Originally Posted by
jsloan
1) Sort of. It’s increasing because the point of sale changed, not because of the currency difference.
2) Use a US-based travel agent, but then note that you need to work with that agent to make any future changes, and I don’t know if they’ll let you pay in CAD.
3) You said you had to make the purchase in CAD. If you try this, even if it does work, your receipt will be in USD.
You’ve actually hit the nail on the head — you’re paying more because the G bucket is zeroed out for a Canadian point of sale. When you change currency on the United website, you’re actually changing the point of sale. (Well, as a matter of fact, UA will set it based upon the billing address of your credit card, but since you said you need to bill in CAD, you’re probably going to be forced to use a Canadian card). AFAIK, UA is unique in doing this; most airlines will base the point of sale on either (a) the origin country or (b) the specific website you’ve selected.
You can only avoid this by purchasing through a US point of sale, but, as I stated, I’m not sure how many US sellers will accept CAD.
Sorry, I had edited my post since I found an old thread from 2014 that echoed what you said prior to your reply. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me and offer suggestions though - thanks!
The only reason I need to make the purchase in CAD is due to a promo, where I get $250 credit if I purchase $500+ with UA... only caveat is that the transaction has to be in CAD. So, a third party agency won't help me in this instance, I guess I was hoping to find a workaround by booking a domestic USA flight in CAD, refunding to FFC (hoping it was issued in USD), then re-booking my desired route at their published USD rates. I suppose this won't work if they are going to use my billing address as a Canadian one though, so I've resigned myself to picking a different date/routing with a G fare bucket available.
A bummer that UA does this, but I guess they're in the business of making money. Shrug.