When is it "too late" to cancel a fully refundable ticket?
I am wondering, what the latest point is to cancel a fully refundable ticket and still get 100% of my money back.
Talking about an unrestricted, fully refundable Y fare ticket on UA.
I tried to read the fare rules and it says "Before departure" it is 100% refundable.
But then again... what do they mean exactly ?
Is it the minute I board the plane? or the minute it takes off? or the minute I check in? Or 3 days in advance?
I tried to look up this question on FT but could not find it anywhere....
I just do not know that if I buy a ticket like that and let's say check in for my flight/print boarding passes a day prior to the flight and then cancel, will I still get my entire money back?
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In theory you have until the boarding door closes and the gate agent "closes" the flight at the airport.
In practice you should really do this no later than 30 minutes before scheduled departure time just to ensure you don't hit any snares when you call in and request the refund.
It's also possible to get a refund after the flight closes by telling them you wanted to SDC but now simply want to cancel it; but you need to find an agent willing to do this for you.
Tell us your situation and we can give better advice.
-RM
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In theory you have until the boarding door closes and the gate agent "closes" the flight at the airport.
In practice you should really do this no later than 30 minutes before scheduled departure time just to ensure you don't hit any snares when you call in and request the refund.
It's also possible to get a refund after the flight closes by telling them you wanted to SDC but now simply want to cancel it; but you need to find an agent willing to do this for you.
Tell us your situation and we can give better advice.
-RM
Dear "RM",
Thank you so much for your response. Sorry to seem to be so lame but I have never bought a refundable plane ticket but I am in a situation where I might have to change my plans "last minute" that's why I would like to know when I can still cancel it while getting back the full amount.
Basically, I am just curious if I check-in/print my boarding passes exactly 24 hours prior to departure, can I cancel it 1-2 hours later and still get the entire amount (so like 22-23 hours prior to departure). I might have something to do on that day but I will not know it until that day....
I may be wrong but isn't it true that as long as the ticket coupon shows unused, i.e. you are off loaded from the passenger list, you can call or do it online at anytime to get the refund done?
I may be wrong but isn't it true that as long as the ticket coupon shows unused, i.e. you are off loaded from the passenger list, you can call or do it online at anytime to get the refund done?
This used to be the case, but is no longer consistent with the t&c. The change kind of makes sense. I take departure to mean the time at which the pax is required to be present at the gate for boarding (T-15 for most domestic).
Might one get a sympathetic agent on a one-off? Maybe. But, if you get a "no" it's the kind of thing noted in the PNR meaning a call-back won't likely yield a better result.
For a fully refundable Y-type fare, you can get a refund even if you do not cancel the reservation before departure -
From the fare rules -
AFTER DEPARTURE
CANCELLATIONS PERMITTED.
But it would be easier to cancel before departure if possible. Just don't check in for your flight so that the eticket file remains OPEN. If you wait until after departure or if you checkin, you may have to call UA res to get the refund processed.
You can refund it whenever if it is truly a refundable ticket, including after departure. Only after the ticket is over a year old does it get a little tricky. You can still get it done, but takes more effort and I think there is a fee involved.
The notion of needing to cancel before departure to retain any value is a concept that applies only to non-refundable tickets (on United - other airlines have "no show" penalties on refundable tickets).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bdraco
Canceling before is just the polite thing to do. It might mean someone gets the seat vs going out empty if things are running tight.
Polite?
You are addressing a crowd (OK, I know it's the minority) who would ship hundreds of pounds of coins around the country just so they could earn some miles...
Concern for the world / others certainly seems to be secondary. It's all about them.
From another thread, I was astounded to learn that people buy refundable tickets just so they can get through security (call to refund them after passing through security). So I imagine they are refunding these tickets within an hour or two of departure.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sfoboy85
I am wondering, what the latest point is to cancel a fully refundable ticket and still get 100% of my money back.
Talking about an unrestricted, fully refundable Y fare ticket on UA.
I tried to read the fare rules and it says "Before departure" it is 100% refundable.
But then again... what do they mean exactly ?
Is it the minute I board the plane? or the minute it takes off? or the minute I check in? Or 3 days in advance?
I tried to look up this question on FT but could not find it anywhere....
I just do not know that if I buy a ticket like that and let's say check in for my flight/print boarding passes a day prior to the flight and then cancel, will I still get my entire money back?
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Posts: 1,074
So then, would this be a valid strategy?
My 94 year old grandmother is arriving in Seattle and I want to meet her at the gate. I purchase a fully refundable Y ticket for the day of her arrival, check in, and move through security. Once through security, I meet with my grandmother and we go on our way (during which time the flight I have a ticket for departs). I call UA and request a refund for my Y ticket.
What happens if you cancel after clearing security, but before departure?
It doesn't make a difference. If you have a fully refundable ticket -- you can cancel whenever. Before I got my airport badge for auditing the restaurants in the sterile area, I always bought Y tix and then cancelled them.
There was a couple of things I'd do:
1) I'd always book the emptiest flight for the day. No sense "blocking" that last seat on a plane just in case someone needed it. I also figured, if the airline ever started complaining, I'd make my point of "look, you really didn't lose any revenue... the plane flew out 75% full!"
2) I always selected middles. That way when the time came and the plane really wasn't full -- someone would have just a bit more room to stretch.
3) As soon as I was done in the sterile area -- I'd beeline for the check-in and get myself offloaded for the possibility of the real revenue sale again. Most agents at the airports knew who I was so they had the process down to a science.
Once or twice I forgot to offload myself and it was a pain on F9. I always wondered if the GAs actually paged me or just saw my name and offloaded me. (these were small regional airports so there wasn't much staff anyway)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JerryFF
For a fully refundable Y-type fare, you can get a refund even if you do not cancel the reservation before departure -
From the fare rules -
AFTER DEPARTURE
CANCELLATIONS PERMITTED.
But it would be easier to cancel before departure if possible. Just don't check in for your flight so that the eticket file remains OPEN. If you wait until after departure or if you checkin, you may have to call UA res to get the refund processed.
This is good - think I'll try buying a one way ticket and cancel after departure - once I have landed... ;-)
From another thread, I was astounded to learn that people buy refundable tickets just so they can get through security (call to refund them after passing through security). So I imagine they are refunding these tickets within an hour or two of departure.
What kind of fool would do such a thing? Someone who thinks the Uclub is actually an exclusive "club" & wants to soak up the ambiance w a free beer
