Originally Posted by
IrisT
Sharing my end result and info for anyone else who may be interested.
The flight I was booking is on a small aircraft to a small airport only serviced by United. The $350 price increase to preferred seating was ridiculous considering there was no benefit other than being seated at the front of the aircraft (on a 13-row plane). I booked the $504 flight yesterday, and then took advantage of the 24-hour cancellation policy to rebook it for only $304 today. Had to wait on hold a half hour (I have no status), but at least the agent was kind enough to stay on the line while I finished booking the new price to make sure that flight did not disappear, too.
Thank you all for the info!
note, this could have all been done online, so no need, at least in most cases, to call and wait for an agent.
as for buying, hindsight is 20/20, but if you find a price you like, always best to lock it in when you see it. You have a couple of options - you can purchase outright, and refund within 24 hours if it doesn’t work with your schedule - or if all UA/UAX-operated, you should be able to buy a 3 or 7 day farelock that will hold the price, and you can complete the purchase within the period and when you are ready to do it. Farelock costs a bit, but it is often worth it, IME.