Questions Regarding UA's Type B DBCFREE Voucher [Merged]
 

I am trying to use a bump voucher for my daughter. I know that I can't book the ticket online and will call in. Do I have to pay the telephone booking charges like I do for award tickets? Also, are bump vouchers transferable at all? I searched the FAQs but could not find the relevant information (thought I had seen something related to that in the VDB related faqs but can't find the relevant info).

No fee for the VDB free vouchers. I recommend that you book the ticket online and hold it, then call Reservations and tell them you will be using the voucher. Since you need to mail it in, or ticket within 24 hours, you can ticket it at the airport. I have been able to use VDB vouchers for friends and family at the airport, but the voucher was in my name all but one time. Never had a problem with the ticket agent at ORD. Good Luck.

If you go to the airport to issue the ticket, they are easily transferable. But *you* must go to the airport.

I believe if you mail them in, and enclose a copy of your id (proving it is you redeeming for someone else), it also works fine.

Instructions found here:
http://faq.ua2go.com/al/12/1/article...earch&bt=4n&s=
(it is for how to use a free ticket voucher, but the VDB certs are the same procedure)
Either method I suggest making the reservation online and holding it, to eliminate the time and possible errors of booking the itinerary with an agent. Then provide the itinerary locator when you talk to them.

I don't know how that could be booked on-line because those DBCFree tickets have to be booked in Q or V class, and not sure how you would specify those booking codes? Are you able to enter the promotion code
DBCFREE
on the web site? Conversely typically free economy award tickets book in XY booking code.

If its a dollars off type travel credit voucher then certainly you can book it on-line and apply it to the fare you have.

Let's not confuse the chap. First, the OP is talking about a DBCFREE voucher, and said that he knows it can't be booked online. Second, no paper vouchers are redeemable online, even dollars-off-type travel credits. Only e-certs are redeemable online. You cannot book online with a paper voucher; the best you can do is hold an itin online, then call or go to the airport to complete booking using the vouchers. But either way, that's not relevant to the OP. :)

(And Y awards book into XY only if they are Saver awards.)

Thanks folks.
I managed to make a booking on the phone (and verified the booking details online on my itineraries). There are no fees whatsoever - not even a security fee. Will have to go and pick the ticket up at the airport. According to the booking agent, this is because the travel date is too close to the booking date (though the travel is 15 days away).

Question on Type B Ticket Voucher
 

If this has been overdone in the past let me know but I'm posting since search hasn't provided the details I needed. I got a "FREE TICKET VOUCHER" and it is a a Type B Voucher valid for a round trip ticket anywhere in the lower 48.

The question I have is states Ticket by: 08 May 24. Does that mean I have to make a reservation before that date (meaning that I can fly after May 24th) or does all travel have to be completed before the 24th? All the instructions are unclear on the site.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to FT, littlen!

What you have isn't a Type B voucher, it's a VDB (DBCFREE) voucher... Type B vouchers have a fixed cash-equivalent value, used as forms of payment.

"Ticket by" means exactly that - the ticket has to be issued by that day. That means you only need to make your reservation and have it ticketed by the date printed... your travel can be for anything through End of Schedule (330 days out).

Search for "DBCFREE" to find more info on this particular voucher.

Changing routing on DBCFree ticket?
 

I used a DBCFree voucher to book a ticket to Las Vegas for later this month. I got a call from United a bit ago -- my layover in Dulles has been cut from an hour to 50 minutes. I was uneasy about the hour layover to begin with -- especially because the next flight isn't until 5 hours later -- so although I know 10 minutes is not objectively that much, it just makes me even more nervous. However, United is now showing a routing through Denver that didn't exist when I booked my ticket -- I guess maybe as the result of other schedule changes -- that would have a 90 minute layover and get me into Las Vegas only 30 minutes later than I was originally supposed to arrive.

Do DBCFree tickets work kind of like award tickets in that you can change flights as long as you keep your origin/destination the same? Or would they try to hit me with a change fee (I'm thinking that a 10 minute schedule change is not on its own significant enough to get a reroute -- am I right?)?

i don't know much about dbc free rules, but you can try and call and bring up the schedule change, but i'm not 100% sure if it works but you can mention that you would have taken the other routing had it been available and you were not happy with the tight connection. you might get a nice agent who understands that 10 minutes does mean a lot with connections.

my two hockey pucks is that if the schedule change is a result of united changing things, then you should be ok in making a change more suited to you (within reason of course) as this is no different than a schedule change on a paid ticket. if it's a change made by you, then you would have to pay the change fees.

