On Friday I was supposed to be on the 5pm ORD-DCA. Get a call mid- afternoon saying the flight was delayed til 530. Get to ORD and go to the gate for the 4pm flight:

Me: Could I get on the standby list please?

GA: Credit card.

Me: My flight’s delayed. Do I still have to pay the fee?

GA: How late?

Me: Half an hour

GA: You still have to pay.

Me: Is there an official policy on getting the fee waived if your ticketed flight’s delayed?

GA: There's no official policy. Rule of thumb is one hour.

Me: Flightaware is showing the incoming plane for my 5pm flight isn’t getting in til 515 so I can’t imagine it’s going to turnaround 15min or even 30min.

GA: Sorry. Right now it’s still showing a 530pm departure. I’ll call your name if we can get you on this on.

So I pay the $50 and make the 4pm. Then when I get to DCA I have a voicemail from UA saying my original 5pm flight isn’t leaving til 6pm. So now I’ve had to pay that B*&! $50 fee just so I can get to my destination on time. Real nice.