zrs70

A friend asked me this, and I didn't know the answer. He flew on a B fare, Fully refundable, on Copa. 016 Ticket number. Copa flight number. Copa metal.

MP number in the record.

No miles have appeared for a month. MP says there is no record he was on flight. He has no boarding pass for proof.

Seeing that he was on a refundable ticket, is there anything that would prevent him from getting a refund?

aacharya

Even on UA, one can't get a refund on a refundable (revenue) ticket after the flight.

demkr

I don't understand why it is so difficult for UA to keep track of flight manifests. Nor do I comprehend the inability to take someone at their word for being on the flight.

I doubt they would approve the refund since the flight is already completed---and since he took the flight, it'd be dishonest to say otherwise.

Did he make any purchases on the flight such as in-flight snacks that they can track back to being on the flight?

Antipode

Well, at worst it might make them take a closer look to see if he was on the flight. If they come back and deny the refund because it was used, then how could they deny the mileage credit?

I think I might feel a bit guilty if I actually got the refund for something I used, but if you can leverage it as a way to get the mileage credit...

burlax

Right on. If they show he didn't take the flight, then the refund is in order.

zrs70

Leverage is the key! He doesn't really want a refund. But if MP is denying credit, it sounds like there is a bargaining chip on the table.

(I had thought that unrestricted tickets aren't bound by the use it or lose it clause).

kenn0223

Yes you can[1]. The ticket is valid for 1 year after purchase. Call United (it's their ticket), give them the ticket number and ask if there are any unused segments (or coupons), if there are and it's a refundable ticket, ask for a refund. If the ticket is used ask for your miles. You will likely have to call COPA for the miles since they issue miles for their flights but at least you're armed with the ticket usage info.

Note:

[1] Canceling before departure to retain your ticket value is only required for non-refundable tickets. If you don't call before departure they will cancel your reservation, but your ticket is still there.

Ari

If they are so convinced that he didn't take the flight, they can refund the fare (assuming it is refundable).

Something tells me they might change their tune once the refund request comes in . . . they might magically discover proof that the flight was taken.

I would just go online and put in a refund request and see what comes back. Do let us know how this turns out!

actonma

I threatened this in the past (D fare on Lufthansa) and was successful in getting credit. Anything is better than no miles/no money...

mherdeg

Interesting that there is room for an unscrupulous person to get PQM without flying — just buy a refundable fare; call after the travel date and say you flew and want your miles; and demand a refund if they refuse.

This is probably not cheaper than buying Premier Accelerator and certainly not ethical!

kenn0223

Totally, but I think their systems are good enough that you would almost always get the refund. In other words, I think UA does actually do a decent job of pulling coupons (and marking them used) as people fly. If they didn't do this they couldn't collect revenue from all the non-016 tickets used on their system (so I would say it's core to their business).

I often buy several refundable tickets when I am uncertain of my travel plans and then clean it all up when I get back to the office and never had a problem (i.e. the tickets I don't use never show as used). I learned this from a travel agent we used to use and I think it's pretty common for TAs to do it. This type of flexibility is exactly what you're paying for when you buy a refundable ticket and the airline prices it as such.

With the 140 million or so annual passengers I don't think they care about the few that have the time to try and work a few extra miles with the sort of scheme you describe. I suspect there are other types of fraud that are far more prevalent and costly to UA. In fact, if they keep the money you spent buying a refundable ticket and didn't have to pay for the fuel to carry your butt from A to B they are making out ahead ;-)

IslandSkies

I think the issue that everyone is forgetting is that the flight in question was operated by COPA. While they are a full participant in MileagePlus they are still separate corporate entity and UA does NOT have direct access to view COPA manifests. That might be where the OP's issue is - miscommunication between COPA and UA systems.

zrs70

How long does it typically take for CM flights to post? Less than a week I would imagine!

Loren Pechtel

Yeah, like the guy I ran into elsewhere on the web that finally called in to Social Security to request his death benefit. It shook them up enough that they got their act together and finally admitted he wasn't dead.

WineCountryUA

I doubt you will find full refundable tickets priced anywhere near the AI 11-12 cpm of Premier Accelerator. Your proposal would be a very expensive way of getting PQMs.