United change fees

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Horsefly
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United change fees

Post by Horsefly »

I just experienced being charged some change fees that seem crazy, but I thought I would check other's experiences.

We were planning on flying our daughter home from college for Thanksgiving. I bought a round trip ticket about 8 weeks ago. Last week, a company contacted her and wanted to interview her for a job over this coming weekend, and offered to fly her here after she finished the interview. So I contacted United and explained that I didn't want to cancel the ticket, but just one leg of the round trip. We still needed the return flight. After some time the agent made it sound like there would be a $200 change fee, but after all was said and done I would get a $100 voucher for a future flight. I.e., it sounded like refunding the unused tickets would be around $300, but that they would charge me $200 change fee, leaving only $100 to me in the form of a voucher.

However, a few days later I noticed that my credit card had been charged $200 by United. Turns out that I got a $100 voucher, but the change fee was an additional $200. What!?

So telling United I didn't need the flight to Denver, allowing them to resell that seat, cost me an additional $200. I'm now wondering what would happen if I had handled it differently: Don't tell them anything, and after the flight to Denver let them know that my daughter missed her flight, found another way here, and still needs the return flight.

I'm lifetime Premier Gold with United (flew over a million miles when I was working), and don't think I've ever seen this kind of charge before. I'll admit I didn't care much when megacorp was paying my travel, but... It honestly seems to not make sense. Before I call and complain, do you folks think this is as expected?
navyitaly
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Re: United change fees

Post by navyitaly »

If you would have done the other action they cancel both flights w no compensation or further value.
livesoft
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Re: United change fees

Post by livesoft »

I think it is expected. United charges money just for talking to a CSR over the phone. They want you to do everything online, so penalize you for doing it by phone. If you had made the changes online, I think it would have been cheaper.

In the old days, you could get on an earlier connecting flight for no cost if there were seats available just by walking up to the gate. Not anymore. There is a change fee for catching the earlier flight if you decide to do so.
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DVMResident
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Re: United change fees

Post by DVMResident »

It's expected-it's United. Don't waste your time: challenge the charge with your CC. Let United and the CC fight over the charge.
head gamez
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Re: United change fees

Post by head gamez »

Seems right to me (right doesn't mean I agree with it). If you read the terms of the ticket in detail it will most likely outline the fees.

Also, had she skipped the outbound flight, they would have cancelled her return with no refund or voucher.
TravelGeek
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Re: United change fees

Post by TravelGeek »

DVMResident wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 9:38 am It's expected-it's United. Don't waste your time: challenge the charge with your CC. Let United and the CC fight over the charge.
Pretty much all legacy airlines have these fees and policies, and they aren’t new.

What reason would you suggest for the dispute?
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quantAndHold
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Re: United change fees

Post by quantAndHold »

I had to change a flight because my mother died while I was visiting her. United took its fee.

I don’t really fly United anymore.
simas
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Re: United change fees

Post by simas »

This is expected, from all carriers. the change fees also vary depending on how far away are from from flight event.
ILnative
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Re: United change fees

Post by ILnative »

as others have noted - this is not unique to United - almost all of the legacy airlines would have charged you the same thing and/or cancelled her return flight if she had not taken the first flight. The only way to get around this is to fly Southwest and/or to know the rules backwards and forwards when booking flights and get insurance...
J295
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Re: United change fees

Post by J295 »

One other thing for travelers to keep in mind for the future… If you don’t have status to make changes, book 2 one-way tickets rather than a round-trip. That way if you can’t make the flight out you only burn that flight, and not the other flight.

FWIW A few months ago we ended up not using flights on American and Delta, and hotel at Marriott, because my father had a stroke. Before the scheduled travel and hotel reservation, I called each of these and explained the situation, and they all immediately gave me credit for the full amount of the ticket/hotel. No refund, but I wouldn’t expect one. Quite accommodating in my view.
TravelGeek
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Re: United change fees

Post by TravelGeek »

J295 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:13 am One other thing for travelers to keep in mind for the future… If you don’t have status to make changes, book 2 one-way tickets rather than a round-trip. That way if you can’t make the flight out you only burn that flight, and not the other flight.
I personally like one-way fares. But be aware that it may or may not work to your advantage. Not all routes have one-way fares at 1/2 price of roundtrip. And if you need to change both tickets, you end up with two change/redeposit fees.

