Originally Posted by
Wombat1
I have a paid upgrade (from R to P) on an international flight next month that I will have to cancel because of the coronavirus pandemic. Will I receive a refund for the cost of the upgrade? Or an ETC? The flight is one of the few UA flights still operating.
It depends on the nature of the upgrade, most cash upgrades done online or at check-in are non-refundable fees
T&Cs state
Upgrades are nonrefundable, except when a flight is involuntarily canceled, your itinerary is involuntarily changed to a different flightor the flight is oversold and we cannot accommodate you in a premium cabin on a later flight. In these situations, United will refund the purchase price of the unused upgrade.
a few upgrades done on the phone (mainly) are upfares and become part of the fare and will be treated the same as the rest of the fare.