Originally Posted by
bob12403
If I cancel and rebook, which seems to be the preferred way to go under normal circumstances, will I then lose the TB points? If so then this would not be worth the change.
Or will this work: For each leg there is an earlier flight the same day. Both the currently held flights and the earlier flights now have new and identical lower fares on each leg. Can I change each leg to an earlier flight, get a FFC, then change back to the desired later flight at the same lower fare? This would effectively put us back on the same flight(s) that we're currently holding but at lower fares. Or will the TB Points become an issue here as well? FYI the TB Points that were used had an expiration of June 2022, if that matters.
This switch to a different flight, then back to the original, is the standard FlyerTalk technique for taking advantage of fare reductions.
For "refunds", the money is given back to the original form(s) of payment (FoP), e.g., credit card, future flight credit (FFC), TravelBank, etc. Refunds are usually given only for involuntary cancelation by UA, or for wholly refundable fares whose FoP were also fully refundable.
For voluntarily cancelations such as yours, that were not fully refundable, one does not receive a "refund" but an FFC. This does not depend on the FoP, so the fact that most of it was TB should not matter.
However, as I've never had a TB account, I should let someone more knowledgeable chime in.