I am receiving United Vouchers based on reduced international fares on tickets purchased last fall. There was no change fee. I'm reading on the web some "horror" stories about the difficulty of using these vouchers to purchase future tickets. Does anyone with experience using UNITED VOUCHERS have specific tips (the difficult process seems to be specific to United)?

Thanks

No expereince on United. You might try going over to www.flyertalk.com and check the United forum on there. Someone will know!

I've used a number of United refare vouchers, most recently about two weeks ago. I wouldn't call the process difficult, but there are just some specific procedures to follow as you can't apply them online.

I made a new reservation on the United site and placed it on a 24-hour hold (rather than purchasing), then I ticketed the reservation at O'Hare the next day as I happened to be going there anyway. I also could have mailed the vouchers in; if you prefer to do this, the phone agents can give you instructions.

Other rules: a few years ago, I was only able to use the vouchers for new itineraries that were solely operated by United (no partner flights), although I haven't checked this rule recently. And, if you want to transfer the voucher to another person, then the individual to whom the voucher was issued will need to sign it over at a ticketing location.

FYI, the rules on these refare vouchers just changed. For tickets purchased on/after March 20, there will be a fee to refare a ticket.

Thanks to both CarolA and ms_go for the replies.

It appears there are no flights of the specific economy classes listed on the vouchers for a trip I'd planned in the fall, so will try to use for a spring transatlantic flight (these seem always to be class W for me).

I'm very pleased to hear of someone on this forum who's actually used these, as I'm much more confident in the information I receive here than at many other sites.

Thanks again!

The process is easy even if you don't live near an airport with a United ticket counter. Go online and put on hold the reservations you want to book. Call United and they will hold your reservation for 10 days. You will be instructed to mail the voucher to Detroit for processing. You will then receive confirmation. Make sure to get the locator number.

Use them all the time - most recently less than a month ago -- and never had a problem. I've always seen it as one of the benefits of UA flights. Sorry to read that they wil begin charging for lower fares and issung these vouchers now. Figured it was too good to last forever.

You mention fare classes listed on your vouchers. I'm curious what kind of restrictions were indicated, as I've never received a United type-b refare voucher that had that kind of condition. The primary restriction is what I mentioned above--they can only be used on United/United Express itineraries. I'm looking at the T&Cs for the voucher I used a few weeks ago, and it says it is valid for "all published UA/UX fares." If you have any questions about whether it can be used for a particular itinerary, I'd suggest calling.

yestravel...me too on the new rule. It was nice...I made use of it quite a few times. But, I had a feeling that wasn't going to last.