If Southwest is an option, they might be a good choice because they give you full credit for a future flight. On the other hand, booking Southwest can also cost you more than another airline if you try to make a change on the day of departure. Some airlines offer free or low-cost standby or same-day-changes while Southwest will happily refund your full price and then charge you the walkup fare for the desired flight.

Award flights might also be a way to reduce change cost/risk because the redeposit fees are usually less than the change fees.

Also look for schedule changes impacting your booking -- they can be an easy out of a ticket you no longer want ("sorry, I can't be at the airport two hours earlier than I expected and booked; please refund the ticket").

Lots of ways to potentially avoid or reduce fees. However, learning all the "tricks of the trade" may not be a good investment of time if this happens once every five years, considering the rules change all the time anyway. Like the OP, I am a UA MM Flyer, and in over 25 years of air travel I have canceled exactly one flight and voluntarily changed zero (this excludes a few "speculative" award bookings that I knew I could cancel with no fee as a 1K).
Topic Author
Horsefly
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Re: United change fees

Post by Horsefly »

Thanks all. It seems like a sad state of affairs, but I guess this is just how they operate now. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately, as a Premier Gold for life (and DW got it for free as well when I reached 1MM), I seem to be pregnant with United: Free bag checked, free Economy Plus seating, early boarding, and even an occasional free upgrade. Now and then I consider flying with someone else, and eventually fall back to flying United. Flying out of Denver, United is also the primary way to get anywhere. Sigh....
barnaclebob
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Re: United change fees

Post by barnaclebob »

I would call them back. From what I can tell you should have been charged the fee but gotten a voucher for the full value of your ticket. Call whatever premier gold phone number they gave you as those agents will be more willing to help most likely.
HerbRight
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Re: United change fees

Post by HerbRight »

I try to not fly united, WE HAVE HAD several bad experiences flying internationally with unexpected fees as well.
dbr
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Re: United change fees

Post by dbr »

I could be wrong about what transpired, but I think the standard transaction is that they credit you with the original cost of the ticket and they charge you the change fee and the cost of the changed ticket. The new ticket can easily cost more than the original ticket and a one-way could cost more than a round trip. If the net is negative they give you a voucher for the difference. If the net is a positive cost you pay. I'm confused why you had to pay and get a voucher, but I can understand how the total cost could have gone up. It did by $100 they way they have it because you paid $200 more and got $100 back.

I suggest posting this here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united- ... eplus-681/ There are some real experts there and also some rather impatient respondents so be prepared.
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SmileyFace
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Re: United change fees

Post by SmileyFace »

$200 change fee is pretty standard these days (over the last several years it went from $50, to $100, to $150, and now its $200).
If she skipped the outbound flight they would have canceled the return as well so that wasn't an option.
I don't understand how the vouchers should play in as I've never dealt with them. Typically they charge the difference in airfare for the flight change PLUS the $200 and sometimes the one-way tickets closer to the time of the trip can be more expensive than the round-trip you booked earlier - so you actually may have gotten a bargain with only being charged the $200.
And I wouldn't fault United for this practice - ALL the airlines are doing it.
DVMResident
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Re: United change fees

Post by DVMResident »

TravelGeek wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 9:49 am
DVMResident wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 9:38 am It's expected-it's United. Don't waste your time: challenge the charge with your CC. Let United and the CC fight over the charge.
Pretty much all legacy airlines have these fees and policies, and they aren’t new.

What reason would you suggest for the dispute?
Dispute agreeing to the fee, which if I'm reading correctly, the OP didn't do.

