Refund policies

Bags

Checked bags

If you don’t travel because your flight’s schedule changed or your flight is canceled, you can get a refund. This includes bag service fees.

International points of sale

Argentina

To qualify for a refund, you must purchase a refundable ticket.

Colombia

There are two pieces of Colombian law that affect refunds:

• Right of Withdrawal: You can cancel your flight up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure time and still receive a refund. But, we may keep 10% of the fare. If you bought your ticket as part of a promotion refer to those terms and conditions for refund rules.
• Right of Retraction: If you buy a ticket through our Customer Care team or on our website, you can cancel your reservation within 5 days and receive a refund. But, you must cancel your flight before the scheduled departure time.

France

You must complete our refund request form to be reimbursed for taxes and fees on tickets you didn’t use. We’ll reimburse you within 30 days of submitting the form.

Taiwan

The 7 day refund period outlined in Article 19 of Taiwan's Consumer Protection Act doesn’t apply to international flights. Any changes made to your trip are subject to our standard fare rules.

Seats

Advanced seat assignments and Economy Plus

In some cases, like a last-minute change of planes or flight disruptions, you may be moved to a different seat than the one you originally chose. When this happens, you should get a new boarding pass.

If you're moved to a new seat that is of a lesser value than the one you originally paid for, you’ll receive a refund in one of two ways:

• If you were given a new boarding pass, you’ll automatically be refunded the fees for your original seat.
• If you weren’t given a new boarding pass, complete the refund request form to receive a refund.

Economy Plus subscription

All our subscriptions are nonrefundable. You won't receive a refund for Economy Plus^® seats on individual flights. You can upgrade your subscription or change your renewal settings in My United.

Taxes and fees

Booking service fees

Booking and service fees are only refunded if you cancel your trip within 24 hours of buying it. If you’ve bought your tickets in the last 24 hours, go to My Trips to cancel your reservation.

Surcharges and taxes

All surcharges follow the refund rules for the type of ticket. If the ticket is nonrefundable, the surcharges are also nonrefundable. If the ticket is refundable, the surcharges are as well.

Tickets

E-tickets

Cancel a flight in My Trips within 24 hours of when you booked it for a full refund. For all other refunds complete the refund request form. Refunds are subject to final approval by our refund team.

Lost paper ticket

If you have lost your paper ticket, complete our refund request form. You must include at least one of the following supporting documents for us to process your request:

• Lost or replacement ticket number
• If purchased through a travel agency, a copy of the lost ticket from the travel agency
• If you're a travel agent submitting on behalf of a customer, attach a copy of the lost ticket

The refund form must be submitted within 1 year of buying the ticket you lost. A $150 nonrefundable processing fee will be charged for each lost ticket and it may take 90 days to process.

Refunds for lost tickets bought with gift certificates will be refunded as a travel certificate.

Unplanned events

You can ask for a refund to your original payment method if you're unable to use your ticket within one year of buying it. We'll only do this if an unplanned event is what stops you from using your ticket.

The following are considered unplanned events:

• Death of the traveler, any traveling companions or immediate family member
• One or more travelers on the reservation are on jury duty during the travel dates
• Certain illnesses
• Military order, U.S. military service members and their family members (parents, spouses and children) who must cancel or change a reservation due to new or changed military orders or directives applicable to the service member

Refunds for tickets bought with gift certificates will be refunded as a travel certificate.

If you change your flight due to illness, jury duty or military order and are charged a change fee, you can submit a request for a refund of those fees. Change fees will be waived for the death of a traveler, traveling companion or immediate family member.

Documentation requirements:

• Death: You must provide a copy of the death certificate. If this is due to the death of an immediate family member, you must include their name and relationship to you.
• Illness: You must provide a letter on letterhead from a licensed doctor stating you couldn’t travel due to an illness. If the request is due to the illness of an immediate family member, the request must contain their name and relationship to you.
• Jury duty: You must provide a copy of the jury summons.
• Military order: You must provide a copy of the directive that requires cancellation of the reservation.

Reissued and partially used tickets

Refunds for reissued or partially used tickets are calculated based on the difference between the original ticket price, any additional charges and the segments flown

Travel agency and cruise line agency tickets

Refund requests for tickets issued by a travel agency should be sent to the agency.

Tickets issued by another airline

Refund requests for tickets issued by a partner airline should be sent to the airline you bought your ticket through.

Travel add-ons

Food

If you didn’t enjoy the meal you bought on your flight, you can request a refund.

Premier Access

If your flight's schedule changes or your flight is canceled, you can get a refund for unused Premier Access^®. If you choose to change your flight and you lose access to Premier Access benefits, you won’t be refunded.

Priority Boarding

If your flight's schedule changes or your flight is canceled, you can get a refund for unused Priority Boarding. If you choose to change your flight and you lose access to Priority Boarding benefits, you won't be refunded.

United Club memberships

All United Club^℠ memberships are nonrefundable. You can upgrade your subscription or change your renewal settings in My United.

Travel bundles

All travel bundles are nonrefundable. If you're eligible for a refund because of a flight disruption, you should automatically receive a refund to your original payment method and an email.

If you bought a bundle that includes Economy Plus and was able to complete any part of your trip, you won't be refunded for the extra award miles, Premier Access or United Club.

If you didn't receive an email for your refund, complete the refund request form. Submitting a refund request doesn't guarantee you'll receive a refund.

Wi-Fi

If you bought Wi-Fi and weren’t able to use it, you can request a refund. If your Wi-Fi was provided by Intelstat, contact them directly for a refund. All other providers you can request a refund using our refund request form. Confirm who the Wi-Fi provider was for your flight on your Wi-Fi receipt.

Upgrades

Cabin upgrades

In some cases, like last-minute change of planes or flight disruptions, you may be moved to a different seat than the one you originally chose. We’ll try to move you to a seat of similar or greater value, or we’ll automatically refund you. If you’re not refunded automatically complete our refund request form.

Trip day upgrades

Typically cabin upgrade fees are nonrefundable. If you’ve paid an upgrade fee and your flight has a last-minute change of planes or a flight disruption, and you can’t be moved to a premium cabin on another flight, you can request a refund of the upgrade fees using our refund request form.

Wheelchair

Wheelchair fare adjustment

If you use the wheelchair filter when you book a flight and have to take a more expensive one for it to fit through the cargo door, you can be refunded the price difference. Your flights must meet the following criteria to qualify for a refund:

1. Both flights must be operated by United or United Express.
2. Both flights must have the same origin and destination.
3. Both flights must be non-stop or both flights must have connections.

After you’ve finished your trip, request a refund and include the following:

1. The dimensions you entered for your wheelchair while searching for your flight.
2. A screenshot showing the cost of the flight you weren’t able to take with your wheelchair. Your screenshot must include the dates and the base fare.
3. A copy of your receipt for the flight you were able to take.

How you take a screenshot depends on the device you have. All screenshots must be well lit and easy to read.

You cannot receive a refund for the difference in price on flights booked through a travel agency. You also can’t receive a refund for the difference in price if you took a non-stop flight and the flight you weren’t able to take had a connection.

Any other inquiries related to wheelchairs should be submitted to our Customer Care team.

Other

MileagePlus miles

If you've bought or transferred MileagePlus^® miles, they should be added to your account immediately and are nonrefundable.

MileagePlus upgrade service fees

You'll be charged a service fee when requesting an upgrade to United First^SM, United Business^®, or United Polaris^® business class. If you don't receive this upgrade, the service fee will be refunded.

Money + Miles

Money + Miles is not offered on all flights. Refunds are provided according to the rules of the fare you bought. Miles are considered a form of payment for refund purposes.