It could take a lot of time and effort to get ready for a trip. When an unforeseen event occurs, would it be easy to change or reschedule your plans? You may depend on United’s policy on flight changes without a doubt.

Basic Guidelines to Change a Flight on United Airlines

If you purchased your ticket directly from the airline, the United Airlines flight change procedure is rather accommodating. There are a few important factors to take into account:

Any flight ticket may be changed without charge within 24 hours of purchase.
If your plan includes travel within the US and Canada, no United change flight fee will be charged. Basic Economy fares are not covered by this.
You can modify your flight for a travel credit if you cancel your Basic economy fare.
One year after the issuing date, the travel credit expires.
As long as you pay the difference in price each time, you are free to change your flight as much as you like.
If you are unsure of your trip itinerary, you do not need to book a replacement flight right away. You have the option of selecting a flight credit, but you have a year from the day your original ticket was issued to redeem it.
If your fare limits permit, you will get a future flight credit for the difference if your new flight is less expensive.
If you have a reward ticket for an Economy or Premium Economy flight, there are no change fees. The plane must take off from the US.
You must use the travel credit through your travel agency if it was provided for a flight that you booked there.
There is no longer a standby fee if you take an earlier flight on the same day.
Members of MileagePlus Premier can reserve a seat for nothing on an earlier flight.
Group flights booked through the airline’s Group Desk will continue to be subject to the United Airlines change fees.

United Airlines Flight Change within 24 Hours

Within 24 hours of the date of purchase, travelers are permitted to change the day, time, origin, and destination of their trip. The following are the crucial considerations:

United Airlines must operate the flight.
There would be no adjustment fees for United Airlines. But fare differential can be relevant.
All tickets, with the exception of Basic Economy, are governed by this rule.

Flight Change Fees for United Airlines

Here is a summary of the United Airlines change cost for all booked ticket types and service classes:

Fare Type	Change Fee
Basic Economy tickets	Subject to the following change fee: 49.50 per one-way domestic flight USD 99.50 per one-way international flight
Non-refundable tickets	Not applicable
Refundable tickets	100 USD each way
Award tickets	60 USD each flight segment

Fee For Basic Economy Fare

According to United’s policy, changing a ticket for Basic Economy is not permitted. The best course of action would be to purchase a new ticket after cancelling (for free) within 24 hours.

As an alternative, you can decide to cancel your ticket and pay the following fee in exchange for a flight credit:

200 dollars for round-trip travel
100 dollars for a one-way ticket

Fee For Refundable Fares

United Airlines’ new policy on flight changes allows for free changes to refundable tickets. You must pay the additional fare if there is one, though.

You will be charged by the airlines for a same-day change.

USD 75 if you are a Silver-tier or regular member.
The cost is USD 0 if you are a Gold, Platinum, or 1K member.

Fee For MileagePlus Award Tickets

The following tickets no longer incur United change fees:

deposit renewal at least 31 days prior to departure.
travel within 30 days of departure beginning in the US.
However, there is a cost if you modify a non-US-originating international award ticket within 30 days before departure. The airline membership price includes:

The cost for general members is USD 125.
Premier Silver members get $100.
Premier Gold subscribers can pay USD 75.
USD 50 for Platinum Premier members.
There is no charge to Premier 1K members.

How to Change a Flight on United Airlines?

Both online and over the phone, passengers can make changes to their United Airlines reservations.

Call the airline’s customer service representative to make modifications to your United flight over the phone. Please be aware that the change fee and the tariff difference may apply depending on the type of your ticket.

Change a United Flight Online – Both paid and award tickets can now be changed in essentially the same ways. Click on the ‘My travels’ item in the menu after logging into your UA account portal at united.com.

Enter the six-digit confirmation number and the passenger’s last name to access your flight reservation.
Choose the flight segment you want to modify.
Select the Change flight option, and then:
1. Change the time or date of your trip.
2. Change your destination.
3. Add a flight.
4. Remove a flight segment.
Choose Continue to pick a different flight.
To confirm your revised itinerary, continue your booking.
You’ll receive a confirmation email for the new flight.

United Airlines changes the time of the flight

The schedule change policy at United Airlines is straightforward but somewhat limiting.

To provide customers enough time to plan their journey, the airline releases the flight schedule 11 months in advance. Once the flight schedules are published, the airline takes various adjustments to take any changes into consideration. These changes might include some of the following:

Changing flight arrival or departure times
Changes in flight frequency
Route changes, both new and eliminated
a modification to the aircraft’s type

Ticket refunds

The airlines make every effort to provide you with solutions that minimize the disruption to your travel plans when a schedule change happens. You can ask for a refund if one of the following holds true and the revised flight options are not satisfactory to you.

The estimated departure or arrival time is significantly altered.
If the airline is unable to put you into the same cabin as what you ordered, you will either get a full refund or the price difference on your ticket.

How to Reschedule a Flight on United Airlines?

You can select a complimentary alternate flight on a UA or Express airline if the timetable for your journey changes. The flight needs to leave from the same location and take off within 24 hours after your initial trip. Simply look up your flight in My Trips and select a different one.

United Same Day Flight Change Policy

The United same-day change policy is extraordinarily liberal by standard travel regulations. The following facts are crucial:

Award tickets are covered by the policy, but not basic economy rates or certain bulk, group, or consolidator tickets.
The flight must be operated and promoted by UA.
You can request a same-day alteration starting 24 hours before your planned departure.
You can change to a flight that departs the day before or the day after your initial flight if the new one does so and it does so within 24 hours of the time your request is filed.
The airports for the origin and destination may change, but links may be added or removed.
You can switch flights the same day if you check bags, provided you do so at least 60 minutes prior to the commencement of your new trip.

Fee for Same Day Flight Change

Non-elite travellers are required to pay a 75 USD fee for confirmed same-day flight changes. A major benefit of even lower-tier status is the ability to make same-day updates for free for Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Platinum, 1K, and Global Services elites.

If your initial fare class is not offered, you must also pay the fare difference.

Same-day Changes vs Standby

The key contrast between a same-day change and a standby flight, according to United’s flight change policy, is that a change made on the same day is a confirmed change, whereas a change made on a standby doesn’t take effect until moments before takeoff.

When waiting in case your desired flight doesn’t have seats available, you maintain your original ticket.

Beginning January 1, 2021, there will be no longer be a confirmation cost of $75 for a standby seat, making all passengers eligible for free standby.

How to Book a Standby Flight with United?

Using the airline’s app, online, or at the airport, passengers can add their names to the standby list for domestic flights up to 30 minutes before to takeoff and for international flights up to one hour prior to takeoff.