Pass Travel UPDATE January 11, 2014
1) United Pass Travel Survey coming soon…do it!
United is giving a new Pass Travel Survey and RAFA strongly encourages all retirees to participate. The survey can only be accessed online and it will be open for a limited time. An announcement will be made soon on Flying Together in the United Daily news and on employeeRES. This is a valuable opportunity for retirees to let the company know our opinions about the policy. RAFA will alert members when the survey opens.
NOTE from the ETC: “This is not a vote and simply a “survey” which gives a sampling of how folks feel about certain elements of the pass travel program, systems and etcetera. The survey is not an opportunity for a pass travel overhaul and questions about each and every program will not be asked. The opinions of current co-workers will carry significant weight as pass privileges are a key retention tool. United continues to remain committed in providing retirees with unlimited space-available travel on the United and United Express network.”
2) Having trouble using Flying Together with Internet Explorer 11?
Users with Internet Explorer 11 should follow the instructions in the ALERT message on the Flying Together homepage to access a step-by-step browser configuration help guide in pdf format.
3) Employee Discounts for retirees, including Fed Ex
FedEx now offers discounts to retirees again; just show your United retiree ID card and give them your employee ID number. If you don’t have a UA retiree ID card you can print a “Verification of Eligibility letter” from employeeRES>QuickLinks>EmployeeProfile and show that with a photo ID. If your Fed Ex office doesn’t offer the discount to retirees, ask a manager to check with Fed Ex Revenue Services to confirm it.
There are two ways find the page of employee discounts on Flying Together: 1) go to the “Company” tab and scroll down to “Working Together”, then click on “Employee Discounts” or 2) go to the “Travel” tab and scroll down to “Travel Discounts”, then click on “Employee Discounts”. Read the discount information carefully, not all discounts apply to retirees.
4) IMPORTANT: Your 2013 Pass Travel Report
The following information contains corrections to the Pass Travel Report article in the RAFA December 19, 2013 UPDATE. Thanks to Bill Tinsley in HNL and the Employee Travel Center Accounting Team (EPC) for their feedback.
If you already have your 2013 Pass Travel Report, skip to “d) Notes about your Pass Travel Report” below.
Don’t have it yet? Skip to “b) How do you obtain the Report?”
If you can’t get your Report to work, skip to “c) What if my Report did not generate?”
a) What is the Pass Travel Report?
It is a record of all pass travel by you and your pass riders.
For 2013 Federal and State tax purposes, pass travel flown by “taxable pass riders” from 11/1/2012 thru 10/31/2013 may be taxable.
Why do you want it? The report shows the “pass tax value” for each segment your “taxable pass riders” flew during the 2013 period. Retirees should check their Pass Travel Report for accuracy. If your “taxable pass riders” accrue over $600 of “pass tax value” from 11/1/2012 to 10/31/2013 then United must send you a 1099 form to be declared on your 2013 IRS tax return. Last year United mailed Pass Travel Reports to retirees who received a 1099, but for 2013 they will only mail the 1099s (early in 2014), retirees must access their own Pass Travel Report online.
Who are a retiree’s “taxable pass riders”? Travel by your domestic partner, enrolled friends, non-dependent children age 18-26 years old and same-gender parents is taxable. Travel by other eligible pass riders, including the retiree and spouse, is NOT taxable.
Who pays the IRS? You do (the retiree/employee, not your pass riders).
How is “pass tax value” calculated? It is 10% of the economy class fare, minus any service charges paid. Since United’s economy fares change daily, the “pass tax value” will vary by date flown. Note that pre-paid departure taxes/fees are not deducted to compute the “pass tax value”. Retirees with 25 or more years of service, and their eligible pass riders, do not pay any service charges.
How much tax will you have to pay? It depends on your tax bracket, tax rates, and how the income is declared on your tax return.
b) How do you obtain the Report?
Go to My Info/All About Me (in the left column of the Employee Services page on Flying Together) and click on “Pass Travel Report” under the “Travel” heading. To determine the amount of your forthcoming 1099, run the report for billing dates between 11/1/2012 through 12/31/2013. The total of all Pass Tax Value for the flight date range of 11/1/2012 through 10/31/2013 will total your 1099 for 2013. In the event you see tickets with flight dates prior to 11/1/2012 and within the above mentioned billing date range, exclude these in your calculation as these will NOT be included in your 2013 1099, as they would have been included in your 2012 1099.
c) What if your Report did not generate?
Due to security restrictions with various browsers, the “Pass Travel Report” in My Info/All About Me requires the use of Internet Explorer 9.0 or below. Browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari are not compatible with this report. Users with IE 9.0 or below who are receiving errors related to JavaScript or Cookies, see the “Special note from the EPC” at the end of this article.
EVERYONE ELSE can obtain a Pass Travel Report by following these steps:
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1) Find a friend who has Internet Explorer 9 or below on their computer and generate a report online.
2) OR ….request one via email: Go to employeeRES>Quick Links> Feedback
3) The feedback form will already have your Employee ID and email address populated.
4) For the Subject field, choose “Question”.
5) In the comments box state you want a copy of your 2013 Pass Travel Report.
6) Click on the “Submit feedback” button.
7) Allow several days to receive your report via email, at this time of year they are quite busy.
d) Notes about your Pass Travel Report:
1) The PDF is laid out by “Billing Dates”, scroll down to go thru the year.
2) The “Pass Tax Value” is listed on the left side under each ticket coupon number.
3) Retirees can ignore the “Payroll Deduct” amounts on the far right side, they only apply to employees.
4) The report does not calculate the total pass tax values for all trips. However, if you add the values for trips flown between 11/1/2012 and 10/31/2013 the total should equal the amount on the 1099 United will send you in early 2014; although in rare cases, other taxable benefits may be added to your 1099.
5) If the total of all “pass tax values” flown between 11/1/2012 and 10/31/2013 is less than $600, you will not receive a 1099 from United and do not need to declare the pass tax value on your tax forms.
If you find a discrepancy in your Pass Travel Report, email epc@united.com, put “2013 1099” in the subject line and include the following in the body of the email: retiree name, retiree ID number, ticket details (coupon #, date of travel, passenger name) and any questions.
Special note from the EPC: If you are currently using Internet Explorer 9.0 or below and are receiving errors related to Java Script and/or Cookies please follow the below instructions:
To enable cookies:
1. Click the Tools icon in the browser toolbar
2. Choose Internet Options
3. Click the Privacy tab
4. Go to Select a setting for the Internet zone area
5. Slide the settings button down to Accepts All Cookies or Low
6. Click Apply, and then OK
For more information on Internet Explorer, please see Microsoft's Help Center on enabling cookies.
To enable java script:
1. Click the Tools icon in the browser toolbar
2. Choose Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab
3. Scroll down the list until you see the Java category
4. Make sure there is a check mark in the box beside the only setting option under “Java”
5. Click OK to save your preference and Re-start your computer
In the event that you are still experiencing problems with processing, downloading or printing your pass travel report while using Internet Explorer and after you have used the instructions above, please contact the United Airline Help Desk at 1-847-700-5800 or 1-800-255-5801 for further assistance.
Kirk Moore
Chairperson, RAFA Travel Benefits Committee 1/11/2014