Feb 24, 2019, 12:37 pm
Last edit by: onthesam
Not publicly published but a long existing practice
Multiple reports of success in 2019 including one in June and one in July, 2019 in which the $50 processing fee was charged separately and then an ETC issued for the gross fare difference.
Another recent case in this thread is late 2018.
A successful case of repricing and keeping a confirmed upgrade.
Another recent case in this thread is late 2018.
A successful case of repricing and keeping a confirmed upgrade.
Only $50 change fee if fare goes down within 30 days... Did I miss the memo?
Mar 5, 2019, 12:24 pm
#91
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BOS/EAP
Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
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I asked very politely and I got the full refund of the fare difference without the $50 charge per ticket. I did have to book a new itinerary at the lower price and then UA customer service cancelled and refunded the old itinerary. And gained a more loyal customer.
FWIW my fare drop was $170 per ticket times 4 tickets.
FWIW my fare drop was $170 per ticket times 4 tickets.
Jun 8, 2019, 3:16 pm
#92
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Bellevue, WA
Programs: UA Plat/1MM, IHG Plat, Bonvoy Titanium, NEXUS
Posts: 21
United fare “Downgrade Policy” still intact
If on UA metal they can keep the UG intact. Takes a bit of finagling, but I have gotten it done before. Make sure the agent understands that before making any changes. The problems arise when you have upgraded segments on airline partners ... those don't survive ticket re-issues.
The key take home point:
1. Fare difference must be >$50
2. Must be purchased within 30 days and via United.com only
3. Must be on exactly the same flights/itinerary
4. Premier Service Desk may not be able to see all the website fare offered on United.com; if that’s the case, ask to be transferred to the Web Help Desk.
5. $50 charge per ticket, not per reservation
Jul 14, 2019, 12:54 pm
#93
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Chicago IL US
Programs: UA 1K; National Executive Elite; Hertz PC & Hotels Galore
Posts: 949
Extremely helpful agent! I can now also confirm policy is indeed intact. Pretty much everything on this thread is correct.
Though she originally surmised the rule (similar to the 24-hour rule) required a refare to be within 30 days of original issue (and not reissue), the phone agent end up reading the entire policy right off the screen as we determined that a price change within 30 days of a reissue date was indeed permitted a refund, and that the itinerary need not have UA metal on it (NH codeshare and NH native).
Original Purchase Date 6/2/19
Change Date 7/8/19
Refare Date: 7/14/19
Price Drop: $594.20
The agent initially could not pull up the fare but we did not need to go to the web desk -- rate desk was able to locate it. Paid $50 on a CC got my ETC for the gross fare difference.
Though she originally surmised the rule (similar to the 24-hour rule) required a refare to be within 30 days of original issue (and not reissue), the phone agent end up reading the entire policy right off the screen as we determined that a price change within 30 days of a reissue date was indeed permitted a refund, and that the itinerary need not have UA metal on it (NH codeshare and NH native).
Original Purchase Date 6/2/19
Change Date 7/8/19
Refare Date: 7/14/19
Price Drop: $594.20
The agent initially could not pull up the fare but we did not need to go to the web desk -- rate desk was able to locate it. Paid $50 on a CC got my ETC for the gross fare difference.
Oct 31, 2019, 2:02 pm
#95
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,630
Have 1K/GS status or wait for a schedule change then cancel and rebook (and in that time the award space might change again).
Nov 3, 2019, 12:49 pm
#96
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
A belated welcome to FT!, GoofyW
UA has a policy of refunding paid fare drops within the first 30 days of purchase for a $50 service fee. Worth a try for award tickets.
UA has a policy of refunding paid fare drops within the first 30 days of purchase for a $50 service fee. Worth a try for award tickets.
Apr 6, 2020, 2:30 pm
#97
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, UA Premier Platinum, National Executive
Posts: 515
Fare dropped after tickets booked
I have a trip to India booked in August for my family of 4. Since I booked the ticket in January, the fares have dropped ~$2000 for the same flights. Do I have any option to get a refund of the difference, or to cancel and rebook at the lower rate?
Apr 6, 2020, 2:34 pm
#98
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,030
What is in the t&c's for cancellation? {no one on FT know the t&c's you agreed to}
If the price rises do you contact the airline to pay more?
Apr 6, 2020, 2:38 pm
#99
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,415
Some agents may be willing to offer to do this for a $50 administrative fee, instead of the entire change fee, but I believe that policy is only supposed to be good for 30 days after the original ticketing, so it may not apply.
Apr 6, 2020, 3:14 pm
#100
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA Silver, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 14,891
For most tickets booked prior to March 2, you can elect to pay the change fee and rebook to the lower fare. If your tickets are non-refundable, the difference would be returned as an Electronic Travel Credit good for two years. Note that non-refundable fares booked today are being written with a provision where United would keep the difference if the fare were to drop yet again. (FYI: for non-refundable fares, expect to be asked to pay the change fee in new money -- they generally won't subtract it from the amount to be refunded. So, if the change fee is $300 per person, you'd pay $1200 and get a travel credit for $2000.
Some agents may be willing to offer to do this for a $50 administrative fee, instead of the entire change fee, but I believe that policy is only supposed to be good for 30 days after the original ticketing, so it may not apply.
Some agents may be willing to offer to do this for a $50 administrative fee, instead of the entire change fee, but I believe that policy is only supposed to be good for 30 days after the original ticketing, so it may not apply.
so, yeah, OP, assuming tickets were $500 cheaper per person, and change fee is standard $300 (assuming international Y), then you’d pay the $300 change fee per person in new money, have the full value of the old tickets to use against the new, and receive 4 x $200 ETCs to use - for essentially travel in the next 3 years (ETC is valid for 2 years, for any flight available on the schedule at time of booking, which is almost a year in advance. One note: ETC is only good for UA/UAX-operates flights - so if you wanted to use for next India trip, but it involves an LH segment, or onward domestic India segment on AI or Vistara, you wouldn’t be able to use it for that.
Apr 6, 2020, 3:15 pm
#101
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Takoma Park, MD
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, UA Premier Platinum, National Executive
Posts: 515
Update: Called the premier desk. Got the tickets repriced at the lower level and got ETCs for the difference. Also did not have to pay any change fee. I love UA.
Last edited by DLrunner; Apr 6, 2020 at 3:47 pm
Apr 6, 2020, 5:40 pm
#102
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Programs: UA 1K, MR LTT, HH Dia, Amex Plat
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Apr 6, 2020, 7:26 pm
#104
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
Purchased before 3 March 2020, no change fee if travel starts by 31 May 2020
Purchased starting 3 March 2020 til 30 April 2020, no change fees for next 12 months,
Booked in January, travel in August, no waiver presently
Sep 11, 2020, 5:24 pm
#105
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: NOVA
Programs: IHG Rewards Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, UA/DL/AA Back of the plane...
Posts: 4,612
So we booked a flight using ETCs on August 14th for travel in February and it looks like the fares have dropped by about $70 for each ticket. I think with the current state of things there is nothing we can do as changes do not result in any residual value being returned (in any form). I just wanted to check to see if my understanding is correct.