thegong4590

Hey guys,
Wanted to get some insights on what happens when you miss your flight and your ticket is non-refundable. I'm just starting full-time out of college and ideally I'd like to fly back home for Thanksgiving/Xmas. But because of the hours and unpredictable nature of the job its going to be a last minute decision thrown down by my boss (so I wont know for sure until its the week of Thanksgiving).

If I purchase a ticket now (since its cheaper) but arent able to make my flight, is there anyway I can get any credit from United for a future purchase? Havent experienced this situation before so I was wondering if United provides some sort of flexibility with charging a fee/credit or whether 100% is lost money. And would premier status help with this at all? Thanks

aacharya

You will lose $200 as a change fee, as long as you cancel before the flight.

Status does not factor in whatsoever.

PV_Premier

with a $200 change fee plus a fare difference it is almost unequivocally better to wait and buy closer to the time of travel. if you buy a G fare now and need to change it, you'll pay up to whatever is available at the time of change plus the $200 fee so you will almost certainly end up spending more if you do have to change at the last minute at these busy travel periods. only you know what is the risk and your tolerance for it.

Often1

To be clear, you don't lose the $200. You must pay that in addition to the credit amount when you eventually use the credit. Depending on the cost of the new ticket, this may or may not make a difference.

While I would generally counsel waiting to buy, that is not true for the two holidays. Those flights often sell out and/or are available only at full Y fares close in.