Cancel Itinerary with E-Certificate
Jun 11, 2007, 5:33 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2006
Programs: SPG Plat, Ritz Carlton Plat, Hyatt Diamond, DL Diamond, UA 1K, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 222
refund e-cert within 24 hours?
Total UAL newbie here, bear with me.
Buying a ticket for my little sister-in-law to get to summer camp. Used a $100 e-cert which I acquired via means I won't get into on this thread ;-). I bought it last night, and now see that a better time is available for the same cost.
I went to united.com, and it appears that I can't change the ticket for free within 24 hours, I can only cancel it. But it's not clear whether I lose the e-cert if I cancel the original ticket.
Does anybody know the answer to this?
Buying a ticket for my little sister-in-law to get to summer camp. Used a $100 e-cert which I acquired via means I won't get into on this thread ;-). I bought it last night, and now see that a better time is available for the same cost.
I went to united.com, and it appears that I can't change the ticket for free within 24 hours, I can only cancel it. But it's not clear whether I lose the e-cert if I cancel the original ticket.
Does anybody know the answer to this?
Jun 11, 2007, 5:38 pm
#2
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
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Jun 11, 2007, 9:50 pm
#3
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
CHANGES/REFUNDS:
The rules of the fare you purchase determine what changes or refunds are allowed. Any refund due is based on the amount actually paid. The electronic certificate discount may not be reapplied toward the purchase of another ticket when exchanging or refunding your original ticket, except when the original ticket qualifies for a reduced fare (guaranteed airfare rule applies). Check with United Airlines.
The rules of the fare you purchase determine what changes or refunds are allowed. Any refund due is based on the amount actually paid. The electronic certificate discount may not be reapplied toward the purchase of another ticket when exchanging or refunding your original ticket, except when the original ticket qualifies for a reduced fare (guaranteed airfare rule applies). Check with United Airlines.
Jun 12, 2007, 12:10 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 342
Unfortunately, you will not see your e-cert again. If the flight is on the same day consider same day standby for that flight. Just do OLCI early and ask for a standby.
Jun 12, 2007, 5:19 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boulder, CO
Programs: UA, AA, WN; HH, MR, IHG
Posts: 7,054
You could try calling Web Support, explaining the situation, and asking if they can change your flight and re-apply the cert to the new itinerary. Make sure you explain you are within the 24-hour period and "would have booked" the other flight had you known it was available. It's highly unlikely but it could, in principle, work. They've done it for me the one time I had this problem about 18 months ago (although it wasn't my mistake - the website actually booked me on a different flight than what I had originally selected - so maybe that's why).
Mar 25, 2010, 8:30 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Chicagoland/ORD
Programs: UA Million Miler (Gold), Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,458
Got a replacement e-cert
I booked a ticket with a 10% off e-cert, then needed to cancel it within the 24-hour period but didn't have the new dates yet. Based on a comment in another thread that someone was successful getting a new cert good for three days, I called web support. Told the CS rep I needed to cancel that ticket and rebook it in a few days and asked if there was any way to get my 10% e-cert back. She put me on hold for a few minutes and came back to tell me she could give me a new cert. The new one is good for a year. I got the old one a couple of months ago and it expired 5/31. So I came out ahead in this deal!
Mar 25, 2010, 8:47 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 147
I purchased a fare ealier this week and used a $200 e-cert. The fare went down 12 hours later by $100. It took a few calles to web customer service and quite a bit of time on hold, but they eventually sent me a travel voucher for the $100 difference. I would just keep calling them and seee if they will eventually cancel your ticket and issue you a new e-cert. Have them try to do both at teh same time. Just be very nice on the phone.
Mar 25, 2010, 9:40 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 257
I was not successful when I had to cancel a ticket w/an e-cert. Got the refund of what I paid, but the cert was gone forever. Called a few times and was told no, and I gave up.
Mar 25, 2010, 3:37 pm
#9
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: San Juan Capistrano, CA
Programs: UA Premier Gold (1MM), AS MVP
Posts: 989
Interesting - I just used a 20% off cert today, and in all the kerfuffle with Web Support to get it to work, I forgot to ask to book a "direct" international flight as separate segments. Wouldn't you know it, the international portion is NC1, the domestic is of course NC/NF=0, on an A319 (short flight, but you see where I'm going with this). I wasn't going to bother as I thought I'd lose the value of the cert (about $200), but now this has got me thinking...
Mar 25, 2010, 5:34 pm
#10
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: LAX
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Posts: 2,777
I purchased a fare ealier this week and used a $200 e-cert. The fare went down 12 hours later by $100. It took a few calles to web customer service and quite a bit of time on hold, but they eventually sent me a travel voucher for the $100 difference. I would just keep calling them and seee if they will eventually cancel your ticket and issue you a new e-cert. Have them try to do both at teh same time. Just be very nice on the phone.
Jun 23, 2010, 5:18 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold, SPG Gold
Posts: 1,498
Cancel Itinerary with E-Certificate
Just out of curiosity, if I book an itinerary with an eCertificate and cancel it within 24 hours, do I get the eCert back?
Last edited by FlyinHawaiian; Jun 23, 2010 at 5:23 pm Reason: already existing thread on this topic
Jun 23, 2010, 5:22 pm
#12
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: SFO/SJC
Programs: UA 1K, NW forever
Posts: 1,390
I don't think so.
Jun 24, 2010, 7:02 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: YVR SFO
Programs: UA G
Posts: 4,866
Your cert goes *poof*. You can beg CSR for a new cert and they'll probably give you one freebie out of sympathy, but don't be surprised if it's of lower value than the one you had.
Jun 24, 2010, 7:56 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Bay Area, CA
Programs: UA Plat 2MM; AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 35,068
This really is a customer-unfriendly policy. Essentially the 24-hour refund policy does not apply when using e-certs since you don't get everything back.
Perhaps a DOT complaint is in order whenever someone is in such a situation.
Perhaps a DOT complaint is in order whenever someone is in such a situation.
Jun 24, 2010, 8:00 am
#15
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This is fairly standard in all industries I can think of. If you use a coupon at a department store and return the product, I've never heard of getting your coupon back either. The 24-hour refund is not an annulment, it's a refund.