Jan 4, 2015, 2:01 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
This wiki was created to distill SDC (and related standby) down to a set of rules in the hopes of benefiting others.
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
Please note that the United.com “change flight” link before checking in within T-24, is broken. The website may not show all available options and will often attempt to collect the change fee rather than the SDC fee (if any).
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Standby
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
The official "rules" can be found here. In practice, some of the rules almost always apply, and some are more flexible.
Note there have been reports of SDC to one segment removing confirmed CPU upgrades on downline segments. If maintaining the confirmed upgrade is important then these changes should be handled with care.
Most Frequently Asked Question: When do I call/go online to make the change?
Follow this flowchart:
Question 1: Are you within 24 hours of your currently scheduled UA(*) operated flight that you're trying to change off of? If yes, continue to Question 2. If no, continue to answer 1.
Question 2: Are you within 24 hours of the first UA operated flight you're trying to change on to? If yes, continue to to Answer 2. If no, continue to Answer 1.
Answer 1: No, you cannot call/go online yet to make an SDC.
Answer 2: Yes, then you can call/go online to make an SDC.
General Baseline Rules
These are the general rules that usually apply to SDC's; falling outside these rules usually requires payment of a full change fee and the fare difference:
- The departure time of the first segment of the old itinerary and the departure time of the first segment of the new itinerary must both be within 24 hours of the moment that the change is made.
- Only applies to UA/UX operated flights, domestic or international. Changing from a non-UA operated to UA operated may be possible.
- The ultimate origin and destination airports must remain the same.
- Routing can be changed (addition, deletion, or change of connection points) but the routing rules of the original fare usually apply.
- All remaining unflown segments in single fared itinerary are considered together (i.e., if you're flying WWW-XXX-YYY-ZZZ, you can go to a kiosk at XXX and potentially fly XXX-AAA-ZZZ or XXX-ZZZ direct).
- SDC can be done an unlimited number of times, and can therefore be used to extend a trip indefinitely (pending availability).
- SDC costs $75 for Members and Silvers - the fee is waived for Golds and up (plus any applicable fare difference, see below). *G's may also get free SDC, although there is no mention of this in the official rules. Once in-route, fees for an earlier connecting flight may be waived per GG SDC Line 118.
- Non-elites on the same PNR benefit from any waived fees for SDC.
- No fare difference is charged so long as there is availability on all of the new segments in the originally ticketed fare class. Fare class availability in all classes often opens up after T-24 and almost always opens up at T-3 unless the plane is very full.
- SDC on bulk tickets, including United Specials, is not permitted.
- SDC is permitted on both domestic and international itineraries.
How to SDC
SDC can be accomplished in a few different places (in rough order of likelihood of being able to get the rules bent):
- United mobile app
- Kiosk
- Phone
- On united.com, right now only the "Search Other Flight Options" button during On-Line Check-In (OLCI) works. This has spotty availability, particularly if the change would involve paying an additional fare due to fare bucket non-availability.
- Counter/Gate (although reports are that most airport agents are not familiar with the SDC policy and may not allow you to SDC to a valid itinerary--you can try to direct them to look up GG SDC, but they often won't understand that what you're trying to do is permitted by those rules)
NB: An SDC where the original itinerary (in one direction) has three or more segments cannot be done online.
Nuances and Loose Rules
Now for the hard part: figuring out where the flexibility is in the rules. This list is compiled from the responses to people saying "Can I do X?" where X is something that is not clearly permitted by the rules. One's likelihood of success here depends a bit on the method used for the SDC.
For each item, the following codes apply:
Y = officially permitted and possible using any method
A = not permitted but perhaps possible using an agent (phone/counter), perhaps having to HUACA
A* = mixed reports of success with an agent (phone/counter),
N* = possible only if you find a very accommodating agent
N = little or no reported success.
- Violating various non-routing fare rules (day/time, minimum stay, etc.): Y
- Change destination to ultra-close airport (see the old S*FAR/STANDBY): A
- Change destination to a co-terminal: N*
- Change destination to an entirely different place: N
- Change itinerary at the beginning to include illegal layovers (> 4 hours): N*
- Change itinerary at the layover point (using kiosk, app, or agent) to create an otherwise illegal layover: Y
- Change itinerary at the beginning to add a layover point not permitted by the routing rules: N*
- Change itinerary at a layover point to add another layover not permitted (either in terms of number of segments or routing rules) by the routing rules: Y
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before or after the original flight: N*
- Change to a flight exactly 24 hours before the original flight, if the previous day's flight has been delayed: Y (based on one report)
- Combining separately-fared segments to do SDC (e.g. XXX-YYY+YYY-ZZZ -> XXX-ZZZ): A
- Change UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to UA metal: A
- Change from UA metal to UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: N (see post 1813 for one exception)
- Change from UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment to a different UA-codeshare, non-UA-metal segment: ??
