Originally Posted by
WineCountryUA
A change of carrier (to UX) does qualify for a full refund (but that may be credit toward a future flight and not a cash refund).
The refund is to the original form of payment.
A credit towards future flight is a concession sometimes offered when the customer is not entitled to a refund (or when the customer willingly accepts it instead of exerting their rights when they're entitled to a refund).
In a carrier change, such as United to United Express, the customer is entitled to a full refund, which is to the original form of payment.
Not saying UA will act in good faith and simply provide it on request (they may push back and play games as they did in the poster's case, or in my recent case, where I gave them an ultimatum and threatened a DOT complaint).