Dec 27, 2016, 9:23 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
United's Announcement and FAQ
Kacee's Interpretation
Main Impact Since October 6
Useful Links
This is an archive thread, the active thread is Award booking questions/ issues/ routing/ excursionist problems / help
Kacee's Interpretation
Main Impact Since October 6
- Fee Changes such as platinum members are subject to various award fees
- No more free stopover - replaced with Excursionist Perk
- Agents no longer have the ability to find routings that do not show up on united.com
- Manually constructing trips using multi-city search results in multiple award fares being charged
- Changing any segment MIGHT require current availability for all existing Os&Ds in the PNR (as if a brand new booking is made) - YMMV
- Singapore Airlines segments are priced separately (add-ons)
Useful Links
This is an archive thread, the active thread is Award booking questions/ issues/ routing/ excursionist problems / help
UA award booking,change questions/fees/issues/routing/excursionist problems {Archive}
May 16, 2018, 6:50 am
#2521
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,346
Though there is XN space on CLE-ORD for the 6am flight for that day.-RM
May 16, 2018, 6:55 am
#2522
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: CLE
Programs: UA MileagePlus Premier Platinum
Posts: 1,360
Just call UA and have them book it?! You'd need to call anyway because you're paying for a business class ticket using miles so you can waitlist the CLE-ORD segment for business and if "I" opens up you'll get moved up automatically (assuming you're next on the waitlist, of course). UA phone rep should be able to book this for 70K miles and waitlist you all in one call.
-RM
-RM
I'll call and see what happens.
May 16, 2018, 7:31 am
#2523
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
Safe Travels,
James
May 16, 2018, 8:25 am
#2524
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: UA:1k; MR: PLT; Hilton: Gold
Posts: 1,324
Some agents claim that when you call in but from my experience that's just not the case. There were cases where it was clear my upgrade should have cleared (i.e. positive space) and the agent was able to push through the upgrade. If you don't have success with one agent call back and try a different agent (quality varies from poor to amazing). Persistence seems to pay off with United!
Safe Travels,
James
Safe Travels,
James
Pushing through an upgrade is not the same. Awards are through a different ‘black box’ system where agents typically see the same results we do. Advice as given throughout this thread: trying calling to book first. If that doesn’t work (likely), then book the segments you can piece together obline, then call. IME agents are much more aware of the issue and are a little more helpful than when this issue first started.
May 16, 2018, 8:55 am
#2525
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,480
Actually the agents have been forced to use an interface that presents the same options as the website. The backend is completely different, which is why an agent who knows what he/she is doing, or has special tools, can change anything.
May 16, 2018, 12:36 pm
#2526
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,424
I think best guidance would still be book ORD-OTP and try to add-on CLE-ORD? But either way you're just trying to get an agent to go to the backend system.
May 16, 2018, 12:55 pm
#2527
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: CLE
Programs: UA MileagePlus Premier Platinum
Posts: 1,360
Thanks, everybody, for all your suggestions.
May 17, 2018, 7:11 pm
#2528
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,578
Is there any way to do the following that anyone can think of?
USA west coast to HKG or TYO, stopover, then to HKG or TYO (whichever wasn't first) and then back to the west coast USA for either a total of 155k (75 on UA one way and 80k on partner)?
USA west coast to HKG or TYO, stopover, then to HKG or TYO (whichever wasn't first) and then back to the west coast USA for either a total of 155k (75 on UA one way and 80k on partner)?
May 17, 2018, 7:18 pm
#2529
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
HKG-TYO cannot qualify for Excursionist Perk, since they are in different award regions.
May 17, 2018, 7:22 pm
#2530
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,578
That is what I thought, but was not sure if I was missing a way around it. What an absolute screw of a system now. Japan is its own region? Oh brother.
May 17, 2018, 7:26 pm
#2531
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
May 17, 2018, 8:58 pm
#2532
Join Date: Feb 2001
Programs: IHG Diamond, HH Diamond, BW Diamond Select, Accor Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 4,228
Always has been. Two possible uses of the excursionist perk in your situation are:
1) Visit somewhere else too. There are dozens of places you can go from HKG. Then just buy a HKG-NRT return flight.
2) As HKG and NRT are two of the most expensive airports in the region to fly out of, it may possibly be cheaper to fly USA-HKG/HKG-X and pay for X-NRT return than to fly USA-HKG and pay for HKG-NRT return.
1) Visit somewhere else too. There are dozens of places you can go from HKG. Then just buy a HKG-NRT return flight.
2) As HKG and NRT are two of the most expensive airports in the region to fly out of, it may possibly be cheaper to fly USA-HKG/HKG-X and pay for X-NRT return than to fly USA-HKG and pay for HKG-NRT return.
May 20, 2018, 10:00 am
#2533
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,480
I was booked SFO-SEA-TPE-BKK, UA-BR-TG (with SFO-SEA in Y). Have been checking multiple times a day, hoping to change to the SFO-TPE nonstop on BR. This afternoon (<11 days out), it finally opened. But the bad news: The TG segment TPE-BKK is now only available in X. So I figured I'd give "Change Flights" a shot with the hope of keeping my already booked segment in TG J. And it worked! Now booked and ticketed in I on both flights. Went to BR and TG websites and successfully selected seats.
I would not have tried this if the long-haul space (SFO-TPE) had not also been available. Too risky this close to departure IMO.
May 20, 2018, 12:56 pm
#2534
Join Date: Jan 2016
Programs: UA 1K; *G, AA Plat
Posts: 1,700
An update . . . Have been watching for BR to open I on TPE-BKK so I could do the all-BR, all lie-flat itinerary, and yesterday (less than 4 days to departure) they finally opened space on the 8:30 a.m. flight. I was again able to make the change using "change flights" but this time it was messier and the TG segment remained in my record and new BR segment initially showed on BR website as "not ticketed." However the record now appears to have been cleaned up and I'm ticketed with confirmed seats.
I would not have tried this if the long-haul space (SFO-TPE) had not also been available. Too risky this close to departure IMO.
I would not have tried this if the long-haul space (SFO-TPE) had not also been available. Too risky this close to departure IMO.
May 20, 2018, 1:09 pm
#2535
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,480
TG is angle-flat, not lie-flat. Also, you have to change terminals for TG, whereas BR is all T2.