If you feel obligated because it's common practice or you stepped on one of United's legalese-wrapped fee landmines, have fun paying.
If you reject the notion of garbage fees and are willing to renegotiate the relationship, short-circuit United's customer "service" and challenge.
DrGoogle2017
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Re: United change fees

Post by DrGoogle2017 »

This is why I like Southwest Airline better, no change fee.
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steadyeddy
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Re: United change fees

Post by steadyeddy »

dbr wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 1:24 pm I could be wrong about what transpired, but I think the standard transaction is that they credit you with the original cost of the ticket and they charge you the change fee and the cost of the changed ticket. The new ticket can easily cost more than the original ticket and a one-way could cost more than a round trip. If the net is negative they give you a voucher for the difference. If the net is a positive cost you pay. I'm confused why you had to pay and get a voucher, but I can understand how the total cost could have gone up. It did by $100 they way they have it because you paid $200 more and got $100 back.

I suggest posting this here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united- ... eplus-681/ There are some real experts there and also some rather impatient respondents so be prepared.
The OP bought a round trip ticket and then cancelled one leg.

Charge $300 for original round trip flight
Credit $100 voucher for cancelled one way leg
Charge $200 change fee for cancelled one way leg

So you ultimately paid $200 for a one-way ticket and a $200 change fee. I hate fees, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary here.
tibbitts
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Re: United change fees

Post by tibbitts »

DrGoogle2017 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:05 pm This is why I like Southwest Airline better, no change fee.
But then you're faced with the choice of getting up at 3am, and changing planes twice with one 10 minute connection and one 10 hour connection, to get where you're going... or taking the 10am United nonstop. I greatly prefer the SW experience too, but have my limits as to what I'll sacrifice.
TravelGeek
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Re: United change fees

Post by TravelGeek »

DVMResident wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:42 pm Dispute agreeing to the fee, which if I'm reading correctly, the OP didn't do.
I wasn’t on the call with UA and the OP. I do know that a change fee is always “new money”, i.e. it does not come out of the residual value of the original ticket. That ultimately doesn’t matter too much, though, unless you have no intention of flying United again. All it means is that they have more of your money for a while.

Here’s probably a good place to learn and ask questions about this process:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united- ... ht-16.html
If you reject the notion of garbage fees and are willing to renegotiate the relationship, short-circuit United's customer "service" and challenge.
You agree to the change rules and fees as part of the original ticket purchase because they are in the fare rules of the original ticket. United will probably simply point to that when the credit card company asks for “their side of the story”. I am sure they have “canned” responses. They aren’t in the business of renegotiating ticket contracts because you or I don’t like “garbage fees” we agreed to when buying a ticket.

OP could have bought a fully refundable ticket at much greater initial cost and would have gotten a full refund. Of course, that doesn’t make sense in most cases. I have never in my life bought one because I know the chances are very slim that I will have to cancel, so it would be really expensive “insurance”.

OP is lucky that it wasn’t a basic economy fare, which is completely unchangeable. You fly as purchased or the money is lost.
TravelGeek
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Re: United change fees

Post by TravelGeek »

DrGoogle2017 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:05 pm This is why I like Southwest Airline better, no change fee.
Alaska also allows changes or cancellations without fee if it is at least 60 days prior to departure. And it is “only” $125 otherwise (with exceptions for MVPG status).

https://www.alaskaair.com/content/trave ... vices-fees

This is something that can be useful when you book a long time in advance, because you don’t have to worry about fares dropping... as long as you monitor the fares, you can get credit for the difference.
staustin
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Re: United change fees

Post by staustin »

Yet again example of the frustration in and around flying these days. Flexibility to changes plans is a thing of the past (except on southwest, which i personally don't care for simply because i can't select a seat). Insurance is the best option in my view, outside of multiple, one way tickets.
DVMResident
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Re: United change fees

Post by DVMResident »

TravelGeek wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:50 am
DVMResident wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:42 pm If you reject the notion of garbage fees and are willing to renegotiate the relationship, short-circuit United's customer "service" and challenge.
You agree to the change rules and fees as part of the original ticket purchase because they are in the fare rules of the original ticket. United will probably simply point to that when the credit card company asks for “their side of the story”. I am sure they have “canned” responses. They aren’t in the business of renegotiating ticket contracts because you or I don’t like “garbage fees” we agreed to when buying a ticket.

OP could have bought a fully refundable ticket at much greater initial cost and would have gotten a full refund. Of course, that doesn’t make sense in most cases. I have never in my life bought one because I know the chances are very slim that I will have to cancel, so it would be really expensive “insurance”.

