Programs: UA MP 1P, HHonors, Marriott Rewards, Hyatt Gold, SPG, Kimpton, Does AAA count?
Posts: 215
Quote:
Originally Posted by szbenny
Very good point. My thoughts exactly. As most of the FTers posting over the first six pages of this thread I have used the HOLD feature extensively to apply vouchers to my trips and then go to the airport for ticketing. I have also used the phone approach if some of the fares I wanted to book could not be held.
The disappearance of the HOLD feature would be partly irrelevant if vouchers could now be redeemed on .Bomb, which of course they are not. I wonder how many more vouchers will go unused, translating into extra income to United, by making it ever more difficult to redeem them.
Has anyone sent a PM (or a bunch of them) to UnitedPR so that the next time he logs on or monitors threads, he gets a link to this thread and some customer feedback???
If he's going to be here and let us know about UA, he needs to be hearing us too. BTW, what happened to him letting us know about this change???
Book it regularly with the website. Call or go to the airport within 24 hours, and tell them to cancel the reservation and book the same reservation with the voucher. I'll cost both me and ua more time, but hey, they started it.
And what do you do if the fare is no longer available????? You won't be protected from fare changes using your method. There is still the option of booking and holding through a call center.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Can I hold a reservation on united.com for purchase later?
It is no longer possible to put a reservation on hold through united.com.
Please note that any reservation booked through united.com can be canceled within 24 hours of purchase for a full refund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
This is really annoying. I usually put tix on hold after 12am so I can hold them for 2 days.
I am sad that the hold feature is gone.
I used to use the hold feature and then go ticket at the airport counter using travel vouchers.
Edit - Has anyone tried calling UA to see if they can put a reservation on hold (for the purposes of using a voucher)?
Yep - just did that this morning. Still irritating to have to call to "hold" the itineraries instead of online. When I called 1P line to hold the reservation, I complained about having to call instead doing it myself online and was assured that at least I would not be charged the "call fee". Seems like such a simple thing to have and I have got to wonder if it will be worth it to United to cancel this feature.
I'm going through itin right now and thinking so I hold some? Oh wait that is snatched away like recess from some 2nd grader who can't behave during class. I liked to hold them and forward the details to family, ect. in hopes of being picked up at airport, or booking their travel for them etc.
There are a thousand reasons for it as a consumer and let's write a letter and send an email for each complaint we have. Don't post on here and be done with it, we have the freedom to voice our opinions and as consumers with status in this airline (most of us), we deserve a response. If we don't like the response and explanation, we can then take our business elsewhere if need be. They don't have a monopoly on air travel ect.
The more I'm without this function the more I realize how much I took it for granted. Damn.
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Last edited by iluv2fly; May 30, 09 at 4:57 pm.
Reason: response to deleted quote
Yep, my itin at 11pm last night was BOS-IAD-CLE-(lunch with the folks)-ORD-DEN-COS. I managed to walk the agent through it segment by segment. In the end, it did get created and showed up as a HELD reservation for me. She didn't even question why I wanted to fly it! Then my fiance ticketed for me at the airport this morning.
The thing that UA doesn't realize is that as fast as they change the rules, we'll adapt and subvert them.....
Of course, we've been able to do this all along, it was just a lot easier for us and a lot more cost effective for UA when we could hold online itins. Dumb move UA...
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
To UA's credit, the following decisions, among others, are pro-consumer.
24-hour refund policy on nonrefundable tickets
Which we've had all along as have other airline's customers. How long will this one last?
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
Restoration of 500-mile minimum for elites
Only after they took it away in the fist place! We had to scream to get it back and then it was only for elites.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
Arrangement for CO President's Club access in LAS
This was a nice move, but it's only one club.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
Preservation of free E+ seating for elites after AA eliminated MRTC
They started charging for it and it made them money. Being pro-consumer had nothing to do with its preservation IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
Deep discount fares
Huh? UA competes on fares and tries to fill planes. UA's IM trying to make money is not about being pro-consumer its about making money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
Matching DEQM promo, and making it even better with TEQM on high fares
They did DEQM because another airline did it first, again not out of a strong pro consumer culture. I'll grant you the one about the TEQM though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeFlyer
But that doesn't change the fact that elimination of the "book and hold" is a frustrating and infuriating anti-consumer move, and one that hits UA's most frequent customers the hardest.
Programs: 1KMM, HH Most Elite Diamond VIP. Thank you FTers!
Posts: 3,522
Quote:
Originally Posted by MP Premier
Has anyone sent a PM (or a bunch of them) to UnitedPR so that the next time he logs on or monitors threads, he gets a link to this thread and some customer feedback???
If he's going to be here and let us know about UA, he needs to be hearing us too. BTW, what happened to him letting us know about this change???
Because s/he only posts positive items. S/he hides when any reduction in benefits comes around.
Quote:
Originally Posted by goalie
you and me both-tho i would say pi$$ed <grrrrrrr>
Actually I originally did, goalie, but I changed it. I probably should have left it as pi$$ed, because I really am.
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This is extremely annoying. I just used this feature to book a flight Wednesday. This is especially annoying for employees of the largest company in the state UA calls their home, where SPI is an hour away.
Someone needs to do the wrong CC number trick and force a hold to see if that works.
I know this is kind of annoying, but let's keep this in perspective. United is doing a lot of changes that will seriously change the flying experience, including pricing previously free international mileage upgrades out of the range of most flyers.
While I know this will make ticketing at the airport more difficult, that could actually be a blessing in disguise. I have tried on multiple occasions to buy a ticket at the airport and never succeeded. Airport ticketing is just a complete mess. At least at SFO you often end up waiting in line for an hour only to be told that they can't actually do it for you because your reservation is messed up, which you can't really check until you get home and log in to united.com.
Conversely, I have on multiple occasions used ticket by mail to redeem vouchers, and never had a problem--even when my voucher got lost in the mail. (Just make sure you record all the numbers on the front of the voucher.)
So at least for those of you who are primarily upset at no longer being able to do airport ticketing, try ticket by mail if you haven't recently. You may find it actually saves you a bunch of time and makes your life better.
Now what would seriously annoy me is if this move is a prelude to eliminating the 24-hour refund period. I have on multiple occasions had .bomb ticket something for the wrong dates, because when you book a red-eye and go back to change some parameter, .bomb frequently changes your departure date by one day, which I sometimes fail to notice. If I have to start paying a change fee every time I get the wrong travel dates on .bomb, I'll be pretty annoyed and probably at least try disputing the charges with my credit card.
wow, this is a HUGE disappointment. Before i checked FT, i was having problems last night holding an itinerary. It was for 6 of us who I had convinced to fly UA instead of southwest for a trip this summer.
i tried to hold last night, and no luck. so tried this morning and no luck. i thought it was a website glitch. i wrote 1kvoice and asked when it woudl be fixed, explaining that i had to convice people to fly ua, and i got the task of holding the itinerary, sending to everyone to review, before purchasing.
i asked when it would be fixed, as i was worried if the glitch wasn't fixed soon, then my friends would just decide we'd fly southwest instead. it was already a battle to convince them to fly ua.
now i know why i cna't hold the itinerary. this is frustrating! i hope that enough people on FT read this and write to 1kvoice and complain and maybe they will reverse.
between this and the refare changes, and the fact that i already have 100k miles this year on both UA and AA, i'm thinking maybe i should make AA my sole carrier
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