UA changed my flight after my 1K status expired. What happens to my seats?
 

Hi

I booked a flight while I was 1K for me and my family and selected E+ seats for all 5 of us. United has now changed the flight, and did not reinstate the same seats. Now when I go to select seats, I can only get 2 E+ seats (as I am now only a lowly Gold :( ).

What is their policy in this situation? If I call, will they give me the 5 E+ seats back?

Thanks!

Your status counts when you fly, not when you book (except as it relates to award availability). Therefore you are SOL.

It is your status on the date a given segment is flown. Unfortunately, this only gets picked up when a change is made for any reason, including, as here, by UA.

Thanks for the clarification. Luckily it is only from IAH to MSY!

UA policy is you only get E+ seats/other perks you're entitled to based on status on day of travel.

True but try calling -- you might just get a sympathetic agent and get lucky.

Agreed. I might play dumb -- we were all in E+ together but then UA changed our flights and I'm not able to put us all in E+ together, can you help? Small chance of success, probably, but can't hurt to try.

As Gold is only entitled to bring 1 companion into E+, the only way you can bring the others in is to pay the E+ fee. Sorry. As others have stated it is status on date of travel that counts and I hope they don't break the rules for you and give you something for free you are not entitled to. As packed as planes are these days and Silvers have to wait to get E+ you could be taking seats from people who would have paid or otherwise are entitled to.

I don't know if I'd say that it "couldn't hurt". If there are other segments on this itin, the agent could identify that you were properly dropped out of E+, and then go ahead and adjust your seats on the other segments as well.

Not sure of the likelihood on this, but it's probably greater than 0%.

Good point. If this is your outbound, I'd leave it alone -- if it's the return, I'd wait until you've flown the outbound to call.

I can't get too worked up about the "something for free you're not entitled to" aspect of this. Maybe if UA's systems automatically dropped you down to E- once your status dropped, I would feel differently. But... eh... OP was already getting something he/she wasn't entitled to because the E+ seat assignments "stick" (should OP have voluntarily dropped 3 family members down to E- just because their status has dropped, to be morally "pure" here?). I doubt calling in will work, but hey, if UA makes an exception, they make an exception.