Using United Unused Flight Credits $$$?
 

So I have a bunch of United credits from canceled non-refundable flights. Few Questions?

1) How are these best used? Can i book tickets online- or at the airport- using these credits?
2) From some of the posts I searched it seems you need to use these well in advance?
3)Can I combine these with other discounts, like IDB vouchers?

Thanks so much!

1. You can't do this online - you'll have to call up or do it at the airport.
2. Sounds like you're thinking of DBC Free here - which do have availability problems. Unused flight credit is like a dollar voucher - it can be used at any time.
3. I think so - but I don't have any experience in this area. I'll let others weigh in.

Although I have no direct experience with trying to redeem credit from cancelled flights, it should operate as a form of payment, not a discount. This means it should be combinable with things like Type B vouchers. (Note: IDB involves cash compensation; you probably meant a VDB voucher, which is also not a discount - a Type B voucher is considered a form of payment.)

1) As commented in the first response, you can not use these online and need to in-person or on the phone. The good news is there should be no charge for talking to a person to make a booking -- it should (and has been in my experience) be waived. But you do lose the EQM credit for using MP Visa.

2) And yes leave some time, 10-12 days would be a safe minimum, since you need to mail in the vouchers and they need to be processed prior to the actual flight.

3) I have not try to this --

I think the process works like this:

1. Make a reservation online and hold it (not paying for it).
2. Call UA CS, give them the PNR of the itin you've just created, as well as the ticket number (beginning 016) of the flight credit you want to apply to the new itin.
3. UA CS then confirm the res for you, and pass the whole thing onto the rate desk for ticketing.
4. Rate desk ticketing happens sometime in the next month of so (quicker if your itin is soon)

Not sure this is correct, but this is what I remember of the process I went thru some time ago.

Step 1 is not necessary, but helps speeds the process.
Step 3.5 is missing -- you need to mail in the voucher (to Dearborn)
Step 4 -- IME it went faster but YMMV

I just did this a week ago.

I put an itin on hold on the website, called UA to tell them I needed to ticket it using a voucher (actually a travel credit from a fare drop), gave the CSR the credit card info. Sent it to Dearborn; ticketed 8 days later.

I also used a CS$25 discount cert but I didn't even bother to mention that on the phone, because I've had little luck explaining to the phone CSRs that a Type A and a Type B are in fact combinable. Rather, I enclosed it along with a letter pointing out that Type A and B certs were combinable and if they had any questions to call me.

One thing that speeds it up a bit is to say that you'd like the reservation ticketed as early as possible so you can apply for upgrades.

thanks...but, the date?
 

if i have a credit that expires Feb 5th 2008, does that mean i have to ticket it by then or also USE it by then - meaning fly by then?

Thanks

Usually ticket-by.

Can one get a ticket issued today and without a ticketing fee by going to the airport?

Yes

Definitely. That's what I always do. Put it on hold in RCC, walk to the front desk, get it ticketed. Takes 5 minutes.

So what does it mean when you have a voucher that states it is Type AB?

Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure. If you do a google FT search for "type ab voucher" you'll find a few threads. The general concensus is that Type AB operates like Type B in that it's a form of payment, but cannot be combined with any other voucher, including Type B vouchers. But, nobody has had any definite word on this.

If you have canceled a non-refundable United e-ticket ticket, you can use the ticket value (minus any applicable change fee) toward a new ticket via phone, naturally without having to mail anything in, since you have nothing to be mailed. Ideally you know the United 016 ticket number; sometimes knowing the PNR (record locator) is sufficient, but don't count on that, since PNR's do eventually get reused. Keep track of your 016 numbers!

If there is any residual value leftover in such a ticketing transaction, then that residual value gets printed out into Type B voucher form, and to make use that value in the future, you would either have to go to the airport; or call United to make the reservation (the phone agent needs to mark your reservation as one which is pending ticket-by-mail processing) and then mail the voucher to the ticket-by-mail postal address in Dearborn, MI.

YMMV when it comes to whether the United agent you're working with is able and willing to let you combine as many vouchers/certificates/discounts as the rules will allow. I've usually been successful in combining several Type B vouchers (forms of payment) plus one Type A voucher (discount).