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}
Nov 17, 2017, 12:32 pm
#2956
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,417
Nov 17, 2017, 9:12 pm
#2957
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,319
Unusual situation - within 24 hours of the flight (and now 10 left) - no SDC options present. Usually there were at least a few.
IAD-ORD-HKG. I was hoping to reroute for a few more PQM. What could be the reason?
IAD-ORD-HKG. I was hoping to reroute for a few more PQM. What could be the reason?
Nov 17, 2017, 9:49 pm
#2958
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,417
Nov 18, 2017, 10:40 pm
#2959
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: LAX
Programs: UA MM | BA Silver
Posts: 7,193
I have an upcoming direct flight BOS-SFO-LAX in P. I tried to have the segments split but it would increase the fare so I left it alone. There is a 3 hour layover in SFO and I would like to SDC to an earlier SFO-LAX. Is that possible? I'm thinking no, but once I arrive in SFO will an agent have a problem placing me on standby at that point?
Also, any chance I can SDC to BOS-EWR-LAX?
Also, any chance I can SDC to BOS-EWR-LAX?
Once you reach SFO, you will not be able to SDC. I've tried many times and it's ever worked - your BOS-LAX coupon has already been lifted at BOS, and there's nothing for the agent to revalidate for the earlier SFO-LAX.
Even IRROPS are a struggle at the intermediate point of a direct flight.
Even IRROPS are a struggle at the intermediate point of a direct flight.
Now with two proper segments SDC via EWR might be an option. Great agent who remembered me was efficient and knowledgeable. Get this, she has only been working at UA since March.
Last edited by anc-ord772; Nov 19, 2017 at 12:25 am
Nov 19, 2017, 12:21 am
#2960
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,891
Interesting option I saw today which I’ve never seen before for SDC: on a connection, it showed me different options for my first flight but connecting to the same connecting flight. I’ve never seen it show options where either the originating or connecting segments were the same - only where they were both different. Details: this is an award ticket in XN from US to Canada with about 8 hours between flights.
Nov 19, 2017, 1:04 am
#2961
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: EWR/LHR/SFO
Programs: UA 1K 1MM
Posts: 574
Interesting option I saw today which I’ve never seen before for SDC: on a connection, it showed me different options for my first flight but connecting to the same connecting flight. I’ve never seen it show options where either the originating or connecting segments were the same - only where they were both different. Details: this is an award ticket in XN from US to Canada with about 8 hours between flights.
Nov 24, 2017, 4:54 pm
#2962
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Programs: UA 1K, UA .53 MM, Marriott Gold, Nexus, GE, TSA Pre, Hertz PC
Posts: 581
Waived SDC for Gold Companion?
I'm trying to SDC my flight tomorrow, as a Gold. I'm traveling with a companion - the Wiki says, "Non-elites on the same PNR benefit from any waived fees for SDC." However, when I call the Premier desk, they want to charge me $75 to change her flight. Should I just keep trying with a different agent, or is the Wiki wrong? United's website doesn't explicitly state that the fee is waived, but I'm unsure if that's an actual rule?
Nov 24, 2017, 5:03 pm
#2963
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'm trying to SDC my flight tomorrow, as a Gold. I'm traveling with a companion - the Wiki says, "Non-elites on the same PNR benefit from any waived fees for SDC." However, when I call the Premier desk, they want to charge me $75 to change her flight. Should I just keep trying with a different agent, or is the Wiki wrong? United's website doesn't explicitly state that the fee is waived, but I'm unsure if that's an actual rule?
Had you checked-in? DId you request staying on the upgrade list? Which would have slot the PNR and removed the companion from your PNR?
If the split PNR was the problem, you will need to ask the agent to research the PNR history and manually override the fee.
If you still have an reluctant agent, request the agent to discuss this with a supervisor
Nov 24, 2017, 5:11 pm
#2964
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Programs: UA 1K, UA .53 MM, Marriott Gold, Nexus, GE, TSA Pre, Hertz PC
Posts: 581
When you asked about same PNR companion fee waiver, what was the answer?
Had you checked-in? DId you request staying on the upgrade list? Which would have slot the PNR and removed the companion from your PNR?
If the split PNR was the problem, you will need to ask the agent to research the PNR history and manually override the fee.
If you still have an reluctant agent, request the agent to discuss this with a supervisor
Had you checked-in? DId you request staying on the upgrade list? Which would have slot the PNR and removed the companion from your PNR?
If the split PNR was the problem, you will need to ask the agent to research the PNR history and manually override the fee.
If you still have an reluctant agent, request the agent to discuss this with a supervisor
I'll call back and ask them to discuss with a supervisor. Thanks!
UPDATE
Called back and got a different agent. I was getting a similar response - they wanted to charge me $75, but when I pressed the issue a little more, it sounded like the agent actually went to process the change and the fee was waived. All good!
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Nov 24, 2017 at 6:02 pm Reason: consecutive updatepost by same member
Nov 24, 2017, 6:00 pm
#2965
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
No advance CPU, and a challenge at the gate. Companion SDC is unclear also. Bag waiver generally will work but may take some effort.
Nov 27, 2017, 9:47 am
#2966
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
Is GG SDC line 61 for the 3.5h still a thing? Need to call in to reference it.
Nov 27, 2017, 10:00 am
#2967
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: San Francisco, CA (SFO)
Programs: UA 1K, UA .53 MM, Marriott Gold, Nexus, GE, TSA Pre, Hertz PC
Posts: 581
The companion "benefits" on a return trip when PNR is split on the outboard is generally harder to get -- is a fuzzy area. (Hence The stupid PNR auto-splitting at T-24 needs to stop )
No advance CPU, and a challenge at the gate. Companion SDC is unclear also. Bag waiver generally will work but may take some effort.
No advance CPU, and a challenge at the gate. Companion SDC is unclear also. Bag waiver generally will work but may take some effort.
Nov 27, 2017, 10:30 am
#2968
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
I just got off the phone w/ a 1K agent and referenced `GG SDC`. It seems they've updated their terms and GG SDC to say the following:
I'll update the wiki with a note regarding this.
EVERYDAY AWARD AND REVENUE BUCKETS ARE TO LEVEL OUT WITHIN 2H OF DEPARTURE
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 28, 2021 at 10:01 am Reason: formatting
Nov 28, 2017, 11:58 am
#2969
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: SJC / DPS
Programs: AS G75K, UA Silver
Posts: 1,757
That's a nice published change, if true. Should be easy to grab the desired fare class as long as Y > 0 at that time.
Last edited by pushmyredbutton; Nov 28, 2017 at 12:24 pm Reason: math
Nov 28, 2017, 12:17 pm
#2970
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: EWR/LHR/SFO
Programs: UA 1K 1MM
Posts: 574
"Within" doesn't imply "at". The old wording was "3.5 hours" not "2 hours", so if anything this is a downgrade. I never see fare classes level before T-2h, and always by T-1:15, so I presume this policy just formalises what we see consistently.