Originally Posted by RobertS975

I was unaware that you actually had to cancel to get a credit. When did that become a rule?

The OP was at the airport with live agents, but since the website often doesn't allow a reservation to be canceled, and it can be difficult to get a living person on the phone, I have been under the impression that if a reservation went unclaimed and without checkin, the reservation would be automatically canceled at T minus 30 minutes.