Originally Posted by
Enigma
Yep, if she doesn't take that first flight she'll have the return cancelled automatically.
Can the flight be changed to be later? If the flights 14+ days out you can change it for free.
Otherwise you can change the ticket, but you'll be slugged a big fee.
It's 21 days for tickets booked after 5/15:
http://www.united.com/page/article/0...37;2Fawardfees
If your flight is farther than 21 days out, what I think
Enigma is recommending is that you keep the same routing and check for availability later that day. Changes outside of the 21-day window that keep the same routing are free.
If you decide you can't use the ticket and have to redeposit the miles, you can search for flight dates with availability on the same routing very far into the future and change to that itinerary. Between now and then, hope for a 90-minute+ schedule change that will allow you to cancel and redeposit your miles for free. Otherwise, cancellation or changes will incur a $150 fee unless you're using a 1K's miles.