jsloan

1) Sort of. It’s increasing because the point of sale changed, not because of the currency difference.
2) Use a US-based travel agent, but then note that you need to work with that agent to make any future changes, and I don’t know if they’ll let you pay in CAD.
3) You said you had to make the purchase in CAD. If you try this, even if it does work, your receipt will be in USD.

You’ve actually hit the nail on the head — you’re paying more because the G bucket is zeroed out for a Canadian point of sale. When you change currency on the United website, you’re actually changing the point of sale. (Well, as a matter of fact, UA will set it based upon the billing address of your credit card, but since you said you need to bill in CAD, you’re probably going to be forced to use a Canadian card). AFAIK, UA is unique in doing this; most airlines will base the point of sale on either (a) the origin country or (b) the specific website you’ve selected.

You can only avoid this by purchasing through a US point of sale, but, as I stated, I’m not sure how many US sellers will accept CAD.

WineCountryUA

Have completely reworked the wiki due the significant rule/ process changes for ETCs / FFCs.
Additions are welcome.

Will be closing a number of outdated threads and consolidating ETC and FFC discussion into this thread. As they are now more alike than different. The main differences are transferability and expiration which are cover in the wiki. And they are not usable as credits at the same time.

WineCountryUA
UA coModerator

Denguin

Sorry, I had edited my post since I found an old thread from 2014 that echoed what you said prior to your reply. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me and offer suggestions though - thanks!

The only reason I need to make the purchase in CAD is due to a promo, where I get $250 credit if I purchase $500+ with UA... only caveat is that the transaction has to be in CAD. So, a third party agency won't help me in this instance, I guess I was hoping to find a workaround by booking a domestic USA flight in CAD, refunding to FFC (hoping it was issued in USD), then re-booking my desired route at their published USD rates. I suppose this won't work if they are going to use my billing address as a Canadian one though, so I've resigned myself to picking a different date/routing with a G fare bucket available.

A bummer that UA does this, but I guess they're in the business of making money. Shrug.

cfischer

Also be aware that FFC and ETC don't go well together. That's a nice promo

fttc

I have a few questions regarding the FFC that need some expert clarifications.

First, let's forget about the validity to end of 2023 for a minute and assumes that it's only valid for 12 months since it's a generic question. Say I buy a ticket on 1/1. I cancel it on 5/1. And change it to a more expensive ticket on 6/1. (I use the word "change" since the last time I called United to do it, they kept the same confirmation number even though I canceled the ticket before and the itineraries are completely different.) Let's say I cancel the new ticket again on 7/1. Is the expiration of the FFC now one year from 6/1, or is it still one year from 1/1?

Second, another unrelated question. Let's say I buy a changeable United ticket through an OTA. (United website gives an error, I think it couldn't price the particular partner flight at the fare Google quoted, even though Google flights gives a price and clickable link.) Let's say I cancel it later. I suppose I have to call OTA to cancel? Afterwards, do I get a FFC that shows up on United's website that I can use directly with United later, or do I get some credit that I can only use with the same OTA to book the United flights?

Thanks.

mahasamatman

It's a standard Canadian Amex cash-back promo, though definitely one of the better ones.

jsloan

For tickets purchased directly through United and wholly unused, as in this scenario, you should get FFC on 5/1. If you then use that FFC on 6/1 to book a new ticket, starting from scratch and applying the FFC during checkout, you’ll definitely have a new ticket (and a new PNR, for that matter), and so, when you cancel again, the resulting FFC should be valid until 6/1. Even if you follow the specific set of steps that you set out here, in such a way that you keep the same PNR, a wholly unused ticket will have to be exchanged and reissued on 6/1, and so the FFC that results on 7/1 should be relative to the new ticket issuance date (6/1).

The only time that the FFC would still be tied to the original ticket issue date of 1/1 would be if (a) the ticket was partially used before you changed it, or (b) the ticket were not reissued when you made the changes. (b) would require that there’d been no change of fare or ticketed destination — think schedule change, or you cancel one ORD-DTW flight for a different one in the same fare class one week later.

Yes.

You would not get FFC that appears on the United website. You’d have to deal with the OTA for rebooking, and apparently UA is holding travel agents to the fare rules — so if your new ticket doesn’t allow for residual credit when changing to a cheaper flight, an OTA isn’t allowed to give you any.

slickvik

Just realized ecert has to fully cover economy plus cost

also e certs from 2019 can’t be added online, have to call in

fttc

Yeah, that would be my expectation. But I'm always worried about wording like "original" in "original ticketing/issuing date". Seems to me there is only one date anyway for each ticket. And airlines are know to be purposely vague. Thanks for the confirmation,

Yeah, that's the part that I'm worried about. That does seem a little unethical, at least it's not well spelled out on the webpages, while all those "permanently removed change fees" is just as misleading. It's counter to most common business practices, like saying you can only service your car from the dealer you bought it. Thanks for the clarification. People on these forums pay attentions to these details, but I do wonder how many people who don't buy tickets often fall prey to this.

sam007

Guys - to get either type of credit, is there a time limit to when the ticket must be canceled or as long as it's before the flight, thats fine?

WineCountryUA

To be on the safe side at least a couple hours before scheduled departure. The strict answer is before the gate agent closes the flight which is 15-30 minutes before departure but best to leave some buffer.
Discussed in detail in Minimum latest time to cancel (cash) UA ticket for credit?

sam007

Thank you and as I understand, I don't have to choose the type of credit right away or United will simply default to a kind of credit with the remote possibilty I can convert the credit type in the future right? No guarantees of course and I get that

WineCountryUA

No, for a flight cancellation you will get an Future Flight Credit (FFC). There is no other choice or conversion to ETC option

sam007

Do they give me a code on the phone or email it to me print gets deposited under my frequent flyer account?

WineCountryUA

The code is the same as the PNR Locator for the canceled reservation and it is listed as a credit in you UA MP account (if you have a MP account).. If cancelled before 31 Dec 2022, the credit is good until 31 Dec 2023. Otherwise, it is good for 1 year after initial purchase.