United Airlines Flight Change Policy (2021), Fee, Same-Day Changes

There have been significant changes to United Airlines flight change policy due to the coronavirus pandemic. United has eliminated the change fees for standard Economy (except Basic Economy), Economy Plus, United First, United Business, and United Premium Plus on:

All international flights that originate in the United States.
All flights between the United States and the Caribbean and Mexico.
All domestic flights within the United States (incl. the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico).

Note. On other routes (not covered above), the flight change fee waiver for standard Economy and Premium Cabin tickets will only apply through July 31, 2021. Starting August 1, 2021, the flight change fee will kick in for standard Economy and Premium Cabin tickets on these routes.

United has also waived the flight change fees on:

All standard tickets issued through May 31, 2021.
All Basic Economy tickets issued through April 30, 2021.

Additionally, electronic certificates will now be valid for 24 months from the date of issue. This includes electronic certificates that are currently valid as well those issued after April 1, 2020.

United Airlines 24-Hour Flight Change Policy

United Airlines 24-hour flight change policy is similar to its 24-hour cancellation policy. All passengers have up to 24 hours from the time of original booking to make changes to their reservations without being charged a fee, provided they purchased their ticket 7 days or more before departure. This policy applies to all tickets except Basic Economy.

United Airlines Change Fee
Fare Type	Change Fee
Basic Economy tickets	Not allowed after April 30, 2021
Non-refundable tickets	USD 0
Refundable tickets	USD 0
Award tickets	USD 0

United Airlines Flight Change Policy for Basic Economy Tickets

United Airlines flight change policy does not allow you to make changes to a Basic Economy ticket, even within the 24-hour window. The best way out would be to cancel within 24 hours (free of charge) and then buy a new ticket.

United Airlines Flight Change Policy for Non-Refundable Tickets

United Airlines revised flight change policy now allows you to change a non-refundable ticket free of charge. However, you will have to pay the fare difference, if any.

If you’re making a same-day change, United Airlines will charge you:

USD 75 if you’re a general or Silver-tier member.
USD 0 if you’re a Gold, Platinum, or 1K member.

United Airlines Flight Change Policy for Refundable Tickets

United Airlines will not charge you any change fee for making changes to a refundable ticket. However, if you’re changing to a costlier ticket, you will have to pay the price difference. If you’re changing to a cheaper option, the fare difference may be refunded to your original payment method—depending on your fare conditions.

United Airlines Flight Change Policy for Award Tickets

The change fee for award tickets has now been eliminated. This means you can make changes to your award ticket without having to pay any change fee. The waiver on redeposit fees will only apply if you cancel your flight at least 30 days before departure.

How to Change a Flight on United Airlines

You can change your United Airlines flight (time, date, or destination) by phone or online. Online changes can be made if you purchased your ticket directly from United.

A screenshot of United Airlines My trips tab for making flight changes

To make changes to your flight date, time, and/or destination online, follow the steps listed below.

Go to United.com
From the top pane of the booking box, select My trips
Access your trip by entering your confirmation number and last name
Select the itinerary you want to manage
Select the Change flight option
Select and confirm your new itinerary

You will receive an e-mail confirming the flight change.

United Airlines Name Change Policy

What is United Airlines name correction policy?

United Airlines name change policy allows you to correct your name if you have already booked your ticket. United Airlines classifies name changes in two categories: simple name changes and significant name changes.

Under the Transport and Security Administration (TSA) guidelines, the name on your ticket and boarding pass must match the name that appears on your government-issued identification document. Minor differences may be ignored, but major differences can affect your travel.

You can make simple name changes or corrections (listed below) without any supporting documentation:

Minor spelling corrections to the passenger’s first name (e.g., Jane to Janet).
Minor spelling corrections to the passenger’s last name (e.g., Phillips to Philips).
Corrections to the passenger’s title or prefix (e.g., Miss to Ms. or Dr.).
Corrections to inverted first and last changes (e.g., Philips Janet to Janet Philips).
Changing from nickname to real name or vice-versa (e.g., Elizabeth to Liz).
Addition or deletion of middle name (Janet Richard Philips to Janet R. Philips).

Significant name corrections (listed below) must be supported by valid legal documentation:

Name changes due to divorce must be supported by a divorce decree.
Name changes after marriage must be supported by a marriage license.
A change of name must be supported by legal name change document.
Government-issued ID reflecting your former and current names.

Alternate Name Affidavit Option. If you cannot provide documents mentioned above, United Airlines allows you to submit a Name Affidavit stating that you have changed your name, along with a copy of your government-issued ID.

To request a name change through the Alternate Name Affidavit, print and mail a notarized document to:

MileagePlus Service Center

PO Box 1394

Houston, TX 77251-1394.

How to request a name change. To request a name, follow the steps below:

You can make simple name corrections:
- Through your MileagePlus account profile.
- By phone through United Airlines Customer Care Center.
For significant name corrections:
- Upload a copy of your supporting documentation to your MileagePlus account, or
- Mail your documents to MileagePlus Service Center, PO Box 1394, Houston, TX 77251-1394.

Expect up to 2 weeks for United Airlines to process a significant name correction. Note that in some cases, you may be asked to provide valid legal documentation to support a simple name correction request, such as for military titles, nicknames, hyphenated names and variations, misspelled names, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions on United Airlines Flight Change Policy

Unlike cancellations, United Airlines does not allow you to make changes to your flight within the 24-hour grace period. Your best bet would be to cancel your ticket (free of cost) and buy a new one.

United Airlines flight time change policy allows you to change your flight timing free of cost on all fares, excluding Basic Economy.

United Airlines policy on changing flight dates allows you to change your flight’s date/dates free of charge on all fares, except Basic Economy tickets. Remember, this waiver only applies to tickets purchased for (a) international flights originating from the United States (b) flights between USA and the Caribbean and Mexico, and (c) all domestic flights within USA (incl. the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico).

On routes not covered above, you can make changes to your flight free of charge up to July 31, 2021, for standard Economy and Premium Cabin tickets. After that, the change fees will apply on these routes.

United Airlines policy on changing flights allows passengers to change their flights without being charged a change fee on all tickets except Basic Economy on (a) any flight within the United States, U.S.V.I. and Puerto Rico (b) any international flight that originates from the United States (b) any flight between USA and the Caribbean and Mexico. On other routes, flight changes enjoy a fee waiver till July 31, 2021, after which a change fee will apply.

If your flight qualifies for a change fee waiver, you will still have to pay the price difference if your new ticket is costlier. Same-day changes will incur a fee unless you’re a MileagePlus Gold, Platinum, or 1K member.

Yes, you can change the destination of your flight as long as you pay the fare difference and change fee, if it applies to your route as explained above.

Yes, you can make unlimited changes to any flight ticket (except Basic Economy) under the new flight change policy. However, you will be required to pay the difference in fare between the flights.

If your new United flight costs less, you may receive a future flight credit for the fare difference if your fare rules allow. If not, the fare difference will be forfeited.

No, you don’t have to. You can cancel your flight without choosing a new flight right away. After cancelling, you will receive a flight credit that you can use anytime up to 1 year from the day your original ticket was issued.

Yes, if you made a group reservation through United Airlines Group Desk, you will be charged a change fee.

United Airlines Flight Change Policy