OP is lucky that it wasn’t a basic economy fare, which is completely unchangeable. You fly as purchased or the money is lost.
Your view falls in the first camp, the group that pays more.
I haven't lost a dispute to date nor blackballed, yet. I pay less both money and time.
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RustyShackleford
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Re: United change fees

Post by RustyShackleford »

DrGoogle2017 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:05 pm This is why I like Southwest Airline better, no change fee.
And no luggage fees. And alcoholic beverages are only $5 (as opposed to $8 on Delta, not sure about other airlines). The palpable sense that the airline is trying to screw one, that one gets on most every domestic airline, is eerily absent on Southwest - not that they are perfect. I'm very fortunate that Southwest is very convenient at my home airport, particularly for the places I like to fly.

I'm flying United at Christmas-time. Hoping to emerge unbloodied :-)
tibbitts
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Re: United change fees

Post by tibbitts »

DVMResident wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2017 10:11 am
TravelGeek wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:50 am
DVMResident wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:42 pm If you reject the notion of garbage fees and are willing to renegotiate the relationship, short-circuit United's customer "service" and challenge.
You agree to the change rules and fees as part of the original ticket purchase because they are in the fare rules of the original ticket. United will probably simply point to that when the credit card company asks for “their side of the story”. I am sure they have “canned” responses. They aren’t in the business of renegotiating ticket contracts because you or I don’t like “garbage fees” we agreed to when buying a ticket.

OP could have bought a fully refundable ticket at much greater initial cost and would have gotten a full refund. Of course, that doesn’t make sense in most cases. I have never in my life bought one because I know the chances are very slim that I will have to cancel, so it would be really expensive “insurance”.

OP is lucky that it wasn’t a basic economy fare, which is completely unchangeable. You fly as purchased or the money is lost.
Your view falls in the first camp, the group that pays more.
I haven't lost a dispute to date nor blackballed, yet. I pay less both money and time.
You're saying I, a first-time customer of United or Delta or whatever airline, could buy a basic non-changeable and non-refundable ticket for $500, and you could get me my $500 refunded if I changed my mind. How much will you charge me for this service, and why do you have a day job when you could be doing this for a living?
ccieemeritus
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Re: United change fees

Post by ccieemeritus »

+1 for Southwest.

+ No change fee.
+ Checked baggage included.

Plus the legacy airlines charge you more for a good seat. On Southwest you have a fair shot at any seat on the plane. For $15 you get automatically checked in which generally puts you in boarding group A.

Just make sure to bring your own food.

Of course depending on your airport Southwest may not work well.

Alaska is my #2.
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bostondan
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Re: United change fees

Post by bostondan »

Pro tip for anybody that needs to modify a flight in the future:

We recently booked flights to Hawaii for 12/25. We chose an inconvenient flight because all the others were ridiculously expensive. I managed to get the weekend off so that we could leave 12/23 instead, so we wanted to change the flight.

I Tweeted to United, and they said, "There is a $200 fee for voluntary changes in flights. However, I notice you have a 3 minute change in your flight itinerary. Please contact us to accept these changes."

I took that as a hint that I should NOT accept the changes. I called and said, "I don't accept my flight change, please refund my ticket." I knew they wouldn't since that's ridiculous (it was arriving 3 minutes earlier too, so not even a bad change). The lady was very nice and said, "I cannot refund the ticket for such a small change, but I CAN change you to a different ticket in the same fare class."

We were able to move our flight for FREE to one leaving 12/23 (the day we wanted) at a very convenient time. They did not have 4 seats next to each other, so upgraded us to economy plus for free. Our original tickets were $1000/person, while the new ticket would have been $1800/person if we bought them ourselves.

Apparently if it is a large itinerary change (>60 minutes or something) you can actually get a refund. However, it is still useful to know that even a tiny change can allow you to modify your flight for free if you do not accept the change.
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” - Elie Wiesel
RudyS
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Re: United change fees

Post by RudyS »

Great suggestion and reminder. I was once notified of a 20 minute change, which would have tightened up my connection significantly. So they did agree to rebook my flights, same day, but at a more convenient time than I originally had.
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