from UA hubs then search for legs from your location. As a last resort you can possibly buy/book a separate PNR (reservation) for the flight to IAD/EWR/ORD/IAH, while that is obviously less than ideal it could be a last resort to salvage the trip.


Absent the tickets being issued I would suspect that DOT will not regard it as such.

Kacee

The DOT prohibition on post-purchase price increases comes into play when the passenger has paid the full amount for the ticket. Here, the miles were deducted from the account, but his credit card was never charged. So it's gray area.

Regardless, the better approach here would seem to be calling UA and asking them to reinstate the award. Supervisor intervention, and some measure of persistence may be required.

RandomBaritone

This is the right course of action. UA failed to issue the ticket, but they can open saver award space on their own flights, and in this case they should.

I realize you're frustrated, but that's not what happened; there was simply a systems glitch that caused the ticket not to be issued. As others have pointed out, saver award space will almost certainly return at some point before your trip, but you shouldn't have to search for it. Just be unfailingly courteous when you call. Don't make any unfounded accusations. Frankly their systems aren't smart enough to "price gouge" in the manner you suggested.

expert7700

baffled that the OP wrote here and seems to have an oh well, I guess I'm screwed attitude when many on here have said to call United and get it sorted out. You booked it. No question about that if you have a PNR. There is speculation that united didn't have or use correct CC info at time of booking, but every transaction I have ever done with an airline checks all this at time of purchase. Gives an oops your payment is incorrect or has been declined immediately.

United may be busier than usual with hurricane displacements but that is just part of their worldwide market. Nobody is in harm's way now. If anything increased calls just helps foreign call center employees make a bit more money.

jsloan

A PNR represents a reservation; nothing more. Despite being called a "confirmation number" in common parlance, the only thing confirmed is that a reservation was created. If that reservation isn't ticketed within the timeframe specified in the ticketing rules, it is cancelled.

I'm not suggesting anything besides "something got screwed up inside UA." The takeaway here is that you should always verify that you have a ticket, and call UA within 24 hours of making your reservation if you do not. This is non-obvious to the vast majority of people, and I'm not trying to place blame on the OP. But, for the benefit of anyone reading this account for a lesson to learn -- that's the lesson. Make sure you have a ticket number -- tickets issued by UA will start with 016 -- and, if there are any partner flights on your reservation, make sure that their systems show the same ticket number as UA.

transportprof

OP needs to alert UA to the problem. They have IT experts who are ready to fix the glitch:

goodeats21

United really should look at the way they communicate to the customer in the ticket purchasing flow. We see this time and again on FT, when someone sees a message from United that their reservation is confirmed, and interprets it to mean that it is final. It is confusing to the average consumer.

Some simple changes to wording would go a long way to avoiding major frustration and disappointment, especially when the reservation involves partner flights.

I am a bit amazed that this hasn't hit a Pareto / VOC report and been addressed already.

FlyingDoctorwu

Sorry if it was mentioned but did any of your flights involve Aer Lingus- they have horrible phantom award availability and in fact there's a disclaimer I think that basically says that awards are not confirmed because UA has to hear back from them...

FDW

TerryK

This issue with non-UA metal booking has been around for years.

It could have been phantom partner availability which means OP didn't have a confirmed booking, let alone tickets, to begin with. When you receive a UA PNR, you have confirmed seats on UA metal flights. That's all it means, no more, no less. You need to wait for second email with ticket numbers begin with 016 to confirm partner seats.

jsloan

OP stated his original flights were on UA metal. A UA PNR does not mean that anything is confirmed on the UA side. You can create a PNR and hold it (farelock, pay-at-airport); some fares allow you 72 hours (or longer, although those are being scaled back) to do the actual ticketing. A PNR represents a reservation; until it's ticketed, nothing is guaranteed.

TerryK

We use different terminologies for the same thing. PNR shows you have confirmed booking on host, UA in OP's case, metal. You may or may not have a ticket. My TA can hold confirmed bookings for weeks without ticketing. You need 13-digit ticket numbers to confirmed ticketing. No ticket numbers=no payment=no contract.

beachmouse

Because of the aggressiveness of the European low cost carriers, you really can often find quite cheap cash fares for intra-Europe air travel. Provided it's the transatlantic stuff that's sold out of inventory. If it's a case of that first domestic United Express leg causing everything to reprice, try alternate departure airports or splitting the ticket so the first leg is a cash purchase.

AceReport

I assume that you meant not the TATL. And agreed!

I would personally find doing a triple PNR (Origin-TATL departure point, TATL leg, EU arrival-EDI) a bit much and leaves a lot of exposure for delays/cancellations. I do at times use 2 PNR for 1 trip with a sufficient cushion.