- Change on a non-UA ticketed segment: N* (with potential dire consequences)
- Change from an upgraded flight into Y on the new flight: Y
- Change from a GPU-upgraded flight into J/F on the new flight: A
- Change from a CPU-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: N*
- Change from an instrument-upgraded flight and get confirmed into available R space on the new flight: A*
- Non-elite on different PNR benefiting from Elite's waived-fee SDC: A
- Change at origin airport after tendering a checked bag: N
- Change at layover airport when a bag has been checked: N
If you encounter issues with an agent (phone or counter/gate), you can ask the agent to reference GG SDC. Additionally, GG SDC line 61 specifically references that fare classes are supposed to level out 3.5 hours before departure, so you might be able to use that to your advantage if fare classes have not leveled out and you're trying to ask an agent to open up the correct inventory or force you onto the flight.
Note -- as of 11/27/2017: A datapoint indicates that UA may have updated its GG rule regarding leveling out to state the following:
Code:
EVERYDAY AWARD AND REVENUE BUCKETS ARE TO LEVEL OUT WITHIN 2H OF DEPARTURE
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Instead of paying a same-day change discounted fee, can I stand by for my desired flight for free?
No. The only time you may standby for free is when the fare does not have any penalties for making changes, or when standing by involuntarily due to a flight irregularity.
Can I pay the same-day change discount fee with cash?
Cash will only be accepted by a United airport representative when the change is available to be confirmed, not for standby travel.
original posting by mgcsinc, initiated by jackal
Previous threads:
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions *now with WikiPost* {pre-2015 Archive}
UA Same-Day Travel Change (SDC) Fees/Questions (with Wiki) {Archive}
Apr 20, 2019, 6:00 am
#5221
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,098
Nothing offered after boarding ORD, had to call in to switch to available ORD-DEN/IAH-DFW. After the call I had options via DEN/IAH.
After boarding ORD-DEN, only other Den-Dfw flights offered even though IAH and ORD connections are available.
Although I had no problems calling in, this is a big risk as enough calls and fishy routing will eventually get an agent to stop allowing changes
After boarding ORD-DEN, only other Den-Dfw flights offered even though IAH and ORD connections are available.
Although I had no problems calling in, this is a big risk as enough calls and fishy routing will eventually get an agent to stop allowing changes
Apr 21, 2019, 1:06 pm
#5222
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Up In The Cloud
Programs: UA 1K MM; BA S, AA G; AS G; DL | SPG P50, M G, CC G, IHG P, HLT S | Hertz PC, Avis F
Posts: 682
Thanks. If OGG-SFO the night before does not have the booking class available, may I just walk up to the gate agent and ask to be put on the standby list? I am a bit concerned since it is on a different calendar day (one day earlier).
Apr 21, 2019, 1:16 pm
#5223
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,850
But then SDC should work.
Apr 22, 2019, 8:17 pm
#5224
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Up In The Cloud
Programs: UA 1K MM; BA S, AA G; AS G; DL | SPG P50, M G, CC G, IHG P, HLT S | Hertz PC, Avis F
Posts: 682
Do you have any references of same calendar day only for standby? The official website https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...ay-change.html is a bit vague (day of departure for original flight or new flight to standby?):
You may stand by if seats are not available in the purchased fare class. In these cases, the same-day change fee will apply, but will not be charged unless you are assigned a seat on your alternate flight. Changes in routing are not allowed when standing by. Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport. Once you are added to the flight standby list, you can check your real-time standby status at united.com/flightstatus or on your mobile device at mobile.united.com/info.
Apr 22, 2019, 8:28 pm
#5225
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.995MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,850
...
Do you have any references of same calendar day only for standby? The official website https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...ay-change.html is a bit vague (day of departure for original flight or new flight to standby?):
...
Do you have any references of same calendar day only for standby? The official website https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...ay-change.html is a bit vague (day of departure for original flight or new flight to standby?):
Standby may be requested on the day of departure at an airport kiosk or with a United representative at the airport.
Apr 23, 2019, 3:28 pm
#5226
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Hamburg
Programs: UA - 1K, Marriott - Titanium, Hertz - President's Circle
Posts: 155
I'm just discovering the tighter SDC options/rules while I'm at ORD, trying to SDC to tomorrow.
