A-Class Refunds
 

Booked multi-leg domestic trip / A-class / refundable. Only traveled part of the way and called to cancel remaining legs. A week later, still no email, no refund and no idea what my refund will even be. The UA refund webpage says "processing" - do I just have to sit and wait? :td:

Since you flew some portion, the ticket needs to be refared before refund. IME it takes closer to 2 weeks to get a response.

Plus not all A fares domestically are refundable. All of my P fares TPA-EWR (really V Ups) are now listing as A fares and are, in reality, S Ups. These carrey the same $200 charge for changes and any non-refundable economy fare.

I've noticed this too … Isn't this a deceptive trade practice by UA?

This a practice of multiple carriers, there are a couple thread on "-UP" fares - such as
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...yup-fares.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...plain-dot.html

In what way? The fare rules (including change fees and refundability) are available at booking time, and it's every traveler's responsibility to read them if it matters.

+1. Even if I don't think I will need to change/cancel, this is one thing I will read before booking on any carrier, anytime so I know exactly what change/cancel penalties are.

Most fares ex-US at least will give you credit for unused value - a fee. Some carriers in other regions have fares with no changes allowed at all, and like a pre-paid hotel, if you don't use it for the date you booked, you lose the $ completely.

They make it really hard though. You have to:

1. Find the link, "view fare rules and restrictions";
2. Click through the captcha;
3. Scroll through hundreds of lines of fare rules;
4. Decipher fare rule-ese to determine (i) if the fare is refundable, and (ii) what the change fee is; and
5. Check the rules for both outbound and return, since most restrictive rules govern.

Contrast this to booking a hotel room with, say Hyatt or Hilton, where the cancellation policy is either listed directly on the booking page or reachable with one simple click.

It's almost as if UA doesn't want you to know the fare restrictions ;)

To be fair, most airlines are the same way - some are easier to find what you need with the way they display the text, others are more difficult - except for the captcha. I don't like the captcha either, but UAs version is way easier to decipher the text than the ones practically every other site (I.e. Ticketmaster, etc.) uses where there are graphics, squiggly lines, etc. in the background which make it really hard to determine what you are supposed to type in.

If it's really too difficult, you can always call in and ask. Sorry - a passenger only has themselves to blame if they don't read the fare rules (which they agree to) before buying a ticket.

It's not that they don't want us to, it's that they'd prefer we didn't :D

Exactly. Why do you think the voice-over explaining the T&C at the end of a radio show give away, or a TV game show, or a pharmaceutical commercial talks at a million miles an hour? It's because all businesses, including airlines, treat the paying public like mushrooms and we keep coming back for more ;)

Or read the bolded text which says that the ticket is non-refundable and subject to change fees.

http://gallery.millerworks.net/photo.../i-MMVHv7S.gif

They really aren't hiding it there.

I think the deceptive practice they're talking about is selling a First Class ticket, but when something goes wrong they claim "You've got an economy class ticket with an option of sitting in First Class." No where does it say Economy anywhere on any of the booking screens. It used to be very clear when you booked a UP fare instead of a regular First class fare. It would show as Economy but upgraded to First. Even going into the fare rules doesn't help, the rules say the fare can be ticketed in economy or first class cabins, and the fare doesn't even have the UP on it anymore. I've filed with the DOT and from what they've told me so far they're taking it seriously as deceptive trade.

Which is irrelevant to what the OP is asking about.

OP is asking about the refund status of their ticket. Isn't A just a discounted premium class ticket? So even if it wasn't an -up fare (and doesn't sound like there's any proof either way if it was/wasn't) it may still be subject to change or refund fees, or even be non-refundable? I've also seen tickets that are refundable before departure, but can't be refunded after departure, which is the situation it sounds like the OP is in.

Those details all come in the fare rules (-up fare or not), which a passenger should be reading before purchase so they know what to expect in situations like this.

The problem is you think you have an A fare, but in reality according to them "it's an economy class fare say H, that allows you to sit in first if A space is available." Normally it's P but I've had some of these book into A for the option I'm getting according to them. This is what I'm trying to point out. You think you've got an A fare, but in reality have a H or some other fare, and there's nothing to tell you that. When I see P/A I think I'm booking a full first class fare, which should include refund-ability.

And IMO, unless you are buying a full F, C or Y fare, I think its silly to assume that everything is going to be refundable. Which is why the fare rules are there - even if you buy one of those full fares - to tell you the terms you are agreeing to. Even in one of those full fares, I would still read the terms to be sure.

So whether its an N-up (I don't know if those exist, but you get the point), or genuine A fare, its the fare rules, which are accessible at the time of booking, and fairly easy to save for future reference, that will determine the refundability, if there are fees to refund, and if it is possible to refund post-departure.

The -up fare as a deceptive practice is fine for discussion - in another thread. Here its not relevant, The OP isn't saying they were denied a premium class seat - they are attempting to refund a fare post-departure. Which will be based on whatever fare rules they agreed to (even if they don't know what they are).

And if you want an example of a fare rule one might find surprising (though in the opposite way), most would assume all L fares, as a fairly low fare class, is non-refundable. When I've booked/looked at these ex-BOM, they are refundable (for a fee) - and I was surprised to see this. So to assume they are not may seem silly, but its not. No matter the fare, its always good to know what the basic rules on changes/refunds/fees are.