Originally Posted by
Often1
OP - Worry less about FF and UA and be concerned about entry/departure, hotels abroad. Yes, you it is possible to do this under different names, but extremely ill-advised in many countries. Spend the $, get the amended passport and be done with it.
Why? If the name in the passport matches the name on the ticket - whether it's the old name or the new one - there should be no problem, whether it's on the flight or entering another country or checking into a hotel. There is no legal requirement for married couples to use the same surname (and there are many countries where women don't change their name on marriage, ever), so there is really no pressing need to get the passport amended.