jsloan

Yes and yes. However, UA will not allow you to change to the same flight you're currently on. Therefore, you either need to (a) change to another flight and then back to your current flight, or (b) cancel, then start fresh, as if you were booking a new reservation, and then apply the flight credit during the checkout process.

lsquare

What's the easiest way to do this? I haven't done this before. What do you mean by changing to another flight? Like, do this after I cancel the original ticket or before? Should I call UA instead to make this faster? I'm hoping to rebook the new cheaper fare with the FFC asap so I can lock in the lower price.

jsloan

I would do it online unless you hav a specific reason not to.

The easiest way to do this is to (a) cancel the old ticket online; (b) begin a new reservation as if it were a brand new ticket; (c) when you get to the payment screen, you should be able to apply your FFC.

If this doesn't work, and it tells you that you need to make the change from within the old reservation, things get more complicated. However, this process, as written, should work 90%+ of the time if you haven't flown any segments on the original ticket. (If you have, this goes out the window).

lsquare

Since the ticket is now cheaper and I'm assuming I retain 100% off the value of the ticket, what happens with the remaining balance in the new FFC and how can I use that for a new ticket and my CC to pay the difference?

Thank you.

jsloan

Same process to use the residual value on the next ticket. When you use FFC that doesn't cover the entire ticket cost, UA will charge the rest to your card. No need to call UA; in most cases, it can all be done online. I did something similar last night -- I had one trip that I no longer needed to take, and I used the resulting credit toward two other, less expensive trips that I did need to take. All online, no phone calls.

lsquare

I'm assuming I can cancel a flight online that was booked through a TA and get an FFC with 100% of its value? Then go through the same process that you had described?

Thank you.

jsloan

Sorry, I didn't realize that you were using a TA. That really complicates things considerably, because the special FFC for residual value isn't usually written into the fare rules. A travel agent may not be able to do any of this; they'll have to follow the fare rules.

UA may be willing to take over an agency ticket; there may be a $50 fee.

lsquare

No, only one of the fares involves a TA. The rest are booked directly through UA. So I tried the method that you had described and it doesn't work.

This is where I'm stuck. Since I got impatient while waiting for your response, I tried calling UA since its website can't even see this additional segment that I want, but I see it through Google Flights. I don't mind adding a segment if it's free, but using the FFC to build the new itinerary doesn't get me I'm what I want. If I search for the fare through Google Flights, I can book it with my CC, but I can't use my FFC when I get to the payment page. Calling UA doesn't work because the rep gave me a price that's doubled! UA rep doesn't seem to understand why I see the cheaper fare with all the segments that I want through UA website or Google Flights. Help?

jsloan

Are there any codeshare flights involved? When you choose Google Flights, vs. attempt to build the itinerary yourself on United.com, are the flight numbers the same? Use multi-city search on UA if necessary to build it leg-by-leg.

Was there anything unusual about the flight that you had booked originally? Did you book it within the last 24 hours (it'll refund rather than going to an FFC). Do you see the FFC properly in your account?

WineCountryUA

Generally a FFC can not be used to book the same cabin/flight as the original ticket. The best self-help approach is find a different flight or different day for the same price (as the original or new booking or in between) , book that and then cancel and use this new FFC to book the original flight. Any decreases will be issued as a FFC for later use. In each case use the FFC as a payment method, not as a change flight.

Again coming in from GF may create limitations on usable credits, but that is a different issue.

Clemson

Surprising to hear this, I've done this (canceling a flight due to price drop and then rebooking) many times.

pilsn3r

Hello. I'm back with some questions on change or cancel options for a new flight. Previously, we had booked a Europe flight that we had to cancel as a conference was cancelled. We got FFC for it under let's call it itinerary ABCD. We used the FFC from ABCD for a round trip (IAH-PTY[q], then PTY-SAL[k]-IAH[w]) with the PTY-SAL being Copa and SAL-IAH on UA - and all booked through United.com, and still have $ leftover on the FFC under ABCD that has to be used by 12/31/23.

I noticed a price drop (booked a week ago so 24hr window is gone) of $160/person today and started researching the ticket T&C and this site. I'm not 100% sure on the easiest process to try to get that $160/person back without fees or paying extra. Since it's a new booking, we got a new itinerary, let's say WXYZ.

-Would the best way be to cancel it completely, and get FFC under WXYZ and then rebook the exact same flights using the FFC from WXYZ leaving FFC of 160/person?
-Or is it just easier to change it as it states "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."? (I'm guessing this is not allowed since it's not a "change" in any flight but just trying to get the reduced fare).
----If they do not allow a cancel or change to the reduced fare for the same flights, I noticed that we could change to cheaper flights that same day that we do not want to take since it's not direct on the way there (by about $600), but then would we get that fare difference, then be able to change it back to our original flights and still end up saving $160/person?
-If cancelling, is it allowed to book the same flights using the WXYZ FFC? (We do not have enough leftover in ABCD to rebook the flight PTY trip without dipping into WXYZ. or using ABCD and paying more from a credit card.
-We have no status, and it's not basic economy. It's also not to Mexico or Caribbean (or does Panama count?)

If all that worked and we have FFC under 2 difference itineraries, would we be able to book a trip to SEA, for example, and use the FFC from both itineraries to pay for the SEA trip?

Thank you all!

emcampbe

UA does not make it easy to take advantage of a price drop if you are looking for the same flights you are already booked on - you can not 'change' to the same flight on the same type of fare. If you try to make a change, it will say that fare is 'not available'.

The two ways to do it are to either change the current flight to a different flight, then change back. Or probably better, and to get a new 'clean' reservation is to cancel the current flights, book a flight like you are making a new reservation, and then use the FFC in the payment options to pay for it (then you will have the balance left under the old PNR). Not the cancel and book a new flight option has to be done like this - if you try to 'rebook' the flights under the same PNR, it will again show those same flights as 'not available'.

Note with fares, its always a bit more risky when it involves partners, as they don't always confirm the partner segments immediately, and can take 24 hours, and isn't ever guaranteed to confirm. So YMMV. You can always call and see if an agent will allow you to just get a price drop without having to go through the motions above, but this is not typically SOP - agents will usually either say its not possible, or offer to allow you to take advantage of the price drop, with a $50 fee per ticket as long as its within a month of purchase (which has been the traditional way to handle because in the days where most fares had a change fee, it was cheaper to do this way, but not anymore).

pilsn3r

Would it be possible to change just one leg of the round trip, then change it back, and get the price difference/FFC? There is a like a 3pm IAH-PTY direct flight (IIRC), that is the same price (when we originally bought it both times were the same price, and currently they both show the same lower price). I think I could change that, then change it back to our 10am flight, and not touch the Copa/UA flight. Just want to make sure that would work.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I think your itinerary might run into a change fee (in addition to fare +/-), but you'll know for certain when you try to change the flight(s)..