UA's New Refare Policy - $150.00 (or Greater) Administrative Fee - 3/20/2009
Mar 20, 2009, 8:38 am
#1
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UA's New Refare Policy - $150.00 (or Greater) Administrative Fee - 3/20/2009
1P agent told me today that for any tickets booked after today a refare due to price drop will now be charged a $150 change fee? Has anyone heard that? I did a search but did not see this mentioned. Thx.
Last edited by desperationsearch; Mar 20, 2009 at 11:34 am Reason: changed title
Mar 20, 2009, 8:45 am
#2
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$150 change fee? hmmm
Mar 20, 2009, 8:49 am
#3
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Sounds like UA is adopting more and more Continental policies 
Mar 20, 2009, 9:19 am
#4
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i hope this isn't the case...but if it is, it'll cause me to re-think my brand loyalty. after a year of (comped) plat status on co, a big part of the reason i ultimately stayed with united was the re-fare thing. my travel isn't paid for by a company, and i like knowing that i can book early and not lose out if the fare goes down later.
that said, from a business standpoint, i can see why they would want to more closely emulate what co is doing.
that said, from a business standpoint, i can see why they would want to more closely emulate what co is doing.
Mar 20, 2009, 9:46 am
#5
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This is the one thing that keeps me booking on UA and not AA. If it goes, I go.
Mar 20, 2009, 9:50 am
#6
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And every other legacy carrier. If it happens, I believe that would leave Alaska and Jet Blue as the only real carriers with no-fee refares on non-refundable tickets.
It's also consistent with the "We already have your money" policy of DEQM not applying to travel that's already booked.
It's also consistent with the "We already have your money" policy of DEQM not applying to travel that's already booked.
Mar 20, 2009, 9:53 am
#7
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And every other legacy carrier. If it happens, I believe that would leave Jet Blue as the only real carrier with no-fee refares on non-refundable tickets.
It's also consistent with the "We already have your money" policy of DEQM not applying to travel that's already booked.
It's also consistent with the "We already have your money" policy of DEQM not applying to travel that's already booked.
Unless anyone else can confirm that they have heard anything about this "new" policy? Sounds to me like a poorly trained agent who couldn't believe that you could do this and wanted to slap the usual "I touched you reservation" fee on it.
Mar 20, 2009, 9:58 am
#8
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Mar 20, 2009, 10:02 am
#9
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Perhaps, the two data points make a pattern for you. But your implication was that because it seemed like a pattern, it was somehow more possibly true.
Also, giving you travel credit is arguably consistent with "have your money already". They take your initial "over pay" and sit on it while you wait to bother using it and hopefully forget to ever use it.
I would just prefer that we get more anecdotal or explicit evidence. I don't think there is any debate that as customers we appreciate greatly this refare option. I believe AS also does this correct?
Also, giving you travel credit is arguably consistent with "have your money already". They take your initial "over pay" and sit on it while you wait to bother using it and hopefully forget to ever use it.
I would just prefer that we get more anecdotal or explicit evidence. I don't think there is any debate that as customers we appreciate greatly this refare option. I believe AS also does this correct?
Mar 20, 2009, 10:03 am
#10
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Truth is, most international fare rules in place call for the fee when refaring to a lower fare (no change in itin). I think it's just never really been enforced.
Mar 20, 2009, 10:05 am
#11
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True but their 150 change fee itself is not competitive with Air Canada already. I do a lot of CAN trips and they charge on 50 bucks for even flights opped by UA.
Mar 20, 2009, 10:33 am
#12
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Still looking for a definitive answer if any of us get one - but to clarify what I said to start:
One agent on the 1P line said this, I didn't try any others
She said it was a change made in February that only effects tickets booked after today
She said it would not effect tickets booked prior to today no matter when they were for
I hope its not true, and just a rogue agent, but we all probably should make attempts to find out.
One agent on the 1P line said this, I didn't try any others
She said it was a change made in February that only effects tickets booked after today
She said it would not effect tickets booked prior to today no matter when they were for
I hope its not true, and just a rogue agent, but we all probably should make attempts to find out.
Mar 20, 2009, 10:42 am
#13
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No mention of this when I refared yesterday but was on an older ticket.
And no announcement by UA (which they have done with previous fee changes).
And no announcement by UA (which they have done with previous fee changes).
Mar 20, 2009, 10:46 am
#14
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Still looking for a definitive answer if any of us get one - but to clarify what I said to start:
One agent on the 1P line said this, I didn't try any others
She said it was a change made in February that only effects tickets booked after today
She said it would not effect tickets booked prior to today no matter when they were for
I hope its not true, and just a rogue agent, but we all probably should make attempts to find out.
One agent on the 1P line said this, I didn't try any others
She said it was a change made in February that only effects tickets booked after today
She said it would not effect tickets booked prior to today no matter when they were for
I hope its not true, and just a rogue agent, but we all probably should make attempts to find out.
Unless the info on united.com changes today, I think we can discount this.
So you didn't pay or make the change then it I hope?
Mar 20, 2009, 10:47 am
#15
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Let's not forget that the DEQM promotion was a direct match of what AA did earlier this week, pretty much, t+c for t+c. I don't think you can suggest that this is somehow going to yield a pattern of not allowing anything to change if a ticket has already been purchased. It's possible, but this would be a long way from being close to proven.