View Poll Results: What do you think of the recent UA changes in Changes fees?
Good idea: No Domestic Change fee w/ no rebooking residual AND No Standby fee/Free SDC all elites




148
64.35%
Good idea: No Domestic Change fee w/ no rebooking residual but NOT No Standby fee/Free SDC all elite




25
10.87%
Good idea: No Standby fee/Free SDC all elite but NOT No Domestic Change fee w/ no rebooking residual




18
7.83%
Neutral /don’t care about either




30
13.04%
Don’t like / think either is a good idea




9
3.91%
Voters: 230. You may not vote on this poll
Change Fees "Gone For Good"(WW ex-USA,non-BE), credit for lower fare!, Intl&BE waiver
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#106
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1MM 1K, BA Gold
Posts: 400
1) I wonder what will happen to intl bookings where there is change fee. Will the no residual rule apply to those as well? That would be pretty bad news. As you pointed out earlier, this new practice gave me pause before booking intl P deals especially since March
2) No residual is not universal yet. I was messing around with some tickets (to use etc for non-UA operated flights) and to my surprise I did get an etc for a residual. It was only about $10 that I was planning to loose, because I couldn't optimize better. Now I didn't look at the fare rules for the original, but I assumed that UA had been only filing fares with the no residual rule since April.
#107
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: HaMerkaz/Exit 145
Programs: UA, LY, BA, AA
Posts: 13,129
So basically moving to a system similar to Southwest -- no separate change fee, but you pay the fare difference (so the closer in you change, the more it costs). Definitely pros and cons of each, but seems like a good move with all the uncertainty that's likely to persist for a while.
#108
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Programs: UA: 1K 1.5MM, DL: DM 3.5MM, LH: exSEN 1MM, Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite, Hertz PresC
Posts: 250
Besides losing the fare difference if the earlier flight happens to be cheaper than the original purchased one, SDC within 24 hours "if the same booking class is available" is also very hard to achieve since most discounted fare classes are no longer available 24 hours before departure. That is currently also Delta's policy and it rarely works as flights are typically fully booked close to departure time. It will be interested to see how the other two traditional carriers (DL & AA) will adjust their rebooking fees as Delta currently will issue credits for residuals if the new ticket is cheaper.
Also, how does this new rule affect changes to LATER flights as it relates to SDC and standby flying?
Also, how does this new rule affect changes to LATER flights as it relates to SDC and standby flying?
#109
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DAY
Programs: Rapid Rewards, Skymiles, Hilton HHonors, SPG/Marriott Rewards
Posts: 3,519
Just as free bags were a given for eons, this could be a permanent change. But return on assets must be pursued at some point, either through the base fare, upgrade fees, permanent reduction in food service, etc. When just selling tickets becomes less of a miracle, there will be new initiatives to boost returns, even if change fees never* come back.
#110
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Denver, CO USA
Programs: UA GS 3Million, Marriott/SPG LIFETIME Platinum - current Titanium, HHonors Diamond
Posts: 611
As regards standby, I can say after having to wrangle with Delta and pay $75 to get on an empty flight from SLC - MSP, I’m hoping that this is a successful strategy for UA, even though I haven’t had to worry about this for the past 20 years.
#112
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 1,908
still a major rip off! 50,000 for domestic one way coach that cost aorund $150 in cash or and 200,000 miles for asia one way coach award that cost$800 in cash most of the time is still a major rip off. so called saver awards almost NEVER exist. so this doesnt help on awards.
#113
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 12,540
Haven't kept up with the entire thread, but one assumes that despite the claim from the email that (bolding mine)
it will remain functionally impossible to fly standby in any cabin other than Economy?
And starting this January, United® will be the only U.S. airline to let customers in all classes of service fly same-day standby for free.
#114
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/SCF
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,629
Basic+ features all the great money saving features of Basic Economy, but with advance seating, full FF benefits AND free carry-ons!
Please note, Basic+ tickets are non-refundable, and as with all Basic Economy tickes, no changes or standby are permitted. All standard economy fares will continue to enjoy the permanent elimination of change fees and free standby.
Sarcastic predictions aside, all they (or DL or AA) have to do is start adding feature bundles to basic economy tickets that will drive prices higher for those that may value the bundled features (advance seats, bags, FF benefits, free meals, etc), but are not willing to pay for the soon to be much higher "regular economy" fare with free changes and standby. Not now, but when pricing power returns...
