Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Welcome to this thread to ask your basic, simple questions about United Airlines, its operations, or the MileagePlus program. We know that the airline is complex and we’ve created this thread for new and veteran members to ask those basic questions about United Airlines that you think must have an easy answer but just can’t find it or aren’t sure where to look.
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Here is a link to recent previous threads:
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2021]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2020]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2019]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2018]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2017]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2016 Part II]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2016 Part I]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2015 -Part II]...
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2015 Thread]...
UA Moderator Team
Ocn Vw 1K, l'etoile, J.Edward, Pat89339, WineCountryUA
These are the two rules for this thread:
- Use this thread for a simple, basic question. Moderators may move posts to a new / existing thread if appropriate.
- Any member who can post a constructive, patient answer is welcome to reply.
Generally, there are no long discussions of an issue in this thread. If it appears that is needed, the posts will be moved to an existing thread or used as the start of a new separate thread.
Additional tools for members seeking information about MileagePlus:
United MileagePlus Master Wiki
"New" United Airlines Forum Glossary
Here is a link to recent previous threads:
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2021]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2020]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2019]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2018]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2017]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2016 Part II]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2016 Part I]
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2015 -Part II]...
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2015 Thread]...
Have a Simple Question About United Airlines/MileagePlus? Ask Here [2022]
#616
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 93
Are there any good websites/services (paid or free) that help monitor point-based flight redemptions for United? I know this is rather specific, but any suggestions would be helpful.
#617
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
There are award booking services for a more complete turn key service and more $$$
#618
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Redwood City, CA USA (SFO/SJC)
Programs: 1K 2010, 1P in 2011, Plat for 2012,13,14,15 & 2016. Gold in 17 & 18, Plat since
Posts: 8,826
Curious to hear how this turned out. According to the LH app, the LYS flight was delayed and departed 50 minutes after your arrival at MUC. The MRS flight was also delayed, and left about half an hour after that. So, while I think you probably would have made your LYS flight if you’d stood pat, it also seems that there should have been enough time to get your luggage onto the MRS flight if, in fact, they were able to go and grab it from the baggage room. 🤞
United has no staff in Munich, so the only option was to go to LH customer service center and see what could be done. I mean, who knows what a mess UA made of my ticketing, right? Thankfully the LH agent was wonderful; she had trouble believing what UA did but was happy that she could fix it. Of course we left on a flight to LYS 8 hours later than the original.
Damage done? I'd booked non-refundable train tickets from MRS to Grenoble (about $100), the original tickets from LYS to Grenoble were worthless, and new tickets LYS to Grenoble ran $80. Plus arriving at our place in Grenoble at 23:40 instead of 14:00, so the next day's agenda changed substantially; no visiting the TdF, just a local bike ride.
I sent an email to United; no response yet.
No, of course it’s not true. That doesn’t even begin to make sense. UA owns both the ticket and the delay; they can definitely rebook you to an alternate airport.
However, UA wasn’t going to make that change based upon a presumptive misconnect. The old saw about “making up time in the air” is rarely true, but the flight schedules always have an estimate in them to cover ground operations (e.g., taxi on arrival), and they’re based on wind estimates — so a 58 minute departure delay doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll miss your connection. Also, UA wasn’t going to know, 12+ hours ahead of time, if LH would be on time or not; if the LH flight is delayed by 25 minutes, you may make your connection after all. (Also, if this delay happened after pushback, it was way too late to do what you’re trying to do on the phone).
If there isn’t enough time to get this fixed at MUC — meaning that the MUC-MRS flight is too soon after the MUC-LYS flight to get a (UA, not LH) representative to reissue the ticket, then it’s not going to happen. You won’t get anyone at UA to do anything until you actually misconnect. The only way you’re going to get UA to help you prior to landing is if the computer has given up and rebooked you automatically. And, even then, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to get a phone rep to reroute you while you’re in the air with checked baggage.
