Yesterday, United Airlines announced it would “permanently” eliminate change fees on most U.S. domestic fares. It will also allow passengers to standby for free on earlier or later flights and reduce change fees on award tickets. Such change fee waivers represent a new course for United. Let’s dive in and unpack these changes.
United Extends Change Fee Waiver On All Fares Through December 31, 2020
United is extending its change fee waiver for new tickets issued through December 31, 2020. Unlimited changes with no fee will be permitted. This includes all fares and all destinations. You can book a ticket up to the last day of 2020 and have up to year to change it without fee, though a fare difference may apply when you rebook.
United Eliminates Change Fees On Most U.S. Domestic Fares
Effective immediately, change fees will “never means never” return on flights within the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While the $200 change fee will no longer apply, do note that you will not necessarily be able able to simply switch from flight to flight for free. Instead, you will be responsible for any change in fare. So if your old fare was $300 and your new fare is $600, you won’t pay the $200 change fee, but you will pay $300 to reflect the new fare.
Basic Economy Fares Excluded
Note that Basic Economy fares are excluded from United’s new change fee waiver. That’s not so much because United wants to collect $200/change from these passengers as it reflects the fact that Basic Economy fares cannot be changed or cancelled. Such a policy is meant to be a disincentive to booking and push passengers to pay more for more flexible options.
Watch carefully how United might grow Basic Economy in the months to come. When I learned of the news yesterday afternoon, my first thought was that United is going to expand Basic Economy fares, perhaps even having multiple fare classes within Basic Economy. That’s pure speculation at this point, but could be a way for United to bring back change fees without violating its “forever” promise.
Despite the impending restrictions, remember that United has a broader travel waiver going on right now. Even Basic Economy tickets can be changed for free through December 31, 2020.
Book One-Way Tickets, When Possible
The change fee waiver does come with one disadvantage, particularly for those who purchase pricey tickets at the last minute. Before, when you changed a ticket and the new fare was cheaper, you would receive an electronic travel credit for the difference. For example, if a $1,500 fare dropped to $1,000, you’d receive a $500 voucher (less any applicable change fee). That no longer appears to be the case. Instead, you’ll forfeit the difference.
To reduce that risk, book one-way instead of round-trip tickets. For nearly all routes, the cost of the two one-way tickets will equal the cost of the round-trip. That gives you more options and flexibility should you need to change and find your new flights cheaper.
United Reduces Change Fees On All MileagePlus Tickets
In a very positive move for United MileagePlus members, change and re-deposit fees will be waived for changes made more than 30 days prior to travel. You may recall that United recently introduced a “simplified” fee structure for MileagePlus members, waiving change fees for changes made 60 days or more prior to travel. With that period halved, you now have more breathing room to adjust your plans without incurring a fee of up to $125.
While the revenue ticket change fee waiver applies only to flights within the United States, the reduced change fee applies to all award tickets, regardless of destination.
Free Same-Day Standby Starting January 01, 2021
Effective January 01, 2021, all customers can standby for free on their day of travel to an earlier or later flight. This will not be limited to domestic destinations, but all United destinations. Passengers can add their names to the standby list up to 30 minutes prior to departure on domestic flights and 60 minutes prior to departure on international flights. United’s new automation technology will automatically clear you on the flight and assign your seat. You’ll also be able to view your position on the waitlist using united.com or the United app.
The same fare class need not be available in order to list, which presents an interesting way to potentially prolong your trip. If you miss your original flight in order to go standby on a later flight, you’ll be transferred from flight to flight until you are accommodated (at no charge). For destinations with limited services, that could be a way to extend your trip and avoid any difference in fares (remember, change fees will also be waived). It might also present a risky gamble that gets you stuck for days in a busy market.
I personally think this is the bigger news than the change fee waiver. So often I’ve seen customers approach gate agents to try to get on an earlier flight, only to be told that it would cost $75 to do so. They walk away in disappointment while the flight goes out with empty seats.
While United potentially forfeits a rich stream of revenue here, it may gain more in the long-run by winning loyalty from passengers.
MileagePlus Elites Will Still Have 24 Hour Confirmed Same-Day Change
There was some fear that with the move to make “same-day” standby free for all, MileagePlus elites would lose their ability to make confirmed changes within 24 hours of travel. That is a wonderful feature of MileagePlus that can allow you to travel a day ahead of schedule or a day later, as long as you can find availability in your originally booked fare class.
Not only will that program not be changing, it will be expanded to Premier Silver members as well (currently it is only for PremierGold members and above). So if you are booked at 1oPM on Monday and want to confirm an 11PM flight on Sunday, you can…as long as the space is there in the same fare class.
