changeable Fare class question
 

Hi, i am looking for a first or business class fare code that will allow a change of an itinerary, but not fully refundable.
Why? Here is the scenario, I booked a fully refundable ticket for my company, which now went out of business. I can refund the fare, but that will create a whole tangled scenario as the original credit card is closed as well as the business. United will not give a credit voucher(which is what I really want) as it is a fully refundable ticket. So i am looking to use the existing ticket to book another itinerary, which I can then either use, or convert in to a credit voucher for future use. (my travel plans are very much up in the air right now) What fare codes would allow me to book and then if need be cancel or re book and use the remainder as a credit voucher (even if I have to take a $200 hair cut on the change fee). So basically I am looking for the highest code that is changeable, but not refundable. If you can also tell me what the change fee would be.
Any help will be very much appreciated

You'll have to come up with new money to pay a change fee, which varies with ticket. Usually $200 for a domestic ticket, more for int'l.

Change fee should be spelled out in your receipt.

I am fine with paying the change fee, just not sure what bucket I need to book for the new ticket, so I dont get myself in to this jam again.

UA should be able to cancel the flights but keep the ticket, which will mean that the value stays with the ticket for you to reuse at a later date. They normally wouldn't do this for a fully refundable ticket, but they certainly can.

However your description of the situation does raise some interesting legal questions about who really owns the ticket. Obviously it depends entirely on the exact situation, but are you confident the ticket (or the funds from it) is really yours to use??

I am (was) the owner of the business. So it is legally mine

No creditors?

Not sure the legalities of what has to happen with the money since it was a business expense for a company that no longer exists - perhaps a lawyer would be the one to consult with for advise on that.

But if you're all clear on that, can't you just change the ticket to the cheapest one-way you can find - probably a highly competitive, cheap, probably high-frequency route, like SFO-LAX, and then take the balance as a voucher that you can use within a year. Obviously, if there are change fees on the existing ticket, you'd have to pay those first.

If I buy a cheap fare the difference infare is not given as a voucher rather it is refunded to the original credit card (which no longer exists)

Are you sure about that - have you tried it? I just did something similar and got a TCVA certificate - no refund to original card....

On another note, if they refund it to card that no longer exists, my guess is one of two things will happen. Either the bank has the account in some sort of inactive but not completely deleted state, and will likely send a check for the refund to the address on file for the card. Or, the bank will reject the payment, and UA will either send it to the address on file for the payer, if known, or contact you to figure out how to send it.

No sure knowledge of this, but my guesses, anyway. Why not start with the card issuer - tell them your situation and give them the card info, and they Should be able to tell you how they'd handle it based in the card status. Cant hurt at least to give this a shot.

It depends on the fare rules. Some work one way, and some work the other.

i think easiest is to figure out what you *actually* want to fly then just book that new ticket with the credit from the current.

IANAL, but I doubt it's that simple. If nothing else, the value of the ticket would need to be declared as income and suitably taxed.