Problems Using Goodwill eCertificates
 

I received 2 goodwill eCertificates from United a while back, but when I tried to use them today, I got 2 different errors.

1) The first certificate gave me the error "The certificate number or
promotion code is no longer valid for use" I have not used either of these
certificates. They are well within their usage period.

2) The second certificate still appears to be valid, however, I tried to
apply it to the following itinerary (priced at $332.80 without the eCert)
Nov 24 SNA-SFO-OGG - UA136 UA47
Dec 1 OGG-LAX-SNA - UA48 UA6158

I received the message:
We found a lower fare for your selected itinerary. It is not electronic
certificate eligible and is less expensive than when the electronic
certificate discount is applied to an eligible fare for this itinerary.
Your electronic certificate will not be applied and may be used for a
future itinerary.

The fare came out in T booking class with a fare basis TOE0NAH/UAF with the exact same price, $332.80.

The flights show up as eCertificate eligible.

Have other people had these kinds of problems when using eCertificates? My only guess is that I am somehow falling under the

"Not all flights are eligible for an electronic certificate discount. In some instances, flights or fares that are not electronic certificate eligible may be otherwise discounted or may in any event be less expensive than the electronic eligible flights"

clause. How can this be since there are basically no restrictions on the usage of these eCerts? I know that T is a reaaalllly cheap booking class, but I am still quite confused.

I've put the full T&C's below if they help shed any light on this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

United Airlines Customer Relations
Goodwill Electronic Certificate
$100
xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxx
The above number is your electronic certificate number. Use this number
to discount one new electronic certificate eligible roundtrip fare
booked on united.com. You must begin your travel in the 50 United
States, Puerto Rico or U.S. Virgin Islands and fly to a destination
within the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands or Canada.
See below for additional terms and conditions.
We hope this travel certificate will give United Airlines an opportunity
to serve you again.
************************************************** **********************
************************************************** **********************
******************
Using your discount is as easy as:
Go to http://www.united.com and login to our reservations system.
Select create itinerary and search by schedule.
Enter your origin and destination and your travel dates and type in your
electronic certificate number listed above.
We'll bring up a list of available flights. All flights that qualify for
the discount will be identified with a green star symbol, which means
that the itinerary is "electronic certificate eligible.'
Select your flight. We'll automatically calculate and present your
discounted fare. All that is left for you to do is choose your seat and
purchase your fare. It's that easy!
Offer details:
Discount Amount: $100
Booking period: April 15, 2004-January 31, 2006. Travel period: April
15, 2004-January 31, 2007.
Eligible Booking Class: All First, Business or Economy
Maximum number of passengers per itinerary: 1
Blackout Dates: None
NOTE: Not all flights are eligible for an electronic certificate
discount. In some instances, flights or fares that are not electronic
certificate eligible may be otherwise discounted or may in any event be
less expensive than the electronic eligible flights.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
We are not yet able to redeem paper certificates, coupons or vouchers at
united.com. Please contact customer support at 1-800-589-5582 with any
questions concerning paper or electronic certificates.
************************************************** **********************
************************************************** **********************
******************

TERMS and CONDITIONS:
TICKETING:
You may redeem this electronic certificate on united.com only. Discount
only applies when ticket is purchased on united.com using the
certificate number and a credit card that has a valid U.S. billing
address. Electronic certificates cannot be redeemed by calling United
Airlines or your travel professional.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
This discount may only be applied to the purchase of one new ticket and
may not be applied to previously ticketed reservations. Electronic
certificate has no cash value and may not be altered or duplicated.
Lost, stolen, expired or deleted electronic certificate numbers will not
be replaced. Only one electronic certificate may be used per ticket. The
senior citizen 10% discount may not be used with this discount. This
electronic certificate is transferable, but void if sold or bartered.
VALID ROUTING:
To take advantage of this discount you must begin your travel in the 50
United States, Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands and fly to a
destination within the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin
Islands or Canada.
ALLOWABLE FARES:
This discount can be used on all First, Business and Economy booking
classes. The fare purchased must be greater than the value of the
certificate you are redeeming.
RESTRICTED FARES:
This discount may not be used on the following fare types: Fares that
are not
displayed as electronic certificate eligible on united.com
FARE RULES:
The fare you qualify for depends on what class of service is available
on the days you travel. Some flights may have lower fares available
without the discount. Keep in mind, you must travel round-trip on United
(one way and multi-city trips are not allowed). Other restrictions may
apply.
BLACKOUT DATES:
None
MILEAGE PLUS ACCRUAL:
The passenger may accrue Mileage Plus miles with this discount.
UPGRADES:
To determine if an upgrade certificate may be used together with this
discount, refer to the terms, conditions and booking class restrictions
associated with each upgrade.
CHANGES/REFUNDS:
The rules of the fare you purchase determine what changes or refunds are
allowed. Any refund due is based on the amount actually paid. The
electronic certificate discount may not be reapplied toward the purchase
of another ticket when exchanging or refunding your original ticket,
except when the original ticket qualifies for a reduced fare (guaranteed
airfare rule applies). Check with United Airlines.
VALID CARRIERS:
This discount may be applied to United, United Express(R) and Ted
operated flights, but not to flights operated by other airlines (such as
United- marketed code share and Star Alliance flights).
Processing Information:
Agencies See: S*PMA/WEBDOLLAR
UA Representatives See: S*PMO/WEBDOLLAR
FastTech: Profile Code: PMO Name: WebDollar
Tic Codes: WEB076
Must Ticket After: April 15, 2004
Must Ticket By: January 31, 2006
Complete Travel: January 31, 2007
Copyright 2002 United Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved.