You’re putting way too much faith in UA’s baggage handling system. The reason that they require one hour’s notice before making an SDC with checked baggage is that they have to have time for someone to find and re-tag your bag. So while you might be able to convince someone to do rebook the tickets in this fashion — not that it should be necessary, mind you, but for the sake of argument — I’d wager high odds that the bags don’t make it to MRS on the same flight that you’d be on.
Does your business have 90K employees of various levels of competence?
I wouldn’t have suggested HUCA for the same reasons that I’ve made clear in my (now outdated, but left for posterity) post. But when one of your employees is stating things that are, prima facie, patently untrue — yes, your customers are going to try to find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
Yes, people sometimes HUCA to try to get an exception to a rule that probably shouldn’t occur. But most times people HUCA, it’s because there are some agents who are better at their jobs than others.
So, here’s the thing. You’ve now quite likely been set up to fail. I have no idea how you can “collect the luggage in Munich and recheck.” You stated that you didn’t think there’d be enough time on the ground to handle this — what’s changed? The LYS flight is scheduled to depart at 10:35. The MRS flight is scheduled to depart at 11:25. You’re currently estimated to arrive at 10:23. The baggage won’t be delivered to the belt in MUC unless (maybe) if she re-routed it to MUC herself; it’s either going to make it onto the LYS flight, get redirected onto the MRS flight, or get left in the baggage room until someone goes and gets it. And I don’t see how you would physically have time to collect your luggage and recheck it anyway.
It sounds like you’re planning to do the only thing that makes sense, which is asking at the transfer desk if they can have someone locate and reroute your bag. But there’s a nonzero chance that you’re going to arrive at MRS and your bag is going to arrive at LYS.
However, UA wasn’t going to make that change based upon a presumptive misconnect. The old saw about “making up time in the air” is rarely true, but the flight schedules always have an estimate in them to cover ground operations (e.g., taxi on arrival), and they’re based on wind estimates — so a 58 minute departure delay doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll miss your connection. Also, UA wasn’t going to know, 12+ hours ahead of time, if LH would be on time or not; if the LH flight is delayed by 25 minutes, you may make your connection after all. (Also, if this delay happened after pushback, it was way too late to do what you’re trying to do on the phone).
If there isn’t enough time to get this fixed at MUC — meaning that the MUC-MRS flight is too soon after the MUC-LYS flight to get a (UA, not LH) representative to reissue the ticket, then it’s not going to happen. You won’t get anyone at UA to do anything until you actually misconnect. The only way you’re going to get UA to help you prior to landing is if the computer has given up and rebooked you automatically. And, even then, it’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to get a phone rep to reroute you while you’re in the air with checked baggage.
You’re putting way too much faith in UA’s baggage handling system. The reason that they require one hour’s notice before making an SDC with checked baggage is that they have to have time for someone to find and re-tag your bag. So while you might be able to convince someone to do rebook the tickets in this fashion — not that it should be necessary, mind you, but for the sake of argument — I’d wager high odds that the bags don’t make it to MRS on the same flight that you’d be on.
Does your business have 90K employees of various levels of competence?
I wouldn’t have suggested HUCA for the same reasons that I’ve made clear in my (now outdated, but left for posterity) post. But when one of your employees is stating things that are, prima facie, patently untrue — yes, your customers are going to try to find someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.
Yes, people sometimes HUCA to try to get an exception to a rule that probably shouldn’t occur. But most times people HUCA, it’s because there are some agents who are better at their jobs than others.
So, here’s the thing. You’ve now quite likely been set up to fail. I have no idea how you can “collect the luggage in Munich and recheck.” You stated that you didn’t think there’d be enough time on the ground to handle this — what’s changed? The LYS flight is scheduled to depart at 10:35. The MRS flight is scheduled to depart at 11:25. You’re currently estimated to arrive at 10:23. The baggage won’t be delivered to the belt in MUC unless (maybe) if she re-routed it to MUC herself; it’s either going to make it onto the LYS flight, get redirected onto the MRS flight, or get left in the baggage room until someone goes and gets it. And I don’t see how you would physically have time to collect your luggage and recheck it anyway.
