I spent over six hours on hold or on the phone with various Manila supervisors. The bottom line is they can't reinstate a cancelled ticket, even if I offer to pay for the mileage discrepancy from a family member's account or by transferring in mileage to my own account. The last mileage ticket for the month that was available for my routing was on February 16th, and the flight being 2 hours late made me change the ticket.
To be clear, I wasn't "forced" to change the ticket on February 16th. I could've taken the late flight, missed my connection, spent the night in EWR and continued the following day. But when given the option to change the flight I chose to do that. I didn't request that option BTW, that option was provided on the app, and then later on the phone to the United agent who rebooked me.
I would've not agreed to change the flight if I knew that on the eve of the new flight my ticket would be canceled. Having to spend the night in EWR on my own dime wouldn't have been as bad as the predicament I'm currently in.
I filed a complaint with DOT and received a quick response with the following:
This responds to your communication regarding United Airlines. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether airlines are in compliance with our rules and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action. **Due to the time constraint regarding your trip I have asked the carrier to take a look, however I cannot promise the outcome.
Based on the information you have provided, it does not appear that your complaint falls under one of the Department's rules. However, we will forward your complaint to the airline and will ask the company to respond directly to you.
I find the bolded portion to be surprising. I had a ticket, with a confirmation number, ticket number, everything. They later asked for more funds (miles), and because they weren't in my account at that moment (I could've easily transferred them in from Chase Ultimate Rewards) the ticket was cancelled, without even a phone call to give me any options.
Perhaps because the flight originates outside of the US that the DOT says that?
I'd very much appreciate anyone who is familiar with DOT regulations to offer me some rule I can respond to them with.