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Change Fees "Gone For Good"(WW ex-USA,non-BE), credit for lower fare!, Intl&BE waiver

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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

Old Aug 30, 2020, 2:32 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: DELee
Latest Update: 23 December 2021:

"Change fees are gone" (change fee waiver): https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html#changefeesaregone
We've permanently gotten rid of change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., or between the U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean. There also won't be change fees for other international travel originating in the U.S. Learn more

For all other standard Economy and premium cabin tickets, change fees are waived through January 31, 2022. Basic Economy tickets can only be changed if they’re issued by December 31, 2021, for travel commencing by December 31, 2021. See terms and conditions
(change fee waiver) Terms and Conditions: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html#ChangeFeeTerms

Tickets: Applies to standard fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and January 31, 2022, and Basic Economy fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and April 30, 2021, or Basic Economy tickets issued between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021.

Changes/Cancellations: Customers with Basic Economy fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and April 30, 2021, or between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021, or standard fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and January 31, 2022, will be permitted to change without paying a change fee. If the new flight is priced higher, the customer may change for no change fee but must pay the fare difference. If the new flight is priced lower, the customer may change without paying a change fee, and standard fare tickets may be given residual value in the form of a future flight credit. If you purchased your ticket from a third-party agency, please check with the issuing agency for the rules of your ticket. Contract fares such as special bulk fares sold by travel agencies (e.g., opaque) may not be eligible for free changes. Any changes or cancellations must occur prior to ticketed travel date.

Please note: As of August 30, 2020, we no longer have change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for flights within the U.S., or between the U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean. We also no longer have change fees for international travel originating in the U.S. For more information visit united.com/changefee.

Fare validity: This applies to all standard fare tickets issued through January 31, 2022, all destinations, all points-of-sale, all travel dates available for sale, provided ticket number starts with 016. It also applies to Basic Economy fare tickets issued through April 30, 2021 or Basic Economy tickets issued between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021, all destinations, all points of sale, provided the ticket number starts with 016.

Miscellaneous: Fares, fees, rules and offers are subject to change without notice. Seats are capacity-controlled and may not be available on all flights or days. Some fares are nonrefundable except during the first 24 hours after purchase. Other restrictions may apply.

New fine print (1 April 2021)
  • You can change Basic Economy tickets without change fees if the ticket is issued by April 30, 2021,
  • and all other international travel without change fees if the ticket is issued by May 31, 2021.
  • If the new flight is priced lower, the customer may change without paying a change fee, and may be given residual value in the form of a future flight credit.
Updated 30 Sept 2021
Tickets: Applies to standard fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and December 31, 2021, and Basic Economy fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and April 30, 2021, or Basic Economy tickets issued between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021.

Changes/Cancellations: Customers with Basic Economy fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and April 30, 2021, or between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021, or standard fare tickets issued between March 3, 2020, and December 31, 2021, will be permitted to change without paying a change fee. If the new flight is priced higher, the customer may change for no change fee but must pay the fare difference. If the new flight is priced lower, the customer may change without paying a change fee, and standard fare tickets may be given residual value in the form of a future flight credit. If you purchased your ticket from a third-party agency, please check with the issuing agency for the rules of your ticket. Contract fares such as special bulk fares sold by travel agencies (e.g., opaque) may not be eligible for free changes. Any changes or cancellations must occur prior to ticketed travel date.

Please note: As of August 30, 2020, we no longer have change fees for most Economy and premium cabin tickets for flights within the U.S., or between the U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean. We also no longer have change fees for international travel originating in the U.S. For more information visit united.com/changefee.

Fare validity: This applies to all standard fare tickets issued through December 31, 2021, all destinations, all points-of-sale, all travel dates available for sale, provided ticket number starts with 016. It also applies to Basic Economy fare tickets issued through April 30, 2021 or Basic Economy tickets issued between May 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 for travel commencing between August 11 and December 31, 2021, all destinations, all points of sale, provided the ticket number starts with 016.

Miscellaneous: Fares, fees, rules and offers are subject to change without notice. Seats are capacity-controlled and may not be available on all flights or days. Some fares are nonrefundable except during the first 24 hours after purchase. Other restrictions may apply.

