Quick question: can I trace/track my delayed baggage online via UA website when they have transferred the bag to a Delta flight for rerouting?

I flew UA IND-ORD-AUA (no weather delay, full fare ticket, pd $25 bag fee) on Sunday but as of Tuesday morning no sign of bag. Online tracking says UA sent bag to Delta on Monday, rerouting it ORD-ATL-AUA for Monday arrival. Assume it was arbitrarily chosen to not get loaded in ORD on Sunday as similar bag with flying companion arrived with no complications. Can anyone advise me on what I can spend with reasonable assurance UA will reimburse? I've avoided UA since merger and feeling no love yet as I wear the same winter jeans for 3rd day of 7 day beach vacation/wedding anniversary. Grr.

Best to call and ask?

They will tell you amount and what can be purchased. Have done this twice prior.

If you flew full fare, you should have gotten a free bag?

+1 - Why not spend the time calling UA instead of posting on FT? Don't expect to be reimbursed for a nickel unless you've got authorization. You will likely get it here.

Do you have a baggage tracking number with Delta? Make sure you get that and also call Delta.

Thanks to all for helpful input. Communication with United complicated by limited English-speaking phone agents who seemed to be reading scripted responses that did not address my questions. Repeated call-backs finally yielded native English speaker who did comprehend my questions & at least provided file reference number (but not Delta tracking number). Online tracing results indicate "arrived at airport" (didn't specify WHICH airport) one day late and "delivered" (but didn't specify delivered WHERE) two days late .. yet our hotel bell desk claims no sign of bag yet. Hotel clerk has left msg with Delta baggage agent at AUA airport asking for update.

At this point, that's probably your best course of action. If you can get the Delta baggage agent to track your bag (this is where a tracking number would be very useful), you should be able to find exactly where it's at. ... it could be sitting in Delta's baggage claim office in AUA for the last day or two.

According to .bomb... No.

i recently had a similar experience with a rebooking from UA to US in irrops.

if your bag is rerouted to the other carrier, it will be overstuck with a handwritten destination tag and the barcode identifiers on the baggage will be the same, that is those initially given by UA.

i handled mine immediately at the airport on arrival by getting the US and UA agent together at the same computer terminal (small airport, HPN, and at the computer terminal of US - since they were the responsible carrier) and got them to tell me where my bags were. i then got the US agent to give me the necessary documentation (tracking number in their system, baggage loss complaint #) and had him call the airport where my bags actually were (EWR) to start the return process.

right now if the bags are in DL's control and you arrived on DL it is their responsibility. if the bags are still in UAs control because they were not properly handed off you need to figure out where in the system that happened and get someone at UA or DL to get a person on the phone at that station. otherwise it could be a long wait. i would be willing to wager that if you gave them the UA baggage claim numbers, they would be able to locate them based on that, assuming the reroute process works the same for UA->DL as for UA->US.

Just a quick followup for anyone interested...the delayed luggage arrived on the 3rd night of our 7 night Aruba vacation. After wearing the same winter clothes on Sun, Mon, and Tues, my frustrated wife finally purchased 4 basic items of clothing late Tues afternoon. We submitted claim ($215) to United with all documentation their form required and heard nothing for 2 months. (Used FedEX, signature required, for tracking.) Called United today at 1-800-335-2247 and learned the Claims Dept typically takes 12 WEEKS to respond. Suggestion to all: if you transfer through ORD enroute to Aruba, purchase ticket with a credit card (e.g. DISCOVER) that offers no-hassle, free delayed baggage insurance. DISCOVER will reimburse up to $500 for essentials if baggage is 3 hours or more late. If you make a claim to United as we did, be sure to retain the reference file number of the delayed/lost bag and the baggage claim receipt number along with detailed records of any authorization they provide. It is insulting that United charges $25 for a checked bag only to go through this ORDeal (pun intended).