Typically, I have never had a problem changing DBC free tix. Although I have never changed connecting cities. best guess would to try and call and see what they say. Worst case Senario, call a few diff agents. sooner or later one will do it for you situation

Technically, the routing for a DBC FREE itin must remain the same. i.e. if you book ORD-DEN-LAX-SFO, you can change the dates, but must continue to fly ORD-DEN-LAX-SFO. If you change the connecting cities, you have to pay $100.

If a schedule change breaks your connection, I imagine you get a free re-route to something of your choosing. Whether UA will view a 10-min reduction in connection time as 'breaking your connection' is the real question. Give it a try. Claim you are horrified at the thought of sprinting around IAD and I expect you'll be OK. ;)

50 minutes is plenty of time to make a connection at IAD. You aren't likely to get UA to change your ticket to a different connecting city unless you want to pay a change fee, but YMMV.

You can change the routing for $100 on DBC Free ticket, however, in this case it should be free since they changed the schedule.

A minor schedule change that doesn't impact the passenger's ORIGINAL plans is not eligible for a free change to a different connecting city.

Type B Voucher for R/T - Transferable?
 

I am virtually certain that this question could be answered with a proper search, but I'm in a location with sloooooooooow connectivity so I ask forgiveness in advance for not finding it on my own.

I have a Type B Voucher for a free R/T (Profile: DBC Free) with the standard restrictions (W,V,Q class, must be booked 14+ days out, etc.) but I don't see any language about it being transferable other than that it can't be bartered or sold.

It's got my name on it. I have to ticket it by June 27. If I can't use it myself, can I give it away? It doesn't say non-transferable, but I know better than to go by what UA doesn't say on such vouchers.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Indeed. A search for "DBCFREE" would yield a plethora of posts on this very topic. The short answer: yes, you can use it to book a trip for someone else, but you will need to do it yourself at the airport or through ticket-by-mail (i.e. phone + mail).

The long answer: search. ;)

cepheid, thanks so much! Last night when I posted I was on a dial-up speed connection and just rendering HTML pages was a chore.

Now that I've got the office connection, it's search I shall. Thanks!

Questions Regarding UA's Type B DBCFREE Voucher [Merged]
 

I have never done this before...

I want to transfer my ticket to someone else, what is the easiest/ most effective way to do this?

Do I need to make this reservation for them? And if so do I have to do it over the phone, or can I do it when I go to the airport to sign over the ticket?

Any information would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Two methods are possible:

1. Make reservation on the phone or online and ticket it at the airport with the voucher within 48 hours.
2. Make reservation on the phone and inform them you would like to mail the voucher -- they will provide you with the necessary information to get this done.

The person you are transferring it to can also make the reservation. It is also possible to make the reservation at the airport but that will take additional time. Better to have the record locater # handy and they can ticket it immediately.

the dbcfree is transferable and can be ticketed for another person by their having them call and hold the reservation with the notation in the record that you will be "paying for it" with a dbcfree voucher or you can make the reservation and have it held. you then pay for it one of two ways and note that there is no phone or airport fee when making a reservation with a dbcfree

go to the airport and ticket it
mail it in (tho keep copies of everything)

also, welcome to flyertalk ^ :) tho your life as you now know it is over ;) so sit back, relax and enjoy the friendly skies of the united forum and if there is anything we can do for you to make you journey more enjoyable, simply ring your call button.

thanks so much!

How to protect free ticket voucher when I have to mail it in?
 

I'm in Vancouver (YVR) and can't redeem my free ticket voucher for travel within the lower 48 US states at YVR (I'll be using it for travel starting from SEA). It's quite a hassle to go to Seattle, and I couldn't go for another two weeks anyway. So I think I will have to use the mail option. I have an itinerary that is on hold for 14 days (done with the agent's help after I first did the 24-hour style hold) while I mail it in.

Some percentage of mail goes missing, and who knows how the UA office handles the vouchers. What's the best delivery method I could use to ensure the voucher actually arrives at the UA office and is acknowledged and processed?

