Adding legs to partner award without creating a multi-city?
 

Hi folks - I'm usually on the AS forum but booked via MP here so could use some help.

I booked award J on ET from JFK-ADD. Award space has opened up ADD-JNB, and I'd like to add the ADD-JNB leg as my final destination is in South Africa. Both online and with 3 phone agents, it seems like I can only create a multi-city itinerary at +35k Y or +90k J (and to be clear, I do not wish to make a stopover in ADD, but book a single one-way itinerary where I retain the JFK-ADD and travel onwards to JNB).

Several other days that week have availability ex-NYC to JNB via ADD bookable at the 88k level. Is it really true that I cannot change an existing itinerary to do the same? If not, are there certain magic words I need to ask for from the phone agents? Bit at my wits end here and would be surprised if this is impossible, but also am not familiar with the specifics of UA's rules.

TIA!

Is there award availability JFK-ADD on your desired date of travel? If not, then phone agents can't do anything.

What are you doing online? When you go to change your reservation, are you changing the existing flight or adding an additional flight?

You have to have availability NYC to JNB on your desired date. You cannot piece together itineraries or add segments without regard for end-to-end availability.

Whatever is bookable JFK-ADD-JNB you can change to. Doable online. Add a segment won’t work (anymore)

Yeah this was a big and somewhat silent recent devaluation. What used to work in your scenario:

(1) Use the 'change flights' tool on your existing itin and specify that you want to change the JFK-ADD into a JFK-JNB

(2) The web app would have shown you a one-stop option JFK-ADD-JNB, and you'd be able to book it

(3) A fresh search would not have found this space, but the 'change flights' tool would have preserved existing partner I space

This was very sad when it stopped working as it was one of the very last gasps of the old timey "call United and add any segments you like and they'll reprice it while keeping the existing space" situation we used to have.

And for many carriers, since the ticket had to be reissued, you ended up with an invalid ticket. After many complaints, UA told agents not to try.

And likely ran into similar issues when people tried to do this online themselves, so took it away from trying to preserve space there too.

But still people try and while may work for some, some up end with no ticket.