Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
based on published statements, UA has no choice but to deliver.
I suspect differently, this was a sufficient large change that it received deep, wide internal review and has been matched by its competitors, so more than UA folks have looked into this.
There is going to be a major stink across the industry if partner flights are exempt from the policy.
It's not partner flights, but partner
fares, that don't fall within the policy.
It absolutely wouldn't surprise me at all if UA had people employed in these positions who didn't know that UA sells non-UA fares. (It wouldn't surprise me if DL and AA had similar people with a similar lack of knowledge). The US airline industry tends to be somewhat myopic this way.
It's also possible that they knew about it and decided to handle it by issuing "one time exceptions" when people complain.
Ultimately, it comes down to whether or not you're the sort of a person who assumes that an advertisement will be honored or who reads the fine print of a contract. If I buy a fare with a change fee, I'm going to assume that it will be charged, but I will ask for an exception due to the advertisements.
Regardless, it's a bit of a moot point here, because OP's fare didn't have a change fee, and they will not be waiving cancellation fees without a reason (e.g., a schedule change), regardless of whose fare it is.