Last edited by NYC Flyer; Aug 31, 20 at 8:23 am Reason: sp., grammar, amplification
#115
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: ORD / MDW / FLL
Programs: DL DM/1MM, AA EXP, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 2,211
I look at this new "enhancement" and think...mheh. It's great for non-elites but as a 1K offers me very little. AA and DL offer same-day confirmed at no cost to top-tier elites regardless of fare class booked and whether or not that fare class is still available. With UA, any advanced-purchase fare class is likely zeroed out by departure day so, even though there is not a change fee, I am still socked with a fare difference if I want to confirm a different flight.
I would encourage UA to think long-term here. Biz travel will return and the day will come when that is what matters again so UA needs to be thinking about how to take care of their best customers...people who are not transactional customers.
I would encourage UA to think long-term here. Biz travel will return and the day will come when that is what matters again so UA needs to be thinking about how to take care of their best customers...people who are not transactional customers.
#116
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 16,345
2) No residual is not universal yet. I was messing around with some tickets (to use etc for non-UA operated flights) and to my surprise I did get an etc for a residual. It was only about $10 that I was planning to loose, because I couldn't optimize better. Now I didn't look at the fare rules for the original, but I assumed that UA had been only filing fares with the no residual rule since April.
Besides losing the fare difference if the earlier flight happens to be cheaper than the original purchased one, SDC within 24 hours "if the same booking class is available" is also very hard to achieve since most discounted fare classes are no longer available 24 hours before departure.
As a simple test. For today's flights, and only looking at non-stops:
SFO-FRA: Available in all classes except IN/I and G, the latter of which isn't used.
SFO-EWR: the next flight is available in all fare classes except IN/I. The red-eye is sold out in J but available in all Y fare classes. Every intervening flight is available in every fare class.
MIA-ORD: sold out in J; zeroed out below W
AUS-IAD: available in every fare class
DEN-CLE: earlier flight is available in everything except IN/I; later flight is available in all fare classes.
This isn't a handpicked list; this is every city pair I tried (except LAX-CLE, because there weren't any nonstop options on that route).
#117
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: EAU
Programs: UA 1K, CO Plat, NW Plat, Marriott Premiere Plat, SPG Plat, Priority Gold, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,678
One of the reasons I've stuck with United is the 24-hour change window for Golds and up.
Does this mean that benefit is going away in favor of a same calendar day policy?
That would be a huge negative change for me.
Does this mean that benefit is going away in favor of a same calendar day policy?
That would be a huge negative change for me.
#118
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 51,162
This is potentially good news, but the devil is ultimately going to be in the details - specifically, how Basic vs "regular" Economy is priced vs. the market.
I fly multiple routes already where the legacy-carrier "Basic" matches the Southwest fare. In that case, the WN fare remains a far better value. I've seen the legacy "regular" fare double this amount.
If this is cover to just move more and more traffic to Basic economy fares - make that the new standard leisure fare and make "regular" economy the typical business-traveler fare - then this isn't all that valuable to me. A free SDC on business trips would be nice, but it's kind of moot with so few frequencies these days.
I fly multiple routes already where the legacy-carrier "Basic" matches the Southwest fare. In that case, the WN fare remains a far better value. I've seen the legacy "regular" fare double this amount.
If this is cover to just move more and more traffic to Basic economy fares - make that the new standard leisure fare and make "regular" economy the typical business-traveler fare - then this isn't all that valuable to me. A free SDC on business trips would be nice, but it's kind of moot with so few frequencies these days.
#119
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA 1k, AS 75k, Marriott Titanium, AA Plat Pro, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 534
I'm going to remain neutral on these changes until I see how they work out in practice. It doesn't look like SDC is functionally any different if you already had it free as an elite benefit, but I'm not 100% certain from the wording. If SDC is restricted at all, or availability somehow decreases, that would be a pretty big value hit for me. SDC is pretty much the only benefit that has actually influenced me to purchase a ticket from United as opposed to Alaska.
#120
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 16,345
If this is cover to just move more and more traffic to Basic economy fares - make that the new standard leisure fare and make "regular" economy the typical business-traveler fare - then this isn't all that valuable to me. A free SDC on business trips would be nice, but it's kind of moot with so few frequencies these days.