Programs: hyatt Platinum, *G, hertz presidents circle
Posts: 82
UA refunds if ticket price goes down?
I'm a refugee from AC seeking asylum at UA. I came across this little tid bit when I was checking out the T&Cs on a UA ticket:
C. WHEN A LOWER FARE IS INTRODUCED OR AVAILABLE
IN THE MARKET -
WHEN A LOWER FARE IS INTRODUCED INTO THE MARKET OR
A CURRENT FARE IS REDUCED OR BECOMES AVAILABLE /
THE TICKETED PASSENGER MAY QUALIFY FOR THE ABOVE.
ALL PROVISIONS OF THE LOWER FARE MUST BE MET
BEFORE DEPARTURE.
NO CHANGE TO ORIGIN/DESTINATION/DATES/FLIGHTS.
ONLY BOOKING CODE CHANGE IS PERMITTED.
--
A SERVICE FEE EQUAL TO THE CHANGE FEE WILL
BE ASSESSED. RESIDUAL VALUE /IF ANY/ WILL BE
RETURNED IN THE FORM OF A NON REFUNDABLE VOUCHER
VALID ON UNITED AIRLINES. AGENCY MAY ISSUE NON
REFUNDABLE MCO VALID ON UA.
Has anyone ever cashed in on this offer? I'm booking a trip to SYD next spring, and I'm hoping that fuel charges will be lower by then (alright, I know that's funny).
"A SERVICE FEE EQUAL TO THE CHANGE FEE WILL
BE ASSESSED"
As long as you realize you will not get back the full fare difference, yes, many FTers have taken advantage of this. It was actually free from any fees until a few years ago.
Do they take the change fee out of the voucher, as the wording implies and is more customer friendly? I want to say one airline (old CO?) required the change fee to be paid as "new money", then issued a voucher for the full amount, but I may be misremembering.
I remember up to about 5-7 years ago UA (and some others) would issue a voucher for the full amount of the fare drop; we took advantage of that many times. It also benefited UA, because I would book medium-high fares more readily, knowing I could use the difference if I happened to check again and they dropped.
Programs: UA O-E 1K 0.98MM, AA EXP, SPG Plat (Ambassador), Hertz 5*
Posts: 10,511
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmastron
Do they take the change fee out of the voucher, as the wording implies and is more customer friendly? I want to say one airline (old CO?) required the change fee to be paid as "new money", then issued a voucher for the full amount, but I may be misremembering.
I remember up to about 5-7 years ago UA (and some others) would issue a voucher for the full amount of the fare drop; we took advantage of that many times. It also benefited UA, because I would book medium-high fares more readily, knowing I could use the difference if I happened to check again and they dropped.
You think correctly on both accounts - and yes, to no surprise, we're now using the less consumer friendly CO way
Sure, but it's not worth your while unless the price goes down over $150
If this is intl., fee is likely to be $250. So, yes, when there's a precipitous drop, it can be useful. But, most often, the $250 pretty much eats up (or more than eats up any savings)
