N227UA

I purchased an international ticket on united.com few days ago. To my dismay, I found out today that new fare bases have kicked in to the market, and I can get the same itinerary for about almost $200 cheaper than what I paid. There is no change of fare class if this matters. Contacted United on the phone to see if I could get a refund for the fare difference to my credit card or even in voucher, but I was only told that this can be done after paying the change fee which is $300 for international. Instead of going for another agent, I googled and got a bag of different answers. Could anyone please tell me if what the agent told me is true? No refund for fare decrease after ticketing unless the change fee is paid? If this is true, I wonder how many would take advantage of this rule. I hardly ever see more than $300 fare drop for an international itinerary in coach class.

lhrsfo

Irritating indeed for the OP, but I can't for the life of me see why UA would refund for price drops after an item is purchased. Not many businesses would do such a thing.

emcampbe

The agent.is correct and that's been the way it's been for many years. Up until about 2008 you could get the lower fare without the change fee but not anymore. That's also the standard with most US-based carriers.

WineCountryUA

The agent is absolutely correct once you are outside the 24 hour window.

At one time PMUA and other airlines did free refunds on fare decreases but that stopped 3-4 years ago. Probably driven by the appearance of YAPTA and other internet fare tracking services, which made it too easy to track fare deceases..

N227UA

Yes, she mentioned it would have been possible within 24 hours. In the meantime, I'm surprised to learn that the international change fee has been increased to $300!

steppie

Happened several months ago!

Polar Bear

Deteled. Low fare guarantee does not work.

dcpdxtrans

We just got hit with those change fees and that is a bite. Two years ago the int'l change fee was only $150. The airlines see this as an easy money grab.

jpezaris

I disagree. Many, many retail businesses do exactly that. Airlines used to as well, but currently do not.

WineCountryUA

Domestic was $150 but international changes have been above $150 for awhile.

aacharya

? "A few days later" does not fit with "a low fare guarantee".

easykristine

The only reason that makes 1K valuable for me, is I book my international flights on miles, and replace them if prices for flight become reasonable. A good strategy (but not full proof) for trying to avoid the big drop in price regrets

EmailKid

My cheap P fare Biz ticket to Europe had a $450 change fee

Luckily my leisure travel is pretty set so didn't have to change anything

aacharya

You could also use farelock or other mechanisms to hold tickets.

iquitos

I have noticed fewer farelock offers on international itins lately. I have also noticed that if i search a res and start to buy it but back off it shows up in my itins. as held without a fee.