Jan 1, 2025, 9:44 am
Last edit by: mia
February 2026: American Express no longer reimburses Travel Bank deposits.
Reminder: you must enroll and select UA as your airline; it is generally viewed as prudent to wait a day before making a reimbursable purchase. It usually takes 5-10 days and sometimes a little longer+ to be reimbursed.
READ BELOW for EXPENSES (other than Travel Bank) WHICH MAY BE REIMBURSED
Airline Taxes on Award Tickets: Doesn't seem to work anymore; see post 179 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25297196-post179.html and #391
Economy Plus and First Class Upgrade Fees: Subscription worked in Feb 2020, data point here.
Subscription also worked February 2026 DP here.
As of December 2016 there were conflicting posts; one stating that an upgrade to E+ coded as an "upgrade fee" and was, therefore, not reimbursed. Others said they were reimbursed as it was coded as "preferred seat upgrade." In February 2019, three separate FTer reported receiving varying amounts of reimbursement (dependent upon which card was used for the purchase) after purchasing an E+ annual subscription. The E+ subscriptions code as "preferred seat upgrade". Upgrading from E to FC will also not be reimbursed because it codes as a passenger ticket even when done after buying the original ticket. There seems to be a distinction between seat upgrades being reimbursed, while ticket upgrades are not.
Award Accelerator: Most would not risk this. The last report of being reimbursed for Award Accelerator was for $68 on October 27, 2011. Every post about Award Accelerator since has reported "No reimbursement."
Eligible incidental fees include:
- Checked baggage fees (including overweight/oversize)
- Itinerary change fees
- Phone reservation fees
- FareLock
- Pet flight fees
- Seat assignment fees (E+)
- In-flight amenity fees (beverages, food, pillows/blankets, headphones)
- In-flight entertainment fees (excluding wireless internet unless it is billed by the airline.)
- Airport lounge day passes & annual memberships
- Onboard WIFI (provided it is billed by the airline.)
Keeping Track of Your Incidentals The Amex website has a Benefits link which will show a meter to keep track of your reimbursements. You may need a desktop/laptop browser to see it.
Please follow the following format for posting successful reimbursement to be done ONLY after credit has successfully posted to your account. There is no need to post prior to that. (If you have waited at least two weeks for your reimbursement to post, feel free to post your failure as well.)
- Type of Card (Personal Plat, Biz Plat)
- Type of Purchase (e.g. TravelBank, baggage fees, etc.)
- Date of Purchase
- Amount of Purchase
- Credit Date and Amount
When pasting please right click -> paste as plain text, or Shift-Command-V (Apple) or Ctrl-Shift-V (most others) -- otherwise, the pasted text will retain color tags which can make the post nearly unreadable in dark mode (see this thread for more details: Dark Mode and Text Color)
Travel Bank: There's a separate thread at this link for general discussion of Travel Bank, including important limitations on its use. As of Jan 3, 2022, and with ongoing success in 2023 and 2024 as reported below, Travel Bank posts as a Special Service Ticket, or United Electronic Ticketing or United Airlines Houston. These transactions are typically reimbursed by American Express even though they do not qualify under the published terms. DO NOT CALL Amex to ask about being credited for this.
Purchase here: https://www.united.com/en/US/account/travelbank -- If your transaction returns a Payment Failed error, try adding your American Express card to your United Airlines profile, and repeat the transaction using the stored card.
CAUTION: It has been reported that gifting Travel Bank to another person's account will not trigger the credit. You can use anyone's credit card to load funds into your own account which as of now (October 2024) still triggers the credit.
Please note that United TB funds are not offered for purchase in the amount of $200 so therefore you will see that for the purpose of Platinum card reimbursement most will do 2 purchases of $100 each rather than buying $250.
A general discussion of Travel Bank is in a separate thread
Gift Cards: United does not sell gift cards.
MileagePlus X App: As of December 2016 American Express no longer reimburses MPX transactions.
Platinum airline fee $200 reimbursement reports: UA (2025-2026)
Feb 17, 2026 | 5:49 am
#631
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: ua mm, aa plat, starriott LTPP, ihg plat, hh gold.
Posts: 13,056
well, darn it. you're right, it's a snooze you lose situation, and i snoozed!
hadn't gotten around to buying my annual travel bank credits...perhaps i'll change airlines, but i don't fly delta and am unsure what i'd buy on AA. maybe lounge access on flights where there's not a centurion lounge?
will keep an eye on the thread, and fingers crossed that it's not a permanent 'fix.'
hadn't gotten around to buying my annual travel bank credits...perhaps i'll change airlines, but i don't fly delta and am unsure what i'd buy on AA. maybe lounge access on flights where there's not a centurion lounge?
will keep an eye on the thread, and fingers crossed that it's not a permanent 'fix.'
Feb 17, 2026 | 6:40 am
#632
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL DM, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 9,770
UNITED AIRLINES
From: To: Carrier: Class:
CHICAGO O'HARE INT HOUSTON INTERCONTI UA 00
Ticket Number: [XXXXXX] Date of Departure: 01/08
Passenger Name: [NAME] /TRAVEL BANK CA
Document Type: SPECIAL SERVICE TICKET
Feb 17, 2026 | 8:42 am
#633
Join Date: Mar 2025
Programs: American Express: PLAT, Delta PLAT, AMEX Gold. Chase: CSR. Capital One: Venture Rewards.
Posts: 5
I will note for the forum here on FT that last year around this time the same situation appeared to have occurred. Credits for the UA TB were taking longer than usual and people reported this notion of it being "patched" by AMEX. It turned out that the code they use was just backed up and being updated. Credits posted a few weeks later. While longer than normal we have seen this situation year after year. I will not go as far as to claim this has not been patched because it very well could have been but I would find it odd for AMEX to patch this credit hack a month after the new year (refresh point on people claiming the credit) especially following a massive card refresh in 2025 where if they were to make changes they logically would have done it starting at the beginning of the year. I would implore people to wait the 3 weeks stated for credits to hit the account before determining whether the credit is applied or failed/ "has been patched". If the date people have been reporting as the cut off (2/5 and 2/6) you should wait till the end of FEB to start determining whether the system has patched the UA TB. AMEX does typically deliver these credits quickly but keep in mind that because JAN 31st is the day people need to choose the airline credit.... early FEB typically overloads the system scanning for what purchases to credit. Again, not claiming something with this comment but just providing context that can help clear up information we can't confirm yet.
Feb 17, 2026 | 10:39 am
#635
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: SAN
Posts: 1,340
TD
Feb 17, 2026 | 10:53 am
#637
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, SK Gold, Bonvoy Plat LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 47,280
Feb 17, 2026 | 12:21 pm
#638
Join Date: Nov 2007
Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton Honors Diamond, Delta Gold
Posts: 6,585
The Aspire credit is a completely different type of credit than the Plat airline incidental fee and you will most likely be reimbursed, but it will prove nothing about the Plat credits. Successful credit (or lack thereof) should be reported in the appropriate thread for the Aspire card which I have linked in my post above.
Feb 17, 2026 | 12:53 pm
#640
Flyertalk Posting Legend Moderator: Credit Card Programs, American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Diners Club, Eco Travel, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA, IHG & Marriott Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 51,821
Feb 17, 2026 | 1:02 pm
#642
Flyertalk Posting Legend Moderator: Credit Card Programs, American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Diners Club, Eco Travel, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA, IHG & Marriott Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 51,821
Feb 17, 2026 | 1:07 pm
#643
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 7,281
Feb 17, 2026 | 1:16 pm
#644
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Washington, D.C.
Programs: AA, but I play the field
Posts: 1,939
I will note for the forum here on FT that last year around this time the same situation appeared to have occurred. Credits for the UA TB were taking longer than usual and people reported this notion of it being "patched" by AMEX. It turned out that the code they use was just backed up and being updated. Credits posted a few weeks later. While longer than normal we have seen this situation year after year . . . . not claiming something with this comment but just providing context that can help clear up information we can't confirm yet.
Feb 17, 2026 | 1:33 pm
#645
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 94
On my statements, my (reimbursed) January Travel Bank purchases for ”myself” show as “Special Service Ticket”, while my purchase last week shows as “Gift Certificate”.
Since I believe that “Gift Certificate” purchases to top off Travel Bank for someone else wasn’t working last year, presumably since they coded as a “Gift Certificate”, I assume that Travel Bank will no longer work at all going forward unless United changes their coding again.
Since I believe that “Gift Certificate” purchases to top off Travel Bank for someone else wasn’t working last year, presumably since they coded as a “Gift Certificate”, I assume that Travel Bank will no longer work at all going forward unless United changes their coding again.