United offers discounted fares, called compassion fares, to customers purchasing tickets for last-minute travel for the purposes of obtaining medical treatment, attending to a seriously ill or injured family member, or attending the funeral of a family member. Compassion fares provide a 10% discount off of any published fare for tickets purchased within six days of travel.
Compassion fares must be booked within six days of travel and are applicable only to flights that are both operated and marketed by United or United Express. These fares are not available online and must be booked through United Reservations at an airport ticket counter or by calling 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331). The booking fee that would normally apply will be waived for compassion fares.
Eligibility
Ticketing must occur within six days of travel, and flights must be operated and marketed by United or United Express. You must be traveling for at least one of the following purposes:
Obtaining medical treatment
Attending to a seriously ill or injured family member
Attending the funeral of a family member
For the purposes of this policy, immediate family members include:
Spouse
Domestic partner
Children
Parents
Sisters
Brothers
Grandparents
Grandchildren
Aunts
Uncles
Nieces
Nephews
Eligibility applies whether the relationship is biological, adoptive, step, in-law, foster or ward/legal guardian.
Required information
The reason for your travel
The name of the family member who is the reason for your travel (if applicable) and his or her relationship to you
The name, address and telephone number of the hospital, hospice or funeral home
The name of the attending physician (if applicable)
Requesting a compassion fare
Please choose the option below that best matches your situation. Keep in mind that for compassion fare purchases and refunds, you must meet the compassion fare eligibility requirements and provide all required information as stated above.
I have not yet purchased a ticket, and I am eligible for a compassion fare.
If you have not yet purchased your ticket, you can book a compassion fare with a United representative at an airport ticket counter or by calling United Reservations at 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331) within the U.S. If you are outside the U.S., please call the appropriate worldwide contact.
I have already started my travel and need to change my reservation for one of the eligible reasons stated above.
Changing only the date and/or time of your return travel
If you have started travel and need to change only the date of your return flight, please view our policy regarding emergency travel changes.
Adding or changing a destination
If you have started travel and need to fly to a destination that was not in your original itinerary, you may have the remaining value of your current ticket put toward the purchase of a new compassion fare ticket. Travel must begin within six days after you exchange your ticket for a compassion fare. A change fee may apply based on the fare rules for your original ticket, but you may request a refund of that fee if you are eligible for a compassion fare.
To make this type of change to your reservation, please see a United representative at an airport ticket counter or call United Reservations at 1-800-UNITED-1 (1-800-864-8331) within the U.S. If you are outside the U.S., please call the appropriate worldwide contact.
I purchased a ticket without realizing that I was eligible for a compassion fare.
If you already purchased a ticket at regular price, but you met the eligibility requirements for the compassion fare discount at the time of your ticket purchase, you may request a refund of 10% of your original fare. You may request the compassion fare refund whether you have already completed travel or not. When submitting your refund request, you will need to provide the required information that is listed above. Please note that your travel date must be (or have been) within six days of your ticket purchase date, and your refund request must be made within one year of the original ticket purchase date.
You may request a refund in any of the following ways:
