United airlines difference between economy and economy plus

United Economy Plus: What to Know Before You Buy

Before you decide to buy an Economy Plus seat upgrade on United, there are a few important things you should know, especially their refund policy.

UPDATE: The post was updated on September 27, 2020, with the conclusion to our Economy Plus saga.

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If only I’d read the fine print…

This past Christmas, our family decided that experiences would make for better gifts than tangible stuff. We’d give gifts that could be enjoyed for a moment in time, not gifts that are easily lost or forgotten. Half the time, we don’t remember who gave us what. Plus, we have no room for anything else.

So I gave my wife Debby a trip to Ireland, with plans to go this summer. Since it was a gift that I had booked with miles, I decided to splurge and upgrade to Economy Plus seating.

United’s Economy Plus Product

Economy Plus seats are located at the front of the main cabin, and offer up to six inches of extra legroom. If you get the right spot, quite a bit more than that. United does not offer free alcoholic beverages in Economy Plus, unlike similar products on its U.S. competitors. But while Economy Plus is nothing special, the extra legroom goes a long way on a trans-Atlantic flight.

Economy Plus also comes in handy if you have a short connection and want to sit near the front of the plane.

Confusion with Premium Economy

It’s important to understand the distinction between Economy Plus and premium economy products. United calls the latter Premium Plus and offers the product on select long-haul international and transcontinental routes. Customers in this class get better seats and more room overall, not just extra legroom. Plus, free alcoholic beverages and upgraded meal service. It’s a lot closer to domestic First Class than to a standard economy product, or even Economy Plus.

Changing Seats in Economy Plus

After booking our Economy Plus seats to Ireland, I looked at the seat maps on Seat Guru.com and decided to make a change. For those unfamiliar, Seat Guru lets you check out the seating configuration for your upcoming flight. It shows you the best seats, and the seats to avoid. It also used to be a lot more accurate and now frequently shows me the wrong aircraft. But you can search various configurations on the site, and with some trial and error, find the one that matches your flight. Even though the site has lost a step, I still use it.

I had no issue changing my Economy Plus seat selection. United charged me for the new seats and gave me a prompt refund for my original purchase. This is part of United’s policy:

If the price of the new seat is equal to or less than the original purchase price then there will be no refund or additional charges. If the price of the new seat is greater than the price of the originally purchased seat, then the original price will be refunded and the new seat must be purchased in full.

Understand: United will pocket the difference if your new seat selection costs less that your original purchase. But if it’s more expensive, they’ll give you a full refund the seats you first purchased.

Covid-19 and Canceled Flights

By April, it was clear we wouldn’t be going to Ireland as planned. Our original reservation departed the U.S. in late June, returning after the Fourth of July.

United normally charges $75 to make changes to an award booking or to redeposit miles. But thanks to change/cancellation fee waiver policies, we had no problem canceling and later re-booking our trip.

Delays to Our Economy Plus Refund

This is where the plot starts to unravel. Because I made a bad assumption (never assume!). You see, I figured United would simply refund me for the Economy Plus seats I’d purchased but would no longer be using.

I re-booked our trip to Ireland, and booked Economy Plus again on the new itinerary. I’d now paid for Economy Plus twice, but I didn’t worry about it. Again, I had assumed United would quickly process the refund from the original itinerary.

So Where is the Refund?

That’s not what happened, and I should have known better. According to United’s own terms and conditions:

Refunds for Economy Plus purchases are processed automatically after scheduled departure in the event of flight cancellation or change to a different flight, when travel is completed in a standard United Economy seat, or when travel is completed in a seat of equal or greater value through the purchase of a premium cabin seating offer.

I’ve put the relevant verbiage in boldface. United is saying that travelers who buy Economy Plus seats will automatically receive a refund after the flight’s scheduled departure! If you buy Economy Plus in December (as I did) for a flight in September, and then cancel in January, United will keep that money until after the flight has departed. In September!

I’ve talked to several customer service people at United. They’ve assured me that United will automatically refund those purchases. (They also say United is redepositing the miles spent for this trip, but it took two more calls before that actually happened).

The original flights in our Ireland trip were schedule to depart in late June. And apparently, that’s not enough time to start pushing for a refund. United, in its terms and conditions, says customers should request a refund only if they haven’t received one “within two billing cycles of their scheduled flight departure.”

That’s a very long time for an airline to hang on to its customers’ money. United has refunded the taxes and fees for this trip, but I continued to wait on the Economy Plus refunds.

Premiers Get Free Economy Plus

None of this would be an issue if I still had status with United. I was loyal to Continental Airlines, but became disillusioned once they merged with United.

United Premier members can book Economy Plus seats at no charge. Those with Premier Silver status can select their Economy Plus seat at check-in, up to 24 hours before their flight. All other United Premier members can select free Economy Plus seats at booking.

Those purchasing Basic Economy tickets cannot upgrade to Economy Plus.

Economy Plus Subscriptions

United sells subscriptions to its Economy Plus section, and it’s an option we should have considered for our trip to Ireland.

Are Subscriptions a Good Value?

Economy Plus subscriptions start at $599, and they allow members to reserve seats in the Economy Plus section during their membership year. What matters here is not when you fly, but when you reserve your Economy Plus seat. You could book a trip now, buy an Economy Plus subscription before you fly, and then move to an Economy Plus seat.

The occasional United traveler can potentially get better value from a subscription than from buying Economy Plus seats individually. But a subscription is a bad deal for United Premier Gold elites and above. They already have free access to Economy Plus at booking. A subscription is probably not a good value for United Premier Silver elites, either, because they can grab what’s left in Economy Plus at check-in.

Subscription Costs

Check out these sample price points for an Economy Plus subscription:

• Continental United States — $599 for one traveler
• Continental United States — $799 for two travelers
• North/Central America — $699 for one traveler
• Global — $799 for one traveler
• Global — $999 for two travelers

Customers can buy subscriptions that cover one, two, or up to eight travelers. And they have the option to auto-renew or not. I would advise against auto renewal and simply buy the subscription when needed.

Compare Individual Flights against Subscription Cost

For our trip to Ireland, the total for our Economy Plus seats was a little under $900 for two, including domestic connections. Meanwhile, the Economy Plus subscription for two was $999 per year. So for one trip, the subscription was not going to save us any money. But with another United Airlines trip coming up, we could have used the subscription there, as well; making it potentially a good value. Travelers need to do their own math and determine if a subscription is the right move.

One important note: An Economy Plus subscription is non-refundable. After canceling our travel this year, United would not have given that money back. But we did get the money back on our individual Economy Plus purchases… eventually.

Also worth mentioning: United has extended all subscriptions (including Economy Plus) by six months due to Covid-19.

The Saga Ends, Nine Months Later

For a very long time, United owed me a refund for my Economy Plus purchases. I automatically received two refunds in September, about a week after the flight (that we weren’t on) departed. But there were still four more Economy Plus purchases dating back to December 6, 2019. These were for the original late June/early July itinerary. I finally turned in an online refund request for those. It took about three days from there, and the money was refunded.

In the end, United made me whole. I got back all the miles and money spent for this canceled trip. But it took several calls and a couple of online refund requests to make it happen. Everyone I spoke to was pleasant and (I believe) trying to be helpful. I couldn’t get mad at anyone.

But those four final Economy Plus refunds were credited back to me on September 24, 2020 — 9 months, 18 days after the seats were originally purchased. And more than two months after the flights would have departed, had they not been canceled.

Final Thoughts

My experience with this Economy Plus purchase is a lesson: Read the fine print! The extra legroom is nice, but before you buy a seat in United’s Economy Plus, know what you’re getting into.

The experience taught me three lessons:

• Don’t buy Economy Plus seats far in advance. If plans change, you will be waiting until after the flight has departed to get a refund.
• If you like Economy Plus, compare the price for your flights with the cost of an Economy Plus subscription. It may work in your favor to buy the subscription instead.
• And yes, always read the fine print. Know what you’re buying and what will happen should your plans change.

We’re now planning that trip to Ireland in 2021. But for reasons that have little to do with this experience, we’ll be flying American Airlines instead.