Originally Posted by
cfischer
if no price difference ... always better to take the native flight number. Makes it easier to request services and when making changes. As long as it is a 016 ticket you still have the same re-booking flexibility.
While that’s 100% true in the abstract, it’s often difficult / impossible to get a native flight number when UA has a codeshare. Google Flights will sometimes do it; an agent might do it as long as there’s a UA flight somewhere on the itinerary. And travel agents often have the ability to choose. But if you search on united.com, and there’s a UA codeshare available on the flight, I’ve never seen a native flight number offered instead.