Jan 4, 2015, 2:01 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This wiki was created to distill SDC (and related standby) down to a set of rules in the hopes of benefiting others.
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
Please note that the United.com “change flight” link before checking in within T-24, is broken. The website may not show all available options and will often attempt to collect the change fee rather than the SDC fee (if any).
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Standby
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
- The departure time of the first segment of the old itinerary and the departure time of the first segment of the new itinerary must both be within 24 hours of the moment that the change is made.
- Only applies to UA/UX operated flights, domestic or international. Changing from a non-UA operated to UA operated may be possible.
- The ultimate origin and destination airports must remain the same.
- Routing can be changed (addition, deletion, or change of connection points) but the routing rules of the original fare usually apply.
- All remaining unflown segments in single fared itinerary are considered together (i.e., if you're flying WWW-XXX-YYY-ZZZ, you can go to a kiosk at XXX and potentially fly XXX-AAA-ZZZ or XXX-ZZZ direct).
- SDC can be done an unlimited number of times, and can therefore be used to extend a trip indefinitely (pending availability).
- SDC costs $75 for Members and Silvers - the fee is waived for Golds and up (plus any applicable fare difference, see below). *G's may also get free SDC, although there is no mention of this in the official rules. Once in-route, fees for an earlier connecting flight may be waived per GG SDC Line 118.
- Non-elites on the same PNR benefit from any waived fees for SDC.
- No fare difference is charged so long as there is availability on all of the new segments in the originally ticketed fare class. Fare class availability in all classes often opens up after T-24 and almost always opens up at T-3 unless the plane is very full.
- SDC on bulk tickets, including United Specials, is not permitted.
- SDC is permitted on both domestic and international itineraries.
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
- United mobile app
- Kiosk
- Phone
- On united.com, right now only the "Search Other Flight Options" button during On-Line Check-In (OLCI) works. This has spotty availability, particularly if the change would involve paying an additional fare due to fare bucket non-availability.
- Counter/Gate (although reports are that most airport agents are not familiar with the SDC policy and may not allow you to SDC to a valid itinerary--you can try to direct them to look up GG SDC, but they often won't understand that what you're trying to do is permitted by those rules)
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
- Violating various non-routing fare rules (day/time, minimum stay, etc.): Y
- Change destination to ultra-close airport (see the old S*FAR/STANDBY): A
- Change destination to a co-terminal: N*
- Change destination to an entirely different place: N
- Change itinerary at the beginning to include illegal layovers (> 4 hours): N*
- Change itinerary at the layover point (using kiosk, app, or agent) to create an otherwise illegal layover: Y
- Change itinerary at the beginning to add a layover point not permitted by the routing rules: N*
- Change itinerary at a layover point to add another layover not permitted (either in terms of number of segments or routing rules) by the routing rules: Y
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before or after the original flight: N*
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before the original flight, if the previous day's flight has been delayed: Y (based on one report)
- Combining separately-fared segments to do SDC (e.g. XXX-YYY+YYY-ZZZ -> XXX-ZZZ): A
- Change UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to UA metal: A
- Change from UA metal to UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: N (see post 1813 for one exception)
- Change from UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to a different UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: ??
- Change on a non-UA ticketed segment: N* (with potential dire consequences)
- Change from an upgraded flight into Y on the new flight: Y
- Change from a GPU-upgraded flight into J/F on the new flight: A
- Change from a CPU-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: N*
- Change from an instrument-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: A*
- Non-elite on different PNR benefiting from Elite's waived-fee SDC: A
- Change at origin airport after tendering a checked bag: N
- Change at layover airport when a bag has been checked: N
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Code:
EVERYDAY AWARD AND REVENUE BUCKETS ARE TO LEVEL OUT WITHIN 2H OF DEPARTURE
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions (with Wiki) {Archive}
Mar 3, 2017, 1:55 pm
#2161
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 201
I am UA*Platinum and have several times used the Same-Day-Change option. It's really, really fantastic!
There's one thing I don't understand though. Every time I have tried to use it, to switch to any of the proposed alternative flights the fee that appeared was always $0. That happened even on super cheap fares, like an LAX-SFO ticket I bought for $69.
A month ago I bought an Economy Saver Award ticket to fly from Austin to SFO on a Sunday. I booked the first flight of the day (really early) because it was the only one where Economy Saver was available. However, 24 hours before that flight, I was able to switch to the other flights (even though Economy Saver was not available) free of charge.
Hence, I am somewhat confused. In what instances would I need to pay? Will UA let me switch to any flights free of chargfe as long as there is an empty seat?
Thank you
There's one thing I don't understand though. Every time I have tried to use it, to switch to any of the proposed alternative flights the fee that appeared was always $0. That happened even on super cheap fares, like an LAX-SFO ticket I bought for $69.
