United Website error message after I hit the payment button
 

Good Morning,

I've been trying to book a trip via united.com but keep getting an error message after I hit the payment button (using AMEX)

"! We’re sorry, but united.com was unable to complete your request. Please try later or contact united.com Support in the U.S. and Canada at 1-800-396-1751; the U.K. at 0800 028 5003; elsewhere use the local phone number."

Is the site acting up or is it me? I have tried multiple times over the past 12ish hours.

Cheers.

It could be false inventory showing.

If SHARES doesn't have the seat that you want, and the website shows it, it errors out all the way at the end.

There is a codeshare Leg with ANA NRT-MNL. However it does show up as a choice on their website.

I'm really trying to avoid calling in.

Yeah, it's possible the codeshare is showing false availability on the website.

Can you book and get the same fare at a third party (e.g., Orbitz or Expedia)?

Why avoid calling? The issue may be your credit card, and trying again and again expecting a different result isn't going to change things if your card is the problem.

The one time I have seen this message I called in. Turned out my companies' credit card issuer had mistakenly canceled my card.

No, I haven't been able to find the same routing on any third party sites. Just the ANA and United site.

OP - The specific note you receive is to try again later or to call. You've tried again later, but you apparently haven't called.

Why not call first and then post?

All you get here is speculation about whether it's false inventory, a codeshare issue or your CC has been declined. Nobody here can sort that out.

Why not report back after you call and have facts.

Because the last time I checked it was a 60 min wait time.

Well, 60 minutes is a lot less than the 12hrs you have spent trying the same thing over and over. I'm thinking of the movie "Groundhog Day" now...

Thank-you Channa for the helpful information.

I have received that same message on two occasions and became very frustrated only to call UA to find the tickets were indeed purchased. In one case I ended up purchasing two sets of tickets.

Whether it's 10 mins or 10 hours, nobody on FT can tell you what's wrong with your specific tx. Either it's worth 60 mins to grab space which may be gone if you wait, or it's not.

Likely due in part to the large number of pax who need reaccommodation due to the city-wide lockdown at BOS (in addition to weather in EWR and ORD). According to the news reports, UA and others are waiving change fees. A quick check on the UA web site verifies that change fees are being waived for travel today (2013-04-19).

It's because of false inventory. Sometimes the website is not following the real partner inventory, and it errors out t the last step. You may call web support and let them find you a new routing or apply this routing to a new higher fare basis with available inventory.(they can waive your booking fee). I met this problem last month booking a UA-NH itinerary. Called web support and they gave me a new fare which is 1000 more than the original one.
I didn't take it, and gave my money to OZ.

Exactly. I always check when this error shows up at the end of the process...sometimes the purchase did indeed go through.