Here's the UA page describing the process:
http://faq.ua2go.com/al/12/1/article.asp?aid=1706&bt=4

================================================== ===
As an aside, I was told by a Customer Service agent before I went to YVR that I could do the ticketing there. The agent at YVR told me I could not. When I phoned back Customer Service again, they reassured me I could, but the agent asked someone else and determined that the agent at YVR could not. So that was a wasted trip to the airport.

I have no clue what type of mail options exist in Canada but here in the US, I almost always mail it in with some kind of return-receipt/delivery confirmation type of service. If it is a high value voucher (which in your case, I think it is), I usually go via registered mail and keep a copy of the voucher just in case it goes missing as I believe the number on the voucher can be used to either re-issue or redeem should something happen to it.

have you looked into exchanging the free ticket voucher for a dollar-off voucher? i believe as a resident of Canada it's a fairly straightfoward process. without the lower 48 restriction, you could start with a YVR-SEA flight or a YVR_SFO leg.

want to make sure you're making best use of the voucher...

That's a good point. I was told at the time that I could get a $300 check, but I figured I could get a more valuable ticket out of it, which indeed I have if this works out. I often fly from Seattle anyway. But if I were to do the conversion you mention, what could I expect for a "dollar-off" value?

I'm thinking I might do standard registered mail with acknowledgement, but I will be sure to make a photocopy as suggested.

I don't understand why the YVR agent shouldn't be able to ticket it either, but the TBM offices seem to have a very good track record at issuing the tickets. Sometimes it does take them the full two weeks, but there aren't many reports here of missing vouchers.

That being said, I'd make a copy of the voucher and mail it with some kind of tracking/delivery confirmation service.

I'd also recommend enclosing a printout of your on-hold itinerary, in addition to writing your last name, date of travel, and confirmation number on the voucher itself.

I use TBM for all itineraries with paper vouchers.

I take a digital picture and/or photocopy of each one before sending it in.

So far, so good! ^

I have done this several times with no problems. I always make a copy of the voucher.

yes, you can exchange the dbcfree for travel credits as i have done it. a simple letter of explanation to customer relations will take care of if (allow about 3-4 weeks) but as noted by g, keep a copy.

What value of credits have you gotten for it?

i ended up with 4x$100 travel certs (customer relations/type-a) for the exchange of a dbcfree on a 1 hour bump :eek:. i was dumbfounded as i thought it would be no more than $200 (and was actually expected only $100). n.b. this was last year when i was a 1k and i also mentioned in the letter that i had a mp balance of (at that time) over 650k so a free tix didn't really help me with my future united travel needs but as always, ymmv

redeeming DBC free vouchers at the airport
 

I just spoke to the ICC to redeem two DBC Free vouchers my partner and I got when we got bumped on our way to turing's wedding last summer.

The call went very well. There was no hold time and the woman at the ICC was very fast and knowledgeable and I had my desired flights in no time. I was impressed.

However, at the end of the call, she said since one voucher is in my name, and the other is in my partner's name, we both have to make our way to a United ticket counter before tomorrow at midnight to redeem and ticket the held reservation.

Is this really the case? It doesn't sound right to me.

I think the person named on the DBC must redeem it. So I believe the agent is correct.

The airport agent may not care, especially if the tickets are in the same name as the DBC though.

Last time I redeemed a DBCfree it was by mail and just needed to be postmarked within 24 hours of booking. Also needed to include a copy of photo ID.

This is one reason I'm glad I live 10 minutes from the airport! I can drop in any time to do any transactions I need to in person.

I'm actually ~7 or 8 minutes from the airport. It's more the logistics of getting us both there that would be annoying.

I have used vouchers for both me and my boyfriend without the boyfriend there.

I always put myself first on the PNR, so I present my voucher first and they ask for ID. They when they get to the second ticket, I just hand the 2nd voucher over and they don't ask for ID.

Note this was for VDB travel credits, not the free ticket, but they are more or less the same thing for this example.

BillJ

I just did this a few weeks ago. I reserved a ticket for my wife on the phone using a DBCFree coupon and went to the airport the next day (I was flying anyway) to hand in the coupon. The only slow part of the process was waiting in line at the airport reservations counter. The two parties in front of me seemed to have awfully complex problems. Once I got the the counter, my transaction took about 1 minute. It was simple and straightforward. I gave them the record locator number, handed over the coupon, and showed my ID to redeem it. ID for my wife was not necessary. (Since when do you need to provide traveler ID at booking time? You can book a ticket in anyone's name.)