Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
Agreed, aviods a discussion of the technical rules with a agent that only cares what the computer states.
But 4 hour layover should technically work and better yet if it is not the next available flight.
But under 4 hours and not overnight, the OP's situation, the rules are clear, check thru.
This seems to have worked. I re-booked it with a 7-hour stopover in MIA (which allows for an intervening UA MIA-IAH flight), and now it shows in my upcoming trips as "Washington to Miami" instead of "Washington to Houston".
Total fare was $274.20. Pretty cheap, even if that's the equivalent of two one-ways (I didn't check), but this at least provides IRROP protection. It also required 40 Plus Points to waitlist for upgrades (20 per segment) instead of 20 total as was the case when I had booked it with the shorter stopover.in MIA.