United makes basic economy flexible through the end of 2021
Great news from United Airlines! This spring, the carrier ended its long-standing pandemic policy of allowing changes for basic economy tickets, which are otherwise completely inflexible. Aside from an option to standby for an earlier flight for free, you're locked into your flight 24 hours after purchase.
Now, following a similar move last month from Delta, United has restored its original flexibility, allowing basic economy customers to make free changes for tickets purchased by the end of 2021.
Best yet, the change is retroactive — customers who purchased basic economy tickets after the last waiver expired on April 30 can now make fee changes, too. As the airline explains:
"As part of an ongoing effort to offer more flexibility, United will allow customers to make changes to all basic economy tickets between now and the end of the year. Customers with basic economy tickets can already fly standby for free on the same day of travel to the same destination."
Currently, United's waiver covers basic economy tickets purchased for travel by Dec. 31, 2021, so you can't book a ticket for next year and expect free changes. You could change a ticket booked for this year and choose to travel in 2022, though, as long as the new travel date is within 12 months of the date your ticket was originally issued. It's always possible the airline will extend the waiver again, but as of now that doesn't seem to be the intention.
As for other major U.S. carriers, American Airlines was the first to end its fee waiver, at the end of March, with Alaska, Delta and United following a few weeks later. Delta was then first to reinstate its waiver, and now United has followed suit.
As of now, basic economy tickets cannot be changed if issued by AA or Alaska, though JetBlue allows its Blue Basic flyers to make a change for a fee — either $100 or $200, depending on the route.
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month