Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: DCA, IAD (not BWI if I can help it)
Programs: UA 1MM 1K, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Explorist, status-free on AA, AS, B6, DL, WN, Amtrak, etc.
Posts: 1,481
An anecdote in favor of the ask-nicely strategy: UA changed a DCA-IAH flight in March from a 738 to an E175 and moved it from 7 a.m. to 6:50 a.m. I called and asked if I could switch to the 7:30 a.m. flight on a 738 (which I'd passed on when it had been an 8 a.m. departure that cost $100 or $200 extra), and the agent said he was happy to make the change at no cost. Even though this 7:30 a.m. flight was only showing $600-ish fares.