When planning a trip to China last spring, Margie Gustafson of Bethesda, Md., thought it was worth $299 to sign up for United Airlines' Economy Plus Access program, which for one year gives you and a companion on the same reservation first dibs on the best coach seats. The seats are in the first rows of coach and provide up to five extra inches of legroom.

Gustafson signed up for the program by phone and doesn't recall any mention of automatic renewal. The e-mail confirming her first-year membership definitely didn't mention automatic renewal. She was surprised, then, to find this year's membership fee -- now $349 -- on a credit card bill. Her appeals to rescind the charge went unheeded ... until she called us.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the airline sends e-mail to customers near the end of their membership year to remind them of the drop option before the automatic renewal. "We sent an e-mail to Ms. Gustafson in March, and after you brought this to our attention, we researched our e-mail records and learned that the e-mail address we have listed for her is no longer valid," Urbanski said. She urged customers to "keep membership information current" so they can be advised of a variety of things, including flight changes.

Gustafson says she has never changed her e-mail address but is happy with the refund.

Sites to see

Three new Web sites to check out:

• For travelers looking for bargain airfares in Europe: Vayama, which is focused exclusively on international travel, has partnered with a booking engine that puts information about nearly all the European discount carriers in one place. The site also has a handful of discount carriers in non-European countries. Go to www.vayama.com, click "in the air" and choose "low-cost carriers."
• For single travelers: Singles Travel International, which for 25 years has offered age-specific group tours for singles, has a cool new feature that allows singles to network Facebook-style. Say you're considering a trip and want to know who else is going, or even who might be a compatible roommate. Go to www.singlestravelintl.com, click on "community" and read profiles of others who have decided to include that detail.
• For students going abroad and their parents: StudentsAbroad.com has been launched by the State Department in recognition of the ever-growing number of young people traveling overseas, including more than 200,000 college students studying abroad each year. Those traveling alone for the first time, a Bureau of Consular Affairs news release states, are "at particular risk when overseas." Among other things, the site offers advice on whom to contact in case of emergency, tips for safe travel, country-specific information -- basically a one-stop reference guide.