Originally Posted by threeoh

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.