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Original Routing Credit (ORC) After Involuntary Re-Routing/Re-Booking (Merged)

Old Jun 12, 2013, 8:18 pm
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Last edit by: WineCountryUA
What is ORC?

ORC=Original Routing Credit: Claiming credit for your original routing as you originally booked it in the event you are rerouted on flights that earn fewer miles than you originally booked.

When do I qualify for ORC?

If you are flying a UA flight on a UA-issued ticket and crediting to UA Mileage Plus, then generally after being rebooked during IROPS due to a misconnect or canceled flight (regardless of the cause--weather, mechanical, ATC delays, etc.) on a more direct routing than you originally booked that earns fewer United miles. This includes being rebooked on other airlines, even if they are not United partners, as well as being rebooked on other UA flights or UA partner flights.

What if I SDC and then have IROPS?
Reports suggest SDCing AAA-BBB to AAA-XXX-BBB and then having IROPS where you are placed back on AAA-BBB, that ORC might be denied for AAA-XXX-BBB. As your original purchase was AAA-BBB.
Unknown what would happen in more complex situations, such as you traveled to XXX and then IROPS occurred, you would probably just be better without ORC.


You will generally not qualify for ORC under the following circumstances:
  • A change to your itinerary made in advance
  • A United-initiated schedule change made prior to departure
  • A voluntary change made during travel (i.e. SDC, walking away from a segment, etc.)

A reroute during a VDB has been an open issue (best if you can get the VDB marked INVOL but still should be possible -- may take some pushback if refused)

How do I get ORC?

ORC will not post automatically (even if a gate agent assures you otherwise). You will have to call in or write into the MPSC (Mileage Plus Service Center--NOT the reservations center or Premier reservations line), provide your record locator or e-ticket number, and state that you were rerouted at United's request and would like to receive the mileage as you originally booked. You cannot do this until the miles for the flights you actually flew posted (which, for United metal, is usually shortly after your flight, as of mid-2019) and at least 5 days have passed between the original VDB flight date and the date of the request for ORC. If the agent grants you ORC, and you have UA miles already posted from the flights you actually took, they will send it to auditing. After about a week the miles for the flights you actually flew will be removed from your account and the miles for the original routing will be deposited, so check and make sure that your original routing would have indeed given you more miles than you actually earned!

If you were rebooked on a carrier which isn't a United partner (i.e. AA, DL, etc.), you can generally credit the flight you actually flew to that carrier's mileage program and still claim ORC with UA.

Any tips to ensure I am successful?

When dealing with UA over a rebooking that will earn you fewer miles, make sure the agent marks your ticket as "INVOL." When the MPSC sees this note, they will be much more likely to quickly agree to grant you ORC. The absence of "INVOL" on your ticket makes the agent think you may have voluntarily rerouted yourself on a shorter itinerary, in which case you wouldn't be able to claim ORC.

Automated rebookings (the kind where you misconnect and then check your itinerary or go to a kiosk after landing and find yourself already booked on another flight) generally seem to properly be marked "INVOL," so you should be fine in these cases. You can see if your ticket was marked "INVOL" by clicking on the "View Receipt" function for your itinerary on united.com; it will be shown next to "Fare Rules" below the fare breakdown section, like so:

Fare Rules: Additional charges may apply for changes in addition to any fare rules listed.

INVOL;CXL BY FLT DT/
Note that some people have reported success in claiming ORC on VDB rebookings if they were able to successfully persuade the agent to mark the itinerary "INVOL."


Is there ORC for MM / Lifetime credit? for PQDs?

Yes and Yes (Generally included but to be safe specifically mention these in your request)

Can a get a refund?

It is believed that requesting a refund will block the ability to request ORC.

Other issues?

You may run into difficulty if any of the following are true:
  1. You're not flying on a UA-issued ticket (recent 2022 reports suggest this is possible)
  2. The rebooking was done by a third-party due to IROPS on that third party carrier
  3. You're not crediting to UA MP

The first two may not be impossible to overcome, but you may need to work harder to get the credit (YMMV, though, especially if both #1 and #2 are true).

The third one is a different case--you need to request credit through the program you're crediting to, as third parties don't have the ability to make adjustments to programs they don't own (UA can't adjust your LH balance, for example--they can only send LH a feed of what flights that person flew, a process which is automated and tied to their operations system).

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Original Routing Credit (ORC) After Involuntary Re-Routing/Re-Booking (Merged)

Old Jan 22, 2019, 8:15 am
  #16  
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
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Originally Posted by tilhas
I had found a great deal on a 3 segment flight in Z fare which got me 3136 PQM.

This morning heading to the airport I got automatically rebooked and one segment gone (flight delay at EWR)

i was rebooked to the following YUL-IAD (Y) and IAD-CLT (J). How many PQM will that give me?

also... I opted to catch an earlier flight since I was so early to the airport.

also when I click email receipt I get two. One with
NONREF/0VALUAFTDPT/CHGFEE;YUL POS END
and other with
INVOL;YUL POS END

what does that mean? Will I get ORC declind because I got an earlier flight?

(still in the plane lol)
What was your original route? Do you have elite status with UA? YUL-IAD-CLT is far short of 3100 PQM, even with a business multiplier (YUL-IAD-CLT) is only 810 miles. - so let's say 1000x2 is 2000 miles.

This is an easy case of getting ORC. I'm not sure what YUL POS END means - POS is probably point of sale? Maybe because you got rebooked at YUL.
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 10:32 am
  #17  
LIH
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
That sounds like a customer service gesture, not a refund. If you'd gotten a refund, you'd no longer have a C-class ticket, and therefore no longer would have been eligible for the PQM bonus.
All I can say is I had my C fare earnings post with the normal delay after my flight completion and then received my downgrade compensation without even reaching out to the GS desk (difference between a Y and C fare, which on that route was nominal ~$300). Not sure if a "C" fare class is more ambiguous somehow but that anecdote happened seamlessly and without any direct interaction between me and the GS desk (they re-booked me while I was in flight on the inbound connection). Could be attributable to an agent just going above and beyond I guess.
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 10:41 am
  #18  
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Originally Posted by LIH
All I can say is I had my C fare earnings post with the normal delay after my flight completion and then received my downgrade compensation without even reaching out to the GS desk (difference between a Y and C fare, which on that route was nominal ~$300). Not sure if a "C" fare class is more ambiguous somehow but that anecdote happened seamlessly and without any direct interaction between me and the GS desk (they re-booked me while I was in flight on the inbound connection). Could be attributable to an agent just going above and beyond I guess.
Well, you didn't request ORC, so that sounds like a glitch in your favor. It may just be special treatment from a GS agent. . But it sounds like you were booked into C class with a seat assignment forced into Y, and then retroactively re-fared to Y after the flight had posted as C. That's outside of policy but a nice result.
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 12:22 pm
  #19  
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Was the "compensation" a refund in cash, or an ETC? If the latter -- not all that uncommon for people to report both ORC and ETC comp, although it's not really policy.
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 3:00 pm
  #20  
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Originally Posted by findark
Was the "compensation" a refund in cash, or an ETC? If the latter -- not all that uncommon for people to report both ORC and ETC comp, although it's not really policy.
USD refund of the exact fare difference from C > day-of Y. Obviously not a huge spread ($297) but the trip was booked pretty close in so the C fare (which was actually an AUS > DEN > ORD) one-way was pretty pricey.
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 4:01 pm
  #21  
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Originally Posted by tilhas
I had found a great deal on a 3 segment flight in Z fare which got me 3136 PQM.

This morning heading to the airport I got automatically rebooked and one segment gone (flight delay at EWR)

i was rebooked to the following YUL-IAD (Y) and IAD-CLT (J). How many PQM will that give me?

also... I opted to catch an earlier flight since I was so early to the airport.

also when I click email receipt I get two. One with
NONREF/0VALUAFTDPT/CHGFEE;YUL POS END
and other with
INVOL;YUL POS END

what does that mean? Will I get ORC declind because I got an earlier flight?

(still in the plane lol)

The INVOL endorsement is quite helpful in this scenario -- it means that the itinerary was involuntarily changed. I've never had an ORC request denied as long as the itinerary is properly flagged as INVOL.

My flight just got to the gate so I can elaborate more later if no one else chimes in :-)
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 5:08 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
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This is the only reason I booked this insane flight.

I have this on my original ticket
MileagePlus Accrual Details
Award/PQM/PQS/PQD
YUL-EWR (G) - 464/500/1/58
EWR-ORD (Z) - 1456/1438/1.5/182
ORD-CLT (Z) - 1216/1198/1.5/175

Total PQM = 3136!
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 5:39 pm
  #23  
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As flown you will post 2,250 PQM, assuming you meant Y and J and not Economy and First:
YUL-IAD (Y) - 489sm - 500 x 1.5 = 750 PQM
IAD-CLT (J) - 322sm - 500 x 3.0 = 1500 PQM

Should be able to ORC for the original amount.

I once flew DCA-EWR-CLT in F for the silliest 3,087 PQM I've ever earned
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 6:28 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
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When should I contact United for the ORC?
now or wait for it to post?
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Old Jan 22, 2019, 6:39 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by tilhas
When should I contact United for the ORC?
now or wait for it to post?
Wait till your flown flights post and then follow the instructions in this thread's wiki / top post
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Old Mar 9, 2019, 9:09 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by emcampbe
Hoping someone can help on how to see if I can get ORC. I'm familiar with the process on a UA-issued/operated itinerary. This one is a bit different.

Booked a wholly TG-operated itinerary BLR-TPE via BKK on TGs website (UA.com, or any US-based TA wanted double the price compared to TG.com or India-based OTAs). Standard 2 hour connection in BKK, which has always been more than enough. While I realize this might not be convincing of an argument for anyone, but I will admit I booked a higher fare to ensure I earned more PQM (75%). Booked as a TG Q fare, and listed the MP numbers on the reservation for accrual.

Arrived at BLR to check in, and was told inbound aircraft was delayed. No one there (AI staff, who work as TG there) wanted to help re-route, and we ended up departing and arriving a little over 2.5 hours late - was told they would take care of us in BKK. Upon landing in BKK, to be fair, there were lots of agents greeting the flight, holding signs for various connection points with rebooked flight info., including to TPE. Surprisingly, rather than being booked on the evening TG flight, which I half-expected, or one of the two early afternoon EVA flights (which was the other thing I thought they would do), they booked us on the next CI (China Airlines) flight out.

The original BLR-BKK flight posted regularly, but obviously, nothing for BKK-TPE. Is there any way to get credit for this? If so, where is the best place to start for credit? I do have a copy of our original itinerary from TG, a copy of the itinerary after we were rebooked on CI (which includes both the TG flight to TPE that we missed, plus the CI flight we ended up taking), as well as the BPs for both our original TG flight to TPE as well as the BPs for the CI flight.

Any chance we can get credit for this?
Originally Posted by seenitall
I would doubt it, unless TG is willing to offer it to you. ORC granted by UA would likely require the flight causing the miss-connect and rerouting to be either operated by UA or at least ticketed by UA. The only connection you have to UA on this itinerary is that it is the FF account to which you want miles (such as they may granted by the operating carrier) to be deposited. So I think your only recourse is to ask TG if they would offer you ORC. I do not know if they have a policy of doing so.
Wanted to follow up on this - been resolved for a while, but forgot to post the results in here.

So I decided to call MP to see what they would say - I figure the worst that they could say is 'no'. Agent said to send an email in with a description and relevant info., as well as a copy of the original TG tickets/itinerary, as well as the CI BPs that we flew on. Sent all that, as well as the original TG BPs for the segment we misconnected to. Was half expecting that there wouldn't be a response, or a outright denial. 3 days later, I got an email back saying they would work with their Star Alliance partner to receive authorization to credit, and to allow up to 4 weeks, and simply to check my account for the flight credit. To my surprise, about a week and a half later, I was in my account and noticed the flight had been added, dated 4 days after the email response.

So in summary, pays to check, I guess. I wasn't really expecting to be credited based on this all being with a partner, but seems they will credit like UA ORC if they have the information.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 12:09 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: May 2001
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Should I Ask for Million Mile credit?

I'm nearly at 1MM and might have a shot at 2MM before I'm dead.

I recently had IRROPS on a flight and I was switched from UA Polaris (on a GPU) to ANA Business. (Nice change of pace, but I didn't find it to be better than Polaris.)

The interesting thing is they rebooked me in J and I received 3X PQM rather than the 1X that I would otherwise have received. Award miles posted as expected for a 016 ticket. However I received $0 PQD and 0 MM credit.

If forced to choose, I'd take the PQM I received as it increases my flexibility for they year. I can go for 125K miles, which I don't normally get or I could choose a different airline for a trip this year. The $0 PQD is not an issue, but I wouldn't mind having the MM credit.

So the question: If I ask for the MM credit, do I stand a chance at losing the PQM I received? I'm wondering how often UA reverses credits in situations such as this. Never? Rarely? Usually? I'm sure someone here probably has a better idea than I do.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 12:16 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by TomA
So the question: If I ask for the MM credit, do I stand a chance at losing the PQM I received? I'm wondering how often UA reverses credits in situations such as this. Never? Rarely? Usually? I'm sure someone here probably has a better idea than I do.
Yes: I'd say your chances are basically 100%. If you ask for Million Miler credit, it'll likely turn into Original Routing Credit, and your NH J fare would become the UA W+ fare you paid for.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 12:20 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Yes: I'd say your chances are basically 100%. If you ask for Million Miler credit, it'll likely turn into Original Routing Credit, and your NH J fare would become the UA W+ fare you paid for.
Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. It might not just be a manual credit to the MM balance, but rather a fare class change and reposting of the flight.
I'm not that greedy.
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Old Mar 15, 2019, 3:57 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by TomA
I'm nearly at 1MM and might have a shot at 2MM before I'm dead.

That's what I thought when I hit 1MM 5 years ago. By the end of this year, I'll hit 1.5MM probably. The enthusiasm has been sucked out of me!
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