Is standby fee discretionary?
#31
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: What I write is my opinion alone..don't read into it anything not written.
Posts: 9,684
Heck, based on the fear of mid connects causing huge losses due to vouchers being issued, if it were such a massive cost, would surely cause MCT times to increase system wide by 3 additional hours as a safeguard. Clearly that isn't happening, so someone MUST be overestimating the cost of vouchers being generated for misconnects. Not trying to attack you here, but the opinion which some people may have. It is very shortsided.
Last edited by fastair; May 20, 2013 at 5:21 am
#32
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Houston
Programs: United Platinum, Chase Presidential Plus
Posts: 299
If I want to fly on an earlier flight the same day but I don't want to pay a standby fee. Are the agents ever allowing you to do this without paying or are they implementing the fee strictly across the board. United is who my flight is with. I don't want to go to the airport 3 hours early if it will do no good. But there are plenty of available seats on the earlier flight as of now. I know it's way more than 24 hours before my flight but I'm just trying to see if they will allow it with no fee. .Not a member of Premier, Elite or anything else. Just a regular frequent flyer member.
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,684
I think the majority of the travelers the agents in the United Club deal with are Gold and higher so I don't even think they think twice about not charging the $75 fee for Silvers...I think, most of the time, it's not that they are blatantly giving away freebies...they are just doing what they are use to and I wouldn't be suprised if they didn't know Silvers were suppose to be charged in the first place.
#34
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Morris County, NJ
Programs: UA 1K/*G, Avis Pres, Marriott Plat
Posts: 2,289
United (pmCO)'s policy is one of the BIG reasons I fly United exclusively.
The 24-hour SDC policy is absolutely fantastic. It lets me book customer meetings and be flexible about it; something I can't do with US, AA or many other airlines.
In fact, shortly after the merger (but before 3/3), I booked a pmUA flight. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I couldn't SDC to a flight the previous day but within the 24-hour SDC window. The pmUA agent was nasty and said "what part of SAME DAY change don't you understand?" I explained that Continental lets me change to any flight with availability (of which there was plenty) within the 24 hours prior to the flight.
She then said, literally, "You Continental people had better get used to it, this is United now."
Wow, could she have been more wrong?!
(In fact, that was a very memorable business trip, since I got denied the SDC, I had to stay over in a hotel. Had the TV on in the hotel room and a scrolling message popped up: "Stay indoors. Exotic animals on the loose."
In all seriousness, this is one of the places where pmCO's policy was *much* more customer-friendly than pmUA's, and one that I'm grateful has survived the merger. It really is very business-traveler-friendly.
#35
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: ORD
Programs: 1P, Avis Presidents Club, Marriott Gold Elite, RCC
Posts: 217
#36
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,634
#37
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,684
I completely disagree.
United (pmCO)'s policy is one of the BIG reasons I fly United exclusively.
The 24-hour SDC policy is absolutely fantastic. It lets me book customer meetings and be flexible about it; something I can't do with US, AA or many other airlines.
In fact, shortly after the merger (but before 3/3), I booked a pmUA flight. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I couldn't SDC to a flight the previous day but within the 24-hour SDC window. The pmUA agent was nasty and said "what part of SAME DAY change don't you understand?" I explained that Continental lets me change to any flight with availability (of which there was plenty) within the 24 hours prior to the flight.
She then said, literally, "You Continental people had better get used to it, this is United now."
Wow, could she have been more wrong?!
(In fact, that was a very memorable business trip, since I got denied the SDC, I had to stay over in a hotel. Had the TV on in the hotel room and a scrolling message popped up: "Stay indoors. Exotic animals on the loose."
In all seriousness, this is one of the places where pmCO's policy was *much* more customer-friendly than pmUA's, and one that I'm grateful has survived the merger. It really is very business-traveler-friendly.
United (pmCO)'s policy is one of the BIG reasons I fly United exclusively.
The 24-hour SDC policy is absolutely fantastic. It lets me book customer meetings and be flexible about it; something I can't do with US, AA or many other airlines.
In fact, shortly after the merger (but before 3/3), I booked a pmUA flight. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I couldn't SDC to a flight the previous day but within the 24-hour SDC window. The pmUA agent was nasty and said "what part of SAME DAY change don't you understand?" I explained that Continental lets me change to any flight with availability (of which there was plenty) within the 24 hours prior to the flight.
She then said, literally, "You Continental people had better get used to it, this is United now."
Wow, could she have been more wrong?!
(In fact, that was a very memorable business trip, since I got denied the SDC, I had to stay over in a hotel. Had the TV on in the hotel room and a scrolling message popped up: "Stay indoors. Exotic animals on the loose."
In all seriousness, this is one of the places where pmCO's policy was *much* more customer-friendly than pmUA's, and one that I'm grateful has survived the merger. It really is very business-traveler-friendly.
#38
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA Gold-MM, AA Gold-MM, F9-Silver, Hyatt Something, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,369
That would be on par with established procedures. UA charged standby if it was on any leg(s), while CO charged only on the originating flight of each direction. People who had flown their 1st leg of the day on CO could standby on the subsequent connections for free. UA adapted CO's policy, so inyour case, the UA (old CO) policy was applied correctly.
Otherwise, it is $75 on a domestic ticket unless on a refundable fare or UA gold/higher, in which case, there is no charge either.
Otherwise, it is $75 on a domestic ticket unless on a refundable fare or UA gold/higher, in which case, there is no charge either.
I have some GM friends / family who will benefit from this!
#39
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Houston
Programs: UA Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 12,623
I'm not sure this gap actually exists. A GM was flying with me in summer 2011 XXX-(UAX)-YYY-(sCO)-ZZZ and SDC'd to an earlier sCO flight YYY-ZZZ and was charged the fee by the lounge CSR at YYY.
#40
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Houston
Programs: United Platinum, Chase Presidential Plus
Posts: 299
I think the majority of the travelers the agents in the United Club deal with are Gold and higher so I don't even think they think twice about not charging the $75 fee for Silvers...I think, most of the time, it's not that they are blatantly giving away freebies...they are just doing what they are use to and I wouldn't be suprised if they didn't know Silvers were suppose to be charged in the first place.
#41
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,684
I also got free changes for the year when I wasn't silver, even when they asked and I acknowledged I was without status. I remember one time telling the UA Club rep that I had no status and asking what the cost would be to get on the earlier DCA-IAH flight. He changed the ticket and said that the system showed no fee was owed. I'm guessing that he was just giving me a freebie.
#42
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,634
When calling to do SDC over the phone, there seem to be different ways of doing it, and there seems to be differing levels of manual-ness.
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: PDX
Programs: AS 75K, BW Plat, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 10,684
So would you say they are more or less likely to waive the fee over the phone compared to in-person at the airport or UC?
#44
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,634
#45
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Up North
Programs: Skymiles, MPL Chase Premier
Posts: 782
Heck, based on the fear of mid connects causing huge losses due to vouchers being issued, if it were such a massive cost, would surely cause MCT times to increase system wide by 3 additional hours as a safeguard. Clearly that isn't happening, so someone MUST be overestimating the cost of vouchers being generated for misconnects. Not trying to attack you here, but the opinion which some people may have. It is very shortsided.
You also have to remember -- I'm at a small outstation that only flies to ORD for UA. There isn't many options to keep people on UA metal from here. Most delays here will cause the customer to go over the "late 2 hours to destination" reroute rule -- which allows for fee-free cancellations. My stance would change substantially if I had more options for customers.... I would never SDS for free if I was in ORD because of the amount of options present.