Originally Posted by
jsloan
The rules for ETCs are separate from the rules for future flight credit (FFC) / unused tickets.
The rules for tickets are FFC into the fare rules. Current UA rules state, for changes made prior to departure (i.e., a wholly unused ticket), "TRAVEL MUST BEGIN WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE ORIGINAL TICKET ISSUE DATE." For changes made after departure (i.e., a partially used ticket -- departure in this case refers to actually flying somewhere, not the originally scheduled departure date of a cancelled itinerary), you get one year from the departure date.
That suggest we shouldn't buy tickets too far in advance. Conceivably, one can book a flight one year out and not be able to change it to a later date.