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How to get residual/"future flight credit" from non-refundable flight

Old Dec 14, 2014, 5:22 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
FFC == "Future Flight Credit"

When re-booking 3-March 2020 purchased tickets, if the new ticket is cheaper you will receive an ETC (good for 24 months); starting April 2021, this is now a new form of FFC
However for tickets purchased 3 March or later, the fare rules now state there is no "residual value" meaning no ETC for the fare drop and if you have to rebook again the credit is just the value of the new ticket.
If the new flight is priced higher, the customer may change for no change fee but must pay the fare difference. If the new flight is priced lower, the customer may change without paying a change fee but no residual value will be given.
For pre-1 April 2020 purchased, FFCs will be good for 24 months from the original purchase date
  • New tickets must be reissued within 24 months from original ticket date
  • Rebooked travel must commence within 24 months from the original ticket issue date
And there are no change fees
Change Fees Are Gone For Good

For purchases starting 1-April, the lifetime of FFCs are returning to the traditional 12 months from purchase

In some cases of voluntary cancellations, FFCs may be convertible to ETCs (seems pre 1 August 2020 purchase is a factor) but this can only be requested on the phone and may take days/weeks. This may be a way to avoid the problem of "no residual credit" YMMV


Update 4 April 2020
Were extending electronic certificates
To give you more flexibility when you travel, electronic certificates are now valid for 24 months from the date they were issued. This includes all currently valid electronic certificates and all new ones issued on or after April 1, 2020.

This policy change will automatically appear, but it may not be reflected everywhere right away. Wed appreciate your patience as we work to make that happen.
The below needs to be updated based on the changes above

This wiki discusses the for steps in using the "future flight credit" from a canceled non-refundable ticket. Note this is for the cancellation of an entire ticket -- the process is different for a partial flown ticket

- Note some tickets are non-changeable and have no residual value if not flown:
United's Basic Economy - Discussion, Q&A, ...
New UA/*A TATL -LGT Economy fare - first bag charged, no changes allowed

- Notify UA of the cancellation before the scheduled departure. An absolute must, if not done the entire value will be lost. But see note below about Travel Waivers

- Wait until you are ready to reschedule. When ready you will need to pay a change fee in new money - the fee varies and will depend on the fare rules of the original fare. Note in many cases there is no longer a change fee (BE and flights origining outside the USA may still have a fee)
  • The new ticket must be purchased within 1 years of the original ticket's purchase date (pre-April 2020 purchases receive 2 year FFC)
  • The new ticket will be good for 1 year from the exchange/re-scheduled date and travel must commence prior to the expiration of the original ticket (an exception is if the new travel is just a date change, in this case, a new ticket may not be issued and initial purchase date will still prevail)
  • The new ticket must be for the same named traveler
  • The portion of a ticket purchased with nonrefundable ticket credit will be nonrefundable regardless of the new ticket's fare rules
  • The change fee requires payments of new funds and cannot be funded from the original ticket's value
  • Any fare residual will issued as an ETC valid for one two year.

- If an ETC is issued, all of the funds in it must be used within one twos year of issuance.
  • The ETC can be used by anyone.
  • The one two-year limitation only limits purchasing, not travel - travel may be outside the 1 2-year limit.
  • There are no additional fees to use the ETC
  • The credit voucher can only be used for UA/UX operated flights