It sounds like you’re planning to do the only thing that makes sense, which is asking at the transfer desk if they can have someone locate and reroute your bag. But there’s a nonzero chance that you’re going to arrive at MRS and your bag is going to arrive at LYS.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Aug 10, 2022 at 8:38 pm Reason: merge consecutive posts by same member
#619
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,419
Hopefully by this time next year, things will have calmed down a bit.
#620
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: IAD/ARN
Programs: UA Plat/*G, Marriott LT Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 164
Hi everyone! Quick question on baggage allowance - my wife and I are flying IAD-MUC-ARN next week and the United site is a bit confusing on what we are allowed. IAD-MUC is in Polaris, MUC-ARN is LH Business, both flights are on one ticket so bags should be checked through to ARN. I am Gold, my wife has no status, and we are on separate PNRs.
My interpretation was that I get up to three 70 lb bags, while my wife gets up to two 70 lb bags. Is this correct? The website is a bit confusing, some parts say 50 lbs and some say 70 lbs. We plan to check 4 bags total but a couple might be over 50 lbs (I'm relocating so I'm not traveling light) and I'm hoping to avoid paying overweight charges.
My interpretation was that I get up to three 70 lb bags, while my wife gets up to two 70 lb bags. Is this correct? The website is a bit confusing, some parts say 50 lbs and some say 70 lbs. We plan to check 4 bags total but a couple might be over 50 lbs (I'm relocating so I'm not traveling light) and I'm hoping to avoid paying overweight charges.
#621
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,424
Yes, should be 3x70 for you and 2x70 for your wife, and many agents will give her 3x70 as well if you check in together, but sounds like you don't need this.
I feel like the baggage calculator on the website has been broken for a while.
I feel like the baggage calculator on the website has been broken for a while.
#622
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Programs: ANA SFC (*G)
Posts: 530
You can use ExpertFlyer to sent alerts for I or X space availability for a segment (but not IN or XN). If you have a shortterm need they have monthly subscriptions. KVS may offer this also
There are award booking services for a more complete turn key service and more $$$
There are award booking services for a more complete turn key service and more $$$
#623
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: TYO
Programs: United Premier Gold
Posts: 168
Used to be able to book ANA domestic flights via United.com and the app, but can't seem to do that anymore. Is this feature gone?
#624
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,419
It's gone. UA seems to have exited the business of ticketing flights like this, where none of the flights would involve UA metal. You'll find the same thing if you search for, e.g., BKK-TYO. The only way you can book these flights on United at the moment is by using MileagePlus miles.
#625
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,429
My MIL has apparently lots of united miles, but she doesn't know how to use these, and I don't have time to take care of this. She wants to visit us in Spain (From Japan) so I am looking for some kind of service that by paying some cash would let us know when there is award space. Can you refer me one?
Hint: look for one ways (even if you want to book a round trip) when searching, IMHO it makes it easier to see availability. IIRC Singapore Air is still not visible on UA, so you would have to call in. Otherwise I'm sure you'll get some PMs.
#626
Moderator: United Airlines
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.997MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 66,859
My MIL has apparently lots of united miles, but she doesn't know how to use these, and I don't have time to take care of this. She wants to visit us in Spain (From Japan) so I am looking for some kind of service that by paying some cash would let us know when there is award space. Can you refer me one?
As has been true for many travel services, the recent couple years have been tough on these providers.
#627
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,480
I'm pretty sure MatthewLAX still operates an award booking service. He would be my first stop.
#628
Join Date: Apr 2022
Location: TYO
Programs: United Premier Gold
Posts: 168
It's gone. UA seems to have exited the business of ticketing flights like this, where none of the flights would involve UA metal. You'll find the same thing if you search for, e.g., BKK-TYO. The only way you can book these flights on United at the moment is by using MileagePlus miles.
#629
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Programs: ANA SFC (*G)
Posts: 530
Thank you for your answers
#630
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: LAX
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,537
I'm flying BKK-MUC-SFO-LAX in J, with BKK-MUC on Thai and MUC-SFO-LAX on UA. How likely is it that the transfer desk at MUC would be willing to move me on to the LH direct MUC-LAX flight, if it has space? I'll be traveling without checked bags if that makes a difference.