I had a nonrefundable international ticket. I had to cancel the trip because my dog had to have emergency surgery 2 days before departure and I needed to be available to give him around the clock care and take him to follow up vet visits. I could not reschedule the trip because it was a work trip for my husband and he had to go ahead without me. Thinking it was futile, I put in a refund request with United giving all details and contact info of the vet clinic (I was clear this was a dog not a human family member). Unfortunately, after several days of best efforts by the vets and me, my dog's condition worsened to where he had to be put down. In the midst of my heartbreak over losing my beloved dog, to my enormous surprise I received an email from United stating that my request for a refund had been GRANTED. I received back all but $50 as a credit to my credit card. So I would say to give it a try through the online refund request interface. I honestly do not know if my pet dying had an impact on the refund decision. I did not tell United of this myself, but if they contacted the vet to check out my story, they might have learned about it and taken pity. Nothing can bring my pup back, but I was impressed with how United handled this.