arisaa

This what a reservation agent just told me. She said the only the future flight credit from an originally BE ticket could be used to buy another BE ticket in the future. A non-BE flight credit could only be used for a new non-BE ticket. Who on earth made this up and where is it written? I read theses forums regularly and I have seen no mention of this "rule in the terms and conditions" she said.

WineCountryUA

This correct and it is in the fare rules. This has been true since the initiation of BE. And it has been discussed before.

arisaa

Then I stand corrected. I feared it was another flyer-unfriendly rule they just made up. Apparently, they made it up a while ago.

WineCountryUA

And for some odd reason, it goes the other way, also
FFC for non-BE can not be used for BE --

Still looking for no BE to non-BE -- still unable to find the earlier discussion

Can you provide a copy the the "penalities" section of your BE ?

For a BE ticket issued today, it states
Translation a BE ticket can only be re-issued as a BE ticket. (Note I am not very adept at reading rules, but that appears to be what is being said)
There are other sections of today's BE fare rules that refer to "SAME FARE BASIS CODE" for changes (when allowed, which generally they are not)


Might be better to get an ETC and then the ETC to book without restriction.

Flying Machine

What happens if you took a credit for a BE international flight, and it was canceled due to COVID-19. I’m in that situation and the reservation agent last week said I could use it on any ticket or even request an ECERT

jsloan

Well, it's BE that's flyer-unfriendly, really.

That said, Future Flight Credit isn't really what it sounds like -- it's a little more complicated than that. For example, if you have a non-refundable fare, and you cancel the flight and use the FFC to book a refundable fare, you can't then refund it: the non-refundability carries over from the first ticket. WineCountryUA is correct to point out the endorsements clause: non-refundable, no cabin bag, no advance seat reservation. So, you can't necessarily use it to buy any fare -- just ones that are compatible with the rules of the original purchase.

Generally, you can't use FFC to buy something that's less strict than you started with -- the strictness gets inherited, so to speak.

The good news is that if you can get UA to give you an ETC -- sometimes, that option is available online, without even having to call and ask -- the ETC won't have that restriction.

WineCountryUA

You need to check the fare rules for your ticket but a sample of one Intl BE had
We need a more expert fare rule reader to comment further

Of course, UA could be prepared to waive the endorsement limitation but I would be wary. Note for the moment BE fares are changeable due to a waiver.

If an ETC works for you, that would be my choice.