Originally Posted by spartacusmcfly
I just went through the process on a post-April 1st itinerary and was issued the new FFC vs ETCs. The agent tried to explain the new FFCs in detail:

The Bad:
1. No more ETC
2. No transferability
3. No combinability
4. Given there is no combinability, there is no more date-pushing (meaning new expiration date is most favorable of combined cert dates)

The Good:
5. Can use multiple towards a single itinerary (up to 10 she said)
6. Can pull from multiple accounts (3 from yours, 3 from spouse), so you don't have to split the locator to use from multiple accounts
7. Can be used on partner itineraries as long as one segment is UA
8. The FFCs show up in the account of the recipient and the booker. So I can see my spouse's FFCs if I booked the itenerary
9. FFCs now show up as a payment method in the app booking flow. For multi-passenger FFCs, both passengers show up!

I can live with all this, in exchange for no change fees, and reclaiming residual!
The fine-print on the change rules:
  1. If the new ticket costs less, the residual value from the old ticket is lost
  2. Multiple cancelled reservations cannot be combined to pay for a more expensive ticket
  3. Strictly U.S. and Mexico or the Caribbean only (excludes Canada) and excludes Basic Economy and International flights
    1. Worldwide until Dec 31, 2020
United Airlines Permanently Eliminates Change Fees
Applies to all Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S.;
Airline also announces complimentary standby travel, becomes only U.S. airline that will let all customers in all classes of service fly same-day standby for free
With these new options, United gives more flexibility than any other U.S. carrier when customers' travel plans change
Video(1) Photos(1)

CHICAGO, Aug. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The only thing constant is change and at United Airlines, some of the fees associated with changes related to flying are gone for good. The carrier announced today that it is permanently getting rid of change fees on all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S., effective immediately. And starting on January 1, 2021, any United customer can fly standby for free on a flight departing the day of their travel regardless of the type of ticket or class of service, a first among U.S. carriers, while MileagePlus Premier members can confirm a seat on a different flight on the same day with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket if a seat in the same ticket fare class is available.

United is also extending its waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020, to permit unlimited changes with no fee. This policy applies to all ticket types issued after March 3, 2020 and is valid for domestic and international travel. With these improvements, no U.S. airline gives their customers more flexibility when booking – and changing – their travel plans than United Airlines.

"Change is inevitable these days – but it's how we respond to it that matters most. When we hear from customers about where we can improve, getting rid of this fee is often the top request," said Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, in a video message to customers. "Following previous tough times, airlines made difficult decisions to survive, sometimes at the expense of customer service. United Airlines won't be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we're taking a completely different approach – and looking at new ways to serve our customers better."

The new change fee policy applies to all standard Economy and Premium cabin tickets for travel within the U.S. 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and customers will not be limited in the number of times they adjust their flights.

Additionally, United is giving customers more flexibility to change their flights on the day of their travel so they can head home if a meeting ends earlier or enjoy a few more hours on vacation. With the ability to list for same-day standby for free, customers will now have an option to take a different flight with the same origin and destination airports as their original itinerary if space is available at departure. This enhanced option will be available to all customers for travel within the U.S. and to and from international destinations beginning on January 1, 2021. Customers who want to switch flights will be able to add themselves to the standby list through United's award-winning mobile app, on united.com or at the airport no later than 30 minutes prior to departure for domestic flights and one hour before departure on international flights.

The carrier is also improving the travel experience for its MileagePlus members including waiving all redeposit fees on award travel for flights changed or cancelled more than 30 days before departure and allowing all MileagePlus Premier members to confirm a different flight on the day of their travel. As a way to thank MileagePlus Premier members for their loyalty, beginning January 1, 2021, all Premier members will be able to confirm a seat for free on a different flight with the same departure and arrival cities as their original ticket. This expanded option will allow MileagePlus Silver members and above to confirm a new seat in the same ticket fare class if space is available. Earlier this year, United announced that it will extend status for MileagePlus Premier and Global Services members through January 2022. United also reduced thresholds for Premier qualification by 50 percent for each status level, to make reaching an even higher status tier easier.

For more information on United's new flexible travel policies, visit https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...hange-fee.html.