(update after edit: i disagree that a word i previously used is, "vulgar"...but fine.)
(update after edit: i disagree that a word i previously used is, "vulgar"...but fine.)
Last edited by craigsnyc; Apr 24, 2019 at 5:44 am Reason: vuglarity is unneeded
Apr 23, 2019, 6:45 pm
#5227
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,344
Any bets on when the first post will be about agents no longer being able to SDC flights to different days or to add a connection, etc.?
it's quite clear they aren't updating the app to 'fix' this so this is now the new norm. I'll take first guess...June 1 will be when the "official" new SDC policy comes out. Just a wild guess...
-RM
it's quite clear they aren't updating the app to 'fix' this so this is now the new norm. I'll take first guess...June 1 will be when the "official" new SDC policy comes out. Just a wild guess...
-RM
Apr 25, 2019, 12:01 pm
#5228
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: dark side of the moon
Programs: papa card, UA 1K
Posts: 707
Nice to see UA enhancing the SDC benefit.....Anyway does anyone know what the current T-X is for fare buckets leveling out is... is it 2hrs 3 hrs or other? Cheers
Apr 25, 2019, 12:31 pm
#5229
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,400
Apr 26, 2019, 1:13 am
#5230
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH, YYC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 753
Hi all. We are booked on UA100 this Sunday, Apr 28. Currently there are 37/48 booked in J, and we are playing the upgrade lottery on this one having applied a GPU on our W fare.
Is it possible these days to make a same day change and preserve our place on the upgrade list? The SYD-SFO flight is only 34/48 booked and also gives a much better routing onward to YYC for us. Any tips / advice on this??
obviously this can change at any time, and we’re more interested in the upgrade clearing than a quicker route back to Calgary but any advice would be appreciated.
Is it possible these days to make a same day change and preserve our place on the upgrade list? The SYD-SFO flight is only 34/48 booked and also gives a much better routing onward to YYC for us. Any tips / advice on this??
obviously this can change at any time, and we’re more interested in the upgrade clearing than a quicker route back to Calgary but any advice would be appreciated.
Apr 26, 2019, 4:45 am
#5231
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Hamburg
Programs: UA - 1K, Marriott - Titanium, Hertz - President's Circle
Posts: 155
You're currently on UA100 on 4/28. What flight were you trying to SDC to?
I'm fairly certain that your place on an upgrade list is flight specific. Read: if you're #1 on flight XXX and you SDC that doesn't mean you're #1 on flight YYY. I just did this on ORD-LGA. A later flight had Y3. I moved to it was #1 on the upg list. At T-1 hour I was upg'd.
I'm fairly certain that your place on an upgrade list is flight specific. Read: if you're #1 on flight XXX and you SDC that doesn't mean you're #1 on flight YYY. I just did this on ORD-LGA. A later flight had Y3. I moved to it was #1 on the upg list. At T-1 hour I was upg'd.
Apr 26, 2019, 6:28 am
#5232
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH, YYC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 753
Sorry, I should have been more specific. The question is whether if we make a SDC while we are waitlisted for upgrade on one flight, whether the GPU request automatically transfers onto the other flight.
the other flight would be UA870 SYD-SFO, which at this point in time is slightly less full in J than the SYD-IAH flight.
I actually cleared my upgrade this evening, but my fiancé did not, even though she is the same status and same fare class. Therefore pretty safe to assume she will be #1 on the list, but depending on how much they are charging for TOD upgrades it would be great to have the SDC option in our back pocket (if possible) just in case she needs it.
the other flight would be UA870 SYD-SFO, which at this point in time is slightly less full in J than the SYD-IAH flight.
I actually cleared my upgrade this evening, but my fiancé did not, even though she is the same status and same fare class. Therefore pretty safe to assume she will be #1 on the list, but depending on how much they are charging for TOD upgrades it would be great to have the SDC option in our back pocket (if possible) just in case she needs it.
Apr 26, 2019, 7:43 am
#5233
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,400
Apr 26, 2019, 7:43 am
#5234
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,410
No, if you SDC you cannot transfer the waitlist at all; the upgrade will be lost unless PZ space is available on the new flight.
Apr 26, 2019, 11:08 am
#5235
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 113
No it will not if you use the app or the website to SDC. I made the mistake of doing so recently and I called in after but they told me they couldn't wait list me even when I told them I had the certificate applied before I switched flights.