A month ago I bought an Economy Saver Award ticket to fly from Austin to SFO on a Sunday. I booked the first flight of the day (really early) because it was the only one where Economy Saver was available. However, 24 hours before that flight, I was able to switch to the other flights (even though Economy Saver was not available) free of charge.
Hence, I am somewhat confused. In what instances would I need to pay? Will UA let me switch to any flights free of chargfe as long as there is an empty seat?
Thank you
Mar 3, 2017, 2:14 pm
#2162
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,417
In order to switch for free, there needs to be availability in your current fare class. If they allowed you to SDC a saver award flight, they must have opened up saver award space on your target flight.
Mar 3, 2017, 2:42 pm
#2163
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 201
I wish I had checked on the day of travel whether I could have booked (from scratch) the Economy Saver Award too.
Mar 3, 2017, 3:46 pm
#2164
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: UA1K
Posts: 4,044
most likely elite lite. a saturday 5:40am LAX-DEN i cannot imagine many elites on that flight.
Mar 6, 2017, 4:38 pm
#2165
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: CLE (mostly)
Programs: UA Plat, Hyatt Explorist, Mlife Gold, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 823
I have an existing reservation AAA-ORD-BBB.
Change in travel plans means I'd like to stay in ORD for another day to meet with friends.
If I fly the AAA-ORD leg, can I SDC after I land, and push the ORD-BBB segment out until the following day, or can I only SDC before the first segment of a flight?
Change in travel plans means I'd like to stay in ORD for another day to meet with friends.
If I fly the AAA-ORD leg, can I SDC after I land, and push the ORD-BBB segment out until the following day, or can I only SDC before the first segment of a flight?
Mar 6, 2017, 4:52 pm
#2166
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,417
Mar 6, 2017, 4:53 pm
#2167
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
I have an existing reservation AAA-ORD-BBB.
Change in travel plans means I'd like to stay in ORD for another day to meet with friends.
If I fly the AAA-ORD leg, can I SDC after I land, and push the ORD-BBB segment out until the following day, or can I only SDC before the first segment of a flight?
Change in travel plans means I'd like to stay in ORD for another day to meet with friends.
If I fly the AAA-ORD leg, can I SDC after I land, and push the ORD-BBB segment out until the following day, or can I only SDC before the first segment of a flight?
Mar 6, 2017, 8:22 pm
#2168
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Programs: UA 1MM Premier Gold, DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriot Rewards Gold
Posts: 619
SDC with partially Code Shared Flight
Greetings,
Leaving on a UA/SN combination (UA Ticket #) for TLV on Thursday.
If the same booking code is available, can I do a SDC to a different flight, UA metal? Currently have 2 connection, can probably minimize to 2...
Thanks,
R
Leaving on a UA/SN combination (UA Ticket #) for TLV on Thursday.
If the same booking code is available, can I do a SDC to a different flight, UA metal? Currently have 2 connection, can probably minimize to 2...
Thanks,
R
Mar 6, 2017, 9:30 pm
#2169
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
You can not SDC if any partner flights are left to be flown and not changed to UA. So if you have UA+SN and want to change to different_UA+SN, that can not be done.
Mar 6, 2017, 10:14 pm
#2170
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 23
Had something similar happen a couple weeks ago on a Friday morning ORD-ATL as a Gold. Got the CPU on my original ~6am flight at T48. However elected for a few extra hours of sleep so at T24 I did a SDC to the 8:21am. At T24 to the new flight got the CPU again.
Mar 8, 2017, 7:23 am
#2171
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Germany
Posts: 136
On my inbound fare component all flights are UA operated but I have a codeshare on the outbound. It is a UA (016) ticket. Is it possible to do a SDC on the inbound?
Mar 8, 2017, 3:24 pm
#2172
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,644
Yes. In your case, once the codeshare/partner flight is flown, the rest is SDC-able if everything left is United flights.
Mar 8, 2017, 3:40 pm
#2173
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Germany
Posts: 136
Thanks! I think I was a bit unclear with inbound/outbound. The codeshare is on my flight returning home. I don't want to touch this segment. But I do want to do the SDC on the first fare component which is UA operated only.
Mar 8, 2017, 5:12 pm
#2174
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
Mar 9, 2017, 8:24 am
#2175
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: IAH
Programs: UA Gold
Posts: 73
Is standby for an earlier flight permitted then? Thinking about going to the airport early to standby because I don't want to leave at 11pm for a flight from IAH to SFO!
Edit: Nope, doesn't work. The option to standby shows up in the kiosk, but the kiosk will tell you that you need to see an agent. I had an agent try to help me, but in the end he said that because it's not issued on United stock, they can't change it.
Last edited by raycosm; Mar 9, 2017 at 7:26 pm