Scott Kirby’s Promise
United CEO Scott Kirby claimed change fees were the number one thing customers complained about. He promises that United will not be cutting its way to growth, as it has in the past:
“Following previous tough times, airlines made difficult decisions to survive, sometimes at the expense of customer service. United Airlines won’t be following that same playbook as we come out of this crisis. Instead, we’re taking a completely different approach – and looking at new ways to serve our customers better.”
If true, that is an amazing change of course for United even during the pandemic, which has eliminated almost all meal service and other amenities onboard in order to conserve cash (don’t buy the security theatre rationale).
CONCLUSION
Later, I’ll discuss one more element..the word forever. Based upon what United did to its MillionMiler members in the past and how it re-defined cancellation earlier this year, I’m not convinced these changes are actually permanent. That said, this is all good news and I expect such fee waivers to last for at least 2-3 years.
> Read More: United Airlines Says “Forever” But It Only Means “Until We Change Our Mind”
Kirby used the word “Forever” in his statement. Does this imply a legal obligation of United if they change their policy in the future?
See here:
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-airlines-forever-fees/
Good for UA to try something different. Your point about the ability to walk-up and jump on an earlier flight is 100% correct. To me that is the best change they announced. It will be interesting, as it always is, to see how AA and DL responds.
Also and unrelated, I know you have met Mr. Kirby and he certainly receives lots of attention, most of it negative, but I must say he has really stepped up his game in communications. I thought he did a great job showcasing this and has become a very good communicator. He seems like a really decent guy, someone who would be fun to hangout with. Kudos to him and the UA Comms team.
You and Mr. Kirby have lots in common: Air Force vets and both new fathers.
Thanks for this post.
Regarding the elimination of all change and redeposit fees for MileagePlus tickets…does that include award flights on PARTNER airlines booked with United miles?
I presume that’s the case (the partner airline doesn’t care, they’re getting compensated by United regardless). Just wanted to make sure since, well…United, Kirby, not exactly trustworthy…so worth getting a clear verification.
Fair question and indeed, this covers all award tickets.
Awesome, thanks. This is good news.
For me, this is good because I expect to lose all elite status in everything, airlines and hotels and have to start from scratch in 2023 (maybe 2022).
This pandemic is not going to end quickly. It will be a slow improvement over a long time. For one thing, many will refuse the vaccine and some will only get one dose when 2 or 3 doses may be needed. Or the vaccine may be effective for only 1-2 years then need another, like the annual flu shot.
Best news out of United since Polaris. And this is way faster. My best perk with jetBlue status is unlimited changes. I would alway book jetBlue v United for this exact reason since my schedules are very much subject to change. Now i can evaluate them more equally.
I’ve been doing a lot of booking in the covid era, and I’ve been surprised at how much more often round-trip domestic tickets are now significantly cheaper than two one-way tickets combined. This used to be the case with only international round-trip flights. I used to always book one-way domestic tickets for increased cancellation/rebook flexibility, and also to get better multi-airline fares (search engines do *not* do a good job of finding all multi-airline, round-trip fares), but those perks are no longer worth the higher price.
For changing fights, I don’t understand why nobody (including other frequent-flyer sites) prioritizes simply cancelling your flight and rebooking with the provided electronic travel certificate, instead of changing it directly and hassling with fare differences. I’m strongly loyal to United and always opt for the cancellation in order to get 100% flight credit, and then simply use that to rebook. As long as you keep track of all your credits, you won’t get cheated out of fight changes that cost less, especially with the more generous expiration dates lately.
Finally, please, please reformat your comments section so that it doesn’t prompt me to type my reply every time I scroll on my mobile device. Otherwise, I love the professional-looking format of your site.
Nothing is forever and we should expect that to be the case. Bananas are 19 cents at Trader Joe’s, have been like that forever, but we shouldn’t expect that to be the case forever.
Companies went business causal, then back to business formal and are now business on top (in Zoom range) and casual on the bottom. Won’t be forever but no one can tell you how long it will last.
Anyone who claims to predict the future (whether telling you something is forever or will disappear when April comes around) is lying to you.
Only thing that could make this forever is a passenger bill of rights!
Could someone help me with a “Basic Economy” ticket question as I have had no luck with United’s “support” desk.
If I book a domestic Basic Economy ticket in 2020 for travel in 2021, can I change the ticket in 2021 (to a different domestic flight) without a change “surcharge” fee? I understand I would need to pay the differential on the ticket, if there is one.
Thanks.
You can. As long as the waiver is in place, any ticket you buy during that waiver will qualify, including Basic Economy.