We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Updated: United Airlines Trick to Save $75 on Close-In Ticketing Fees Still Works

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    United Airlines normally charges an extra $75 for all award tickets booked less than 21 days prior to departure (unless you have elite status, in which case the fee is lower or waived).  This fee is also charged for award tickets on partner airlines.

    But you can use this trick to avoid the fee altogether, even if you don’t have elite status!

    Don’t Let Your Money Fly Away! Use This Trick to Save $75 When Booking United Airlines Award Flights Less Than 21 Days Away

    I’ll explain the trick to avoid the fee!

    United Airlines Award Booking Fees

    If you book an award ticket on United Airlines or a partner airline less than 21 days prior to departure, you’ll pay a close-in booking fee which varies depending on your elite status:

    Note:   Chase United MileagePlus Club cardholders do NOT get charged the close-in booking fee, regardless of elite status The information for the United MileagePlus® Club Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

    But why pay any fees if you don’t have to?

    Secret Way to Save $75

    Let’s say you needed to book an award flight on United Airlines departing anytime less than 21 days from now.  If you booked it normally, you’d be charged the close-in ticketing fee.

    For example, I searched one-way award flights from Houston to San Francisco departing on August 29, 2016.

    All Award Flights Show ~$81 in Fees, Which Includes the $75 Close-in Booking Fee and ~$6 in Taxes

    Clicking on any of the flights to book shows the $75 close-in booking fees.

    You’ll See the Fee Details After Clicking to Book an Award Flight

    The trick is to book a similar flight for the same cost in miles, but more than 21 days away.  Because United Airlines allows folks to change or cancel an award ticket within 24 hours of booking with no fees or penalties.

    Note:   It’s best to book a flight 21 days away that’s the same route as your desired flight.  This way the taxes are the same and it will be easier to change your flight in the next step.

    For example, I found several flights departing from Houston to San Francisco on September 26, 2016.  The coach award flights cost 12,500 United Airlines miles plus ~$6 in taxes and fees.

    You Can Pick a Flight With a Similar Route 21 or More Days Away That Doesn’t Have the Close-in Booking Fee

    Pick a similar flight and go through the online booking process.

    Then, after you’ve booked, call United Airlines within 24 hours to ask to change your flight to the one you really want (next week).

    Because United Airlines’ systems do NOT add the close-in fee automatically when you change the flight from a date more than 21 days away to a flight less than 21 days away.

    You can also try to change your flight online within 24 hours.  But many times you’ll get an error message and need to call United Airlines anyway.

    My friend has used this trick dozens of times to book last-minute flights without paying the $75 fee, including recent flights.  And it’s worked every time!

    There’s no guarantee it will work.  But the worst case scenario is you’ll just have to pay the $75 fee.  Or you can cancel the award ticket within 24 hours of booking to get the miles redeposited into your account.

    Bottom Line

    United Airlines charges a $75 close-in ticketing fee for award tickets booked less than 21 days prior to departure.  The fee is less, or waived, for certain elite status members.

    But you can get around this fee if you book an award flight more than 21 days away.  Then, call United Airlines within 24 hours of booking to change the flight to your desired dates less than 21 days away.

    The trick works for both one-way and round-trip domestic or international flights.

    Have you used this United Airlines award booking tip to save $75?

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)