wmz

Hi,

I currently have a few awards that I'd like to potentially add/drop/change segments on. I'm 1K, so I was hoping I'd be able to make these changes with no fees.

1. LAX-SFO (UA)-LIS (TP)-MXP (TP) Y-J-J

• Is it possible to drop LAX-SFO if I end up originiating from SFO? None of the partner segments have any more availability.

2. LAX-WAW (LO)-MXP (LO) J-J

• There's an earlier WAW-MXP flight on LO with no J availability, but there's Y. I tried calling in and asking to change the second leg to the earlier flight, but I was told that these are "married segments", and without more LAX-WAW availability, it's impossible to change either segment.
• Is there anything I can do here? Would LO just allow me to standby on an earlier flight at the airport?

3. MUC-LIS (TP)-SFO (TP) J-J

• If inventory on SFO-LAX opens up in J or Y, would I be able to call in and tack it on without reissuing the ticket?
• The previous agent I spoke with said it would be an extra award and that I couldn't change the destination without reissuing.

As an AA EXP, I was able to make these kind of segment changes in the past without reissuing the whole ticket, so I was surprised that I couldn't do these things with UA. Should I HUCA, or am I out of luck?

Melodsal

You should be able to make those changes, but it depends on the agent you get. In the past I’ve had to call a few times to get an agent who was able/willing to use the old system to price it manually. Be prepared to stay on hold for a long time for them to figure it out.

jsloan

Maybe, but it will take a good agent. You could try doing it online, and it might work, or it might leave you with no valid ticket and a mess to clean up.

Probably not, although you can certainly ask again, and no.

Maybe, but maybe not, unless the inventory appears on a search for MUC-LAX.

UA tightened up their restrictions considerably a couple of years ago. Part of it was to prevent some of the abuses that were common under the older system, but, IMO, part of it was that the ticketing / reissue system gets a little flaky sometimes, and it was not uncommon to show up at the airport and find out that the partner airline had cancelled your reservation months earlier. (This happened to me once, and there are plenty of other similar stories on the board).

The current system that agents are supposed to use essentially seems to treat a change as if it were a cancellation and rebooking, meaning that if you can see inventory when you search from origin to destination, you can change to it, and if you don't, you can't. UA inventory can be held (and agents will do so routinely), but partner inventory generally cannot be.

Stitching together awards -- "I see this flight from MUC to SFO and this other flight from SFO to LAX" -- officially requires that each of the "stitched" pieces be charged separately (in this example: MUC-SFO plus SFO-LAX). Some agents will do it as a matter of course, especially for domestic UA connections. Others will default to "no."

I expect the rules to be enforced more strictly post November 15; all award flights aft that date will use a DL-style "no award chart" system.

Honestly, I'm impressed you were able to find that much TATL J inventory from the west coast. And, hey, at least you didn't have to pay fuel surcharges.

jsloan

Maybe. You can certainly ask.

Precisely.

wmz

Thanks, here's a data point on (2) at least: J opened up on the earlier WAW-MXP flight, and I got an agent who made an exception and changed just that segment while keeping my LAX-WAW. Hopefully I'll get lucky with the other 2 changes too.

adambadam

Is there some backtracking rule that you can only have a layover at the same airport once? Trying to change a booking but I am getting different results when I search what is available as a new ticket vs when I make the change to the return legs I want to change.

jsloan

No, there is no such rule.

It sounds like you're just running into a limitation with United's search engine. Try calling.

JayhawkCO

​​​​​​
Correct. I just booked a ticket transiting JNB and ADD twice no problem.

Chris

ClimbGuy

I am trying to quote an excursionist perk routing, I am doing a r/t IAD-FLL it shows at the saver rate which should be 25K miles round trip for the excursionist part, I would then use the perk for travel from LHE to MLE which is within the Central Asia zone.

It is quoting me as if I book three one ways

The trip from LHE to MLE does require transit through BKK which is in a different zone, does that matter?

findark

Yes. Travel needs to be within the region.

ClimbGuy

meaning if my origin and destination are within one region, but I have to connect outside the region it isn't allowed?

JimInOhio

Maybe others do but I don't understand the question. Example?

jsloan

That's correct.

OP wants to fly from LHE to MLE via BKK. LHE (Lahore, Pakistan) and MLE (Malé, Maldives) are both in the Central Asia region, but BKK is in the South Asia region. That flight is not eligible for the Excursionist Perk. (The only *A airlines that fly to LHE are Thai and Turkish, so it's not possible to use the Excursionist Perk on any flight to or from LHE).

JimInOhio

I kind of gathered that but what the heck does it have to do with IAD or FLL? That's what threw me off.

ClimbGuy

Thank you jsloan, you accurately described what I am looking to do. I took a closer look at the rules, found at:

I bolded the second and third bullet point, both refer to the origin and destination. Where is the rule that states if travel from origin to destination that are within the same defined region requires transit through a different region the itinerary does not qualify for the Excursionist Perk?