Originally Posted by
jsloan
Actually, I think the standard UA fare template allows for changing the return at any time using historical fares. I think they finally decided it was silly to give people who waited longer more options. The rest of your analysis is spot on, including the inability to delegate an R fare to B on the long-haul flight.
Indeed - looks like they've simplified the rules so it's just dependent on whether you're changing the first coupon or not, with no conditions around whether you've flown that segment or not as there used to be. So yes, it's likely better to change now than later (although still not a guarantee due to the fact prices can go still go down over time - but generally less likely that will happen than them going up!)