......
Related Threads
AA Eliminates Many Change Fees, Other Benefits 31 Aug 2020
Delta to Eliminate Change Fees on Domestic Tickets [Consolidated Thread]
Alaska Eliminates Change Fees (9/1/2020)

UA will extend BE/International change fee waiver (In response to AA?)
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Change Fees "Gone For Good"(WW ex-USA,non-BE), credit for lower fare!, Intl&BE waiver

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Old Aug 31, 2020, 9:44 am
  #121  
RNE
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Yours truly is now booking travel on UA because of this change. Sadly, you must now dread the possibility of my boorish presence on your plane. But be glad that my mask will cut down on the halitosis.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 9:57 am
  #122  
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I think overall its quite positive. I'm not worried about the no-residual value thing, if you're smart you can apply to a more expensive itin, and use new money for the new itin.
I do think however, that it negates some benefits of status, etc. But, frankly, status is somewhat over anyways, apart from E+.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:08 am
  #123  
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For those unhappy about not getting credit for a price drop, how often has that happened where the price drop is more than $200? Most of the time, IME the price increases as you get closer to departure date.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:14 am
  #124  
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Originally Posted by SOBE ER DOC
...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...
Many times, yes, advance purchase fares are zeroed out approaching departure days (and even long before), but then UA often opens them up on/near departure day. One can't actually purchase one because the the requirements can't be met, but they are available to swap into as part of a SDC. I have swapped into innumerable advance purchase fare buckets on SDCs w/o a fare increase.
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Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Aug 31, 2020 at 12:13 pm Reason: speling
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:15 am
  #125  
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Originally Posted by UA Fan
For those unhappy about not getting credit for a price drop, how often has that happened where the price drop is more than $200? Most of the time, IME the price increases as you get closer to departure date.
You're missing the point. I'm not talking about credit for canceling and then rebooking the exact same flights. I'm talking about, "oh, I can no longer travel to XYZ on whatever date. Instead, I'm flying to ABC on another date."
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:38 am
  #126  
 
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Originally Posted by SOBE ER DOC
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 think they are thinking long term here, we don't know if business travel will ever return to the levels they were at before. When the time comes (if and when business travel comes roaring back) they will "make changes we like" especially if there is a new CEO as what happened to the million milers that were promised something under Tilton and served something else under Smisek. I'm sure a lot of customer friendly policies will disappear once things are looking great again.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:44 am
  #127  
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The award redeposit waiver is huge. Love these changes.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:44 am
  #128  
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Originally Posted by jsloan
It doesn't make any sense to try to eliminate change fees as a way to move traffic to BE. UA wants to drive passengers away from BE. The fact that BE fares can't be changed, including SDC, was actually the primary reason I never booked one. If anything, free changes on regular economy make BE even less appealing.
I agree, but the pattern I see in practice is that UA, AA, and DL use Basic Economy as their competitive leisure fare in a market, with regular economy 50-100% higher.

ex-MCI, most of my routes have a Southwest option. Southwest's WGA fare and United's BE fare are often the same (or close), but Southwest WGA's fare rules are much more closely aligned with United's new no-change-fee regular economy rules. Southwest is a little better in that you'll get a residual credit on fare drops. United looks on the surface a little better in terms of SDC/standby. But by and large, a Southwest WGA should, in the future, be about the same kind of ticket as a United regular economy. But right now it isn't the same price.

If United were really using BE to compete with the Spirits and Frontiers of the world....the $20 midcons with tons of add-on fees....that'd be a different story. But I'm seeing them using it to compete with Southwest, meaning that I'm unlikely to pay a big premium on United just to get up to the same benefit level I get on Southwest.

I'm UA Silver...maybe if I were 1K and it was a route where I was fairly sure I'd get an F upgrade, I'd think differently.

It all comes down to how they price BE and how they price regular economy vs. the competition.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:45 am
  #129  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
It doesn't make any sense to try to eliminate change fees as a way to move traffic to BE. UA wants to drive passengers away from BE. The fact that BE fares can't be changed, including SDC, was actually the primary reason I never booked one. If anything, free changes on regular economy make BE even less appealing.
It doesn't make sense as BE is currently structured. But...new bundles could be added that would help support higher "regular" economy fares as travel comes back.

Potential Basic Economy "bundles" (pricing each way for illustrative purposes only):
Basic Economy features included in fare
Advanced seating $40
Advanced seating and carry-on $50
Above + full FF benefits (excluding comp upgrades, standby and SDC) $100
Above + one time change waiver $125
Above + upgradeable using miles or Premier upgrades if available $150

BTW, no upfare to "standard economy" ticket types permitted. Want your elite benefits without being nickel and dimed?...just buy the (much) higher standard fare.

Pretty soon, you've added some nice bundles that will support raising standard economy fares with "permanent" free changes, while optimizing incremental revenue across psgr demographics. Perhaps some shorthauls and/or certain destinations/days of week/times of day would have even different pricing to maximize overall revenue.

Legacies are learning more and more from Spirit, Frontier, etc. They will make up the lost revenue when they can.

Last edited by NYC Flyer; Aug 31, 2020 at 10:51 am Reason: clarfication
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 10:49 am
  #130  
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Too bad (for us) that it's US-only. They could have at least gone with North America...
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 11:09 am
  #131  
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Originally Posted by jsloan
You're missing the point. I'm not talking about credit for canceling and then rebooking the exact same flights. I'm talking about, "oh, I can no longer travel to XYZ on whatever date. Instead, I'm flying to ABC on another date."
In this case unless the new Itin is more than $200 cheaper you come out ahead.

And if the new itin really is that much cheaper, pay cash and save the current itin for later.

Yes not having a credit for a price difference is disappointing. But the new rules on the whole are way better for customers than with change fees. Including biz travel.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 11:24 am
  #132  
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Originally Posted by pinniped
I agree, but the pattern I see in practice is that UA, AA, and DL use Basic Economy as their competitive leisure fare in a market, with regular economy 50-100% higher.
Don't know; I've never seriously considered BE.

Originally Posted by pinniped
ex-MCI, most of my routes have a Southwest option. Southwest's WGA fare and United's BE fare are often the same (or close), but Southwest WGA's fare rules are much more closely aligned with United's new no-change-fee regular economy rules. Southwest is a little better in that you'll get a residual credit on fare drops. United looks on the surface a little better in terms of SDC/standby. But by and large, a Southwest WGA should, in the future, be about the same kind of ticket as a United regular economy. But right now it isn't the same price.
ex-AUS, at least in the timeframe that I'm typically purchasing tickets, Southwest and UA's regular fares are approximately the same.

Originally Posted by pinniped
If United were really using BE to compete with the Spirits and Frontiers of the world....the $20 midcons with tons of add-on fees....that'd be a different story. But I'm seeing them using it to compete with Southwest, meaning that I'm unlikely to pay a big premium on United just to get up to the same benefit level I get on Southwest.
The same benefit level like assigned seats, E+, and an F cabin available for purchase / upgrade?

Originally Posted by pinniped
I'm UA Silver...maybe if I were 1K and it was a route where I was fairly sure I'd get an F upgrade, I'd think differently.
F > E+, but E+ >> E-.

Originally Posted by pinniped
It all comes down to how they price BE and how they price regular economy vs. the competition.
I agree with this. The few times I've ever even somewhat considered BE was when the non-BE was 30%+ higher. But, then, I usually just ended up going somewhere else, or not going at all.

Originally Posted by NYC Flyer
It doesn't make sense as BE is currently structured. But...new bundles could be added that would help support higher "regular" economy fares as travel comes back.
Sure, if you think the market would support these. I'm highly dubious. You wouldn't need 'no change fees' to make this work; if you thought people would buy these fares, they could offer them without dropping change fees.

Originally Posted by uastarflyer
In this case unless the new Itin is more than $200 cheaper you come out ahead.
Yes, you're right -- assuming that you weren't able to get the change fee waived in the first place. Even still, this feels unfair and punitive in a way that the change fee didn't.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 11:32 am
  #133  
 
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Apologies if already discussed, but I didn't see it. How will the loss of residual value affect PQD? If I change a $1000 flight to an $800 flight, will I lose the PQDs along with the $200 residual value?
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 11:38 am
  #134  
 
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Originally Posted by EWRSNA
If a one-way ticket prices on a half RT basis, is there any reason to book RT? Change fee savings were the only previous benefit I could think of and with the no-residual rules it’ll be advantageous to have 2 cheaper tickets vs. 1 pricier one.
It could be advantageous once you fly the outbound.

Then you'd have very good flexibility to change the return (assuming historical fares are still used after outbound is flown) without having to rely on SDC.
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Old Aug 31, 2020, 12:08 pm
  #135  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
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Originally Posted by Catbert10
Apologies if already discussed, but I didn't see it. How will the loss of residual value affect PQD? If I change a $1000 flight to an $800 flight, will I lose the PQDs along with the $200 residual value?
I believe you lose the PQDs as well but... I didn't see anything on this either.
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