United Airlines Reservations- A Step by Step Guide To Online Booking

The first version of this guide described the booking tabs and the Calendar Shop option that United showed in 2019. United has redesigned the page since, so this update walks through the booking form as it appears on united.com now. We looked at the form and did not buy a ticket.

Where to start

The top of the home page has four tabs: Book, Flight status, Check-in and My trips. Under Book you can pick Flight, Packages, Hotel, Car or Cruise. For a plane ticket, stay on Flight.

Fill in the search form

1. Trip type: choose Roundtrip or One-way.
2. Book with miles: tick this to price the trip in MileagePlus miles instead of money.
3. Flexible dates: tick this to see fares around your dates before you commit to a day.
4. From and To: enter the cities or airports.
5. Dates: pick your departure date and, for a roundtrip, the return date.
6. Travelers: the form starts with one adult. Click to add more passengers.
7. Cabin: choose Economy, Premium economy, or Business or First.
8. Include Basic economy and restrictive fares: this box is part of the form. Basic economy fares are cheaper but have more limits, so check the conditions before choosing one.
9. Press Find flights.

Other options on the form

• Advanced search opens a longer form for travel certificates, multi-city trips and upgrades.
• Find your travel credits helps you use money from an earlier cancelled trip.
• United also notes that its bag rules and the fees for some optional services have changed, with a link to the details on the same page.

After you search

1. Compare the flights and open the fare choices. Read what each fare includes for bags, seats and changes.
2. Enter each traveller's name exactly as it appears on the passport or ID that will be used to fly.
3. Add extras you want, such as a seat or bag, and check the total before you pay.
4. Save the confirmation email and use My trips to manage the booking later.

United notes on its home page that bag rules and some optional service fees have changed, so read the baggage section on united.com before you pack.