Originally Posted by EmailKid (Post # 95)

Some airlines offer full credit when cancelling a flight. I was able to do that with UA for a domestic flight, and then used the credit months later for a Canada - Europe flight, so at least with UA I am able to purchase a ticket months in advance, and watch to see if the price drops. I don't recall if that is related to my lifetime Gold status, but IIRC this is a relatively new perk for all fliers (but if you don't have status you may want to double check).