I'm sorry to say, but that's just part of the failure from United to explain the rules clearly for these things. Also, maybe the incompetency of ual.com probably has a bit to do with it as well as it totally seems arbitrary.
My only advice is to keep trying. I have actually had a same exact flight take the correct amount off, and then a few days letter, I would get that same message that you are talking about. So my only advice to you would be to keep trying and press your luck.

Try again a couple of times. Other Fters have reported the coupon being accepted the 2nd or 3rd time.

If not, call united.com support.

They will let you know if your ecert applies and if you still can't manage to get ual.com to take it, they will apply the discount after you book it online. Just call them back after booking it.

If they say, no after you booked it, then you can always call UA and cancel the ticket within 24 hours (to the second).

Thanks for the info. I will keep trying, but i have a feeling that at least the first certificate is gonna take some sort of intervention. My guess would be that someone guessed a certificate number and it happened to be mine, and thus it shows up as being used already.

For the first certificate number, UA CS probably sent you a bad one. They send me a fake (er, "erroneous") one before too. Complain at them and forward them the original certificate e-mail, and they will send you a real one with a valid number.

I just ran into this problem tonight myself. Has anyone discovered the remedy since last fall?

Also, is it possible to use the goodwill e-certificate in conjunction with a refare Travel Voucher if I do a book and hold?

Thanks!

Same problem redeeming Reward Choice $25 Cert
 

Get the same error trying to use the Reward Choice $25 e-certificate.

"We found a lower fare for your selected itinerary. It is not electronic
certificate eligible and is less expensive than when the electronic
certificate discount is applied to an eligible fare for this itinerary.
Your electronic certificate will not be applied and may be used for a
future itinerary."

One would think UA would making fixing the website their #1 priority seeing it generates $$$.

I seem to get the "We found a lower fare for your selected itinerary...blah, blah, blah..." message most of the time when attempting to use e certs of any kind. It's clearly false almost everytime I see it. The fare that is supposedly "found" by united.com is the identical fare that you can find by just searching (remember to clear the cookies and start over if you want united.com to treat you as an anonymous shopper). The fare that is "found" is not at all "lower."

What to do? Call the service support at united.com. This usually gets me talking to new friends in Bangalore. Takes awhile to describe the situation. But I've succeeded in getting the proper discount twice. Once the agent actually processed a refund to my card for the amount that the discount should have been. So my credit card shows a both a charge and a credit. I'm quite sure that's not standard operating procedure. But it happened.

For these two transactions, the real challenge for me, and presumably for others, has been to get three other boni for using a Platinum VISA for an online purchase: A) the 500 mile on-line purchase bonus. Called MP for this. Instantly applied. B) the two miles instead of one for every UA purchase. Not sure how to force this yet or if it's happened. C) the EQMs that should accrue for online purchases. Email and phone calls to Chase may work. Situation for me is still pending. It could be difficult because there is some kind of code that goes on the record if an agent does anything to the itinerary, even a united.com support person.

All in all it's been a lot of hassle and time on the phone for something that is supposed to be automated online.

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but it seemed better than starting a new one on a very similar topic.

I'm trying to apply one of the ubiquitous $100 e-certs to an upcoming itinerary. I don't get the "we found a lower fare..." message, but I am finding that ua.com says my candidate itinerary is ineligible for the ecert. There are relatively few restrictions on these $100 certs, and I'm not running into any as far as I can tell (all UA/UX flights, no open-jaw, etc).

Specifically, I'm flying PHL to the west coast and trying to book a couple legs on the IAD-LAX/SFO widebodies. UA.com seems to have trouble with a particular SFO-IAD 763 leg (intl config). Can anyone shed any light on why this flight might be ineligible for the ecert? I thought I'd see if there was something obvious I was missing before I wrestled with web support.