United Airlines’ refund policy allows passengers to receive a refund for their airline tickets within the first 24 hours of booking their flight (made at least two days before departure), regardless of whether the fares they chose are refundable or include a Flex option.
It is worth noting that at United Airlines, there are three fares that allow for a refund of the airline ticket if the passenger decides to cancel their reservation before departure, namely: Economy Plus, Premium Plus, Business, Polaris.
How to request a refund from United Airlines?
If, for any reason (an incident, hospitalization, the death of a loved one, an expired passport, or lost documents, etc.), you are unable to take your flight, you can request a refund based on the booking conditions of your ticket. Here’s how to prepare your request and submit the claim to AA customer service:
Fill out the online refund form
No need to visit an AA office, wait in line, or provide a multitude of documents. You can complete the entire process from home. It’s simple, just fill out this form:
- Enter your personal information:
Enter your full name as it appears on the ticket.
– Provide your contact information (email address, phone number).
- Provide the flight details:
– Enter the confirmation or booking number.
– Specify the flight number, date, departure city, and destination.
- Select the reason for the refund:
Choose or write the reason why you are requesting a refund (flight cancellation by the airline or cancellation for personal reasons).
If necessary, attach supporting documents such as a medical certificate or any other proof of cancellation.
Add the items for which you are requesting a refund: Your request can include up to 15 items, for example: flight ticket, seat, meal, excess baggage, priority boarding, etc.
- Submit your request:
Review all the information you have entered before submitting the form.
Once submitted, you should receive a confirmation email from United Airlines containing your case number.
- Refund processing time
United Airlines has a maximum of 7 days to process any claim, including a refund request, submitted by the passenger from the date of submission. Refunds are also processed within a maximum of 7 days if the refund was issued by credit card. For other payment methods, refunds may take longer (up to 20 days from the date the request is validated). This applies to bookings made with cash, check, gift card, United.com gift card, PayPal, or travel credit (electronic voucher).
- Check and track the status of your refund request
United Airlines allows you to track your request and check the status of your refund online (on its website or mobile app).
Requesting a United Airlines flight refund by phone
If you are unable to access the United Airlines online refund form, you can contact their customer service for assistance.
United Airlines does not have a specific phone number for refund requests. However, you can contact their customer support by text message by sending the word “UNITED” to 32050.
When to request a refund from United Airlines
Here are all the situations or circumstances that allow passengers to request a refund from this airline:
Lost, delayed ou damaged baggage
The airline is obligated to reimburse you if your baggage is delayed by more than 12 hours for domestic flights and more than 15 hours for international flights.
Delayed flight
If a United Airlines flight is delayed by at least five hours, every checked passenger has the right to cancel their trip and is therefore entitled to a full refund.
Canceled flight
For various reasons (technical problems with the aircraft, pilot strikes, overbooking, bad weather, control tower malfunctions, etc.), United Airlines may be forced to cancel its flights.
In such cases, affected passengers are entitled to at least a refund of their tickets.
However, before accepting a refund, passengers can choose to board an alternative flight arranged by United Airlines. If they refuse, the airline is obligated to provide a refund.
– Compensation is also available
Compensation is provided for flights that are canceled or delayed by several hours. However, this does not apply if the cancellation was due to extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances, and the airline took all reasonable steps to avoid the cancellation, such as severe weather conditions.
Denied Boarding (Overbooking)
If your flight is overbooked and you were among the passengers selected by United Airlines to give up their seats, the airline is obligated to provide a full refund within seven days if you do not wish to wait for the next available flight and decide to cancel your trip.
Seat selection fee
Sometimes, a passenger may be assigned a different seat than the one they selected when booking their United Airlines flight. In this case, the airline must refund the difference in price between the originally booked seat and the assigned seat.
MileagePlus award ticket fee
In the event of a MileagePlus Award Ticket cancellation, the member can request a refund of miles without penalty.
However, if the passenger fails to show up for boarding without canceling their flight reservation, a fee of $125 will be charged before their miles are refunded.
Wheelchair transportation fee
If you booked a wheelchair transportation service via cargo but your flight was delayed, United Airlines will reimburse you for the cost of that service.
When completing the reimbursement form, please include a screenshot of the flight price and the wheelchair dimensions you provided when booking your flight.
Airport taxes
Due to a flight delay or cancellation, or even worse, a baggage delay, passengers often find themselves in an undesirable situation where they must bear unexpected additional expenses such as food, hotel accommodation, or the purchase of clothing, underwear, or cosmetics.
The good news is that United Airlines’ reimbursement policy clearly states that the airline covers expenses incurred due to flight disruptions. However, to request reimbursement, you must contact their customer service department by phone.
Services provided by United Airlines that are non-refundable
Unless the disruption was caused by United Airlines resulting in a flight cancellation, the following services are not eligible for a refund: Excess baggage, (booked with miles Mileage Plus), Upgrade, Meals, Premier Access, Priority Boarding, United Club memberships (changeable only), Travel Packages (combined offers: ticket + hotel + car rental…), Wi-Fi packages.