Ok. My bags are all packed, I’m ready to go to Spain! That means first I need to get to Toronto to catch my transatlantic flight. United was running a promotion at the time and I got flights from LAS to YYZ for just around $100 on a full Economy ticket. I had initially scheduled an 11-hour layover in ORD in case I had to work the next day.

That did mean I had a red-eye from LAS-ORD, a short 3-hour flight on a red-eye, which meant just about 1.5 hours of sleep at max… Here was the original full itinerary:
12/10 Y LAS-ORD UA2102 2359-0536(+1)
12/11 Y ORD-YYZ UA5727 1652-1945

On the day of departure, I didn’t really like that idea anymore and figured I would be too tired to do anything in Chicago. Plus the red-eye flight across the pond would make me far too tired the next day in Paris. So I got to the airport early and tried to get changed onto the ORD flight leaving 3PM.

Change of Plans v1

United does things a little differently when it comes to same-day changes. While airlines like American and Southwest allow you to standby or switch to any earlier flight that day, United requires that the same fare code be available. So if you booked in fare code S but there isn’t any S fares available, you can’t switch onto that flight even if there are seats available.

When I got to the airport, the gate agent told me the system wasn’t letting her put me onto the earlier flight to Chicago. But instead, it did allow for a change to go through SFO instead. While most others may scoff at the idea of flying farther from their destination, it did mean that the red-eye segment would be about 5 hours long, which is much more reasonable, so I took it! (Plus, it means I get to spend a day in Toronto instead of Chicago!)

That meant now my itinerary looked something like this:
12/10 Y LAS-SFO UA2488 1720-1902
12/10 Y SFO-YYZ UA436 2327-0730(+1)

Unfortunately by the time I changed to this flight, we were at the tail end of boarding so second bags and suitcases were being gate checked. No problem, I thought. I’ll keep my backpack and check the other one! (this turned out to be a critical misstep, details to follow).

The flight went on without a hitch, and we landed in SFO right on time. Though my shoulder did ache a little from being in the middle seat. First-world problems though…

Someone from my contact circle had a few United Club one-time passes that were going to expire on December 12 (just 2 days after my flight), so she gifted one to me. A huge thank you to Emilia! Definitely made my 4-hour layover a lot more enjoyable.

Change of Plans v2

Now here’s where things get interesting. The United Club was nice and all, but I was eager to get on the way to Toronto and spend a day there. I walk a little around SFO exploring the art installations between each terminal. By the time I get to the gate and get ready to board…uhhh…I didn’t have my passport.

Yeah – remember that bag I gate-checked? My passport was in that bag…

Now there’s some good news and bad news. The bad news is that United won’t let me board that flight that evening. If Canada refuses me entry for any reason, United will be the one responsible for sending me back to the US, so they aren’t likely to take that risk. The good news is that this is an international flight, which means Positive Passenger Bag Matching (PPBM) applies here.

PPBM is an international regulation that mandates a bag must travel on the same flight as the passenger. If a passenger does not board a flight, then the airline must either locate the passenger or remove the bag. So, luckily for me, my bag will not go to Toronto without me. What a relief!

But that does now mean I need to overnight in SFO and leave the next morning. So when all was said and done, my final itinerary to Toronto was:
12/10 Y LAS-SFO UA2488 1720-1902
12/11 Y SFO-YYZ UA608 0849-1652

Talk about a chaotic trip! And my trip hadn’t even begun yet…

Finding a hotel

I recently also had an overnight layover in a hotel when flying back from Wichita. DFW has many Hyatt hotels within reach, so finding a room wasn’t so hard. But on my travel day in SFO, there were very few hotel rooms available, mostly averaging around $250 a night. Talk about an expensive mistake…

But luckily, I had a spare FNC through Marriott available. That FNC was from a credit card sign-up bonus and good for one night up to 50k points. Guess how much the Courtyard by the airport cost? That’s right, exactly 50k points!

It’s always super helpful to have some points and certs available. In a pinch, they can really come in handy when the need arises!

All things considered, this didn’t turn out to be that bad. I still had plenty of time to make my flight out of Toronto. But lesson learned – the passport stays on the person at all times.