Originally Posted by
sophialite
I was scheduled to be on MSY-IAH-SFO yesterday evening. MSY-IAH ended up getting cancelled, so I was routed to a different itin leaving this morning. I had meetings in the Bay Area that I had to make starting at 9am, so I ended up booking the evening Alaska Air direct flight at the last minute.
I'm not sure what I can do about this United ticket. They rebooked me automatically, but I obviously didn't check in or show up for those flights. Whenever I tried to cancel the ticket online (prior to the departure time of the flight), it would direct me to call in. And the wait time to call in has been anywhere from 25 minutes to 60 minutes+, time I just don't have.
What can I do for the value of this ticket? Should I just wait for an off-peak hour to call and keep trying? That's frustrating. I'm flying on LX in F this evening, so I'll have access to the Polaris lounge. Is customer service there good/empowered to do anything with this ticket?
Edit: To clarify, MSY-IAH-SFO was a one-way ticket, so the ticket is basically done at this point.
If United cancelled your flight and you decide not to fly (instead booking on another carrier), you are legally guaranteed a full refund by DOT regulation. It does not matter whether United auto-rebooked you or not.
If the replacement flights haven't taken off yet, try to cancel them first then request the refund (two steps). If you've already missed those flights, they are already cancelled automatically, so all you need to do is request your refund.
Just call them back when hold times are less, DM them on twitter, or just request the refund at united.com/refunds.