Originally Posted by
HandsFour
I just called UA with this very question today as I'm about to book a ticket and want to use a Travel Certificate but might need to cancel and book a slightly different itinerary in the 24-hour free cancellation period. The Rep spoke to a supervisor who said that the Travel Certificate would be refunded but it would take up to 20 days.
I had a similar situation a few weeks ago - about 12 hours after booking with a cert I discovered I would need to re-schedule (consulate "misplaced" my passport!), but I didn't know exactly when I would need to reschedule to at that time.
Rather than refunding, the agent simply canceled the reservation and left the credit on the PNR, and put in a comment to waive the cancellation/rebooking fee due to me cancelling within 24 hours. A day or two later I called backed, rebooked for a different date, paid a slight fare difference (~$20 due to a day-of-week fare difference), but no change fee.
The other option would be to use fare-lock or one of the other tricks to hold the reservation for a day or so, if that's possible for the flight you're booking. Then once you're confirmed you can pay with the cert.