Free Standby Now?
 

An agent at the 1k desk just told me on the phone that United "did away with charging for at-airport standby two weeks ago" due to many complaints.

I told her I didn't believe her - but she said she swore it was true. Does anyone know anything about this?

They did away with fees for 1P and 1K, but not 2P or GMs. I left my 2P boss behind 10 days ago when our meeting got done early, and they wanted to charge him $75 to take a flight 2 hours earlier. He decided he'd spend less in the bar.

She misinterpreted a change on the "flat tire" rule. She was incorrect. Maybe with further integration, co plats will get the UA 1k waiver in the future, who knows, but asof now, she is incorrect.

2 hours in an airport bar anyone is good for a solid multiple of that. What with $25 glasses of pinot in le grand compt... Tell the Boss to step up!

Huh?

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,52142,00.html

Looks like I am the slow guy on this boat...with the bad info....per another thread, it says CO gold can do SDC free.

Thnx for the link TerryK

Do these fees (or no fees) apply to others on the same PNR (i.e., I'm 1P, but my wife and daughter are not)?

Not only do CO Plats get the waiver, but so do CO Golds. :)

I'm 1P and was told it was $75 on a flight on 7 August.

sosafan,
As a 1p myself, I have done same day change/standby 3-4 times since it went free back in May sometime. Often, IME, I find that you have to remind the CS or TA that your a Gold Elite and that same day change from the 24 hour mark is free. Now, If you want to change your original orgin/Destination airport, yes, it will be 75 plus fare difference.

Say you go CLT-CLE-BWI-EWR-CLT.
You want to say see if you can squeeze and extra segment at 24 hour check in. You can say do CLT-CLE-ORD-BWI. Because BWI is your destination. Same for the return. BWI-ORD-IAD-CLT instead of BWI-EWR-CLT.

above is an example, but as long as the origin/switching airport is not changed, they should let you change, even if your in G class, no G class on flight you want, they will put you in the lowest fare bucket for that flight.

Try it sometime, you may even get lucky and get rebooked in Y/B!!
Hope this helps...

did you correct the agent?

I successfully did this a few times this summer as a 1P. Were you trying to change anything other than the departure time of the flight?

what was the change in the flat tire rule?

Can one really do SDC 24-hour in advance now on UA? did they change it? Thought it used to be 3-hour before the same day new flight?

I flew GVA-IAD-ORD and in IAD, there was a customer service desk
in the bag pickup area. I was booked on a flight with a 5 hour
layover and there was a flight with a 2 hour layover. I had seen the earlier
flight when I made the original booking, but it would have been $200 more.
I presented my boarding pass and gold card and asked if I could get on
the earlier flight. I was told the flight was full, and that it would cost
$75 to get on the standby list. So I didn't bother.

Ironically, the bags made it on the earlier flight anyway, and were locked up in the bins between the baggage belts when I got to O'Hare.

I didn't correct the agent because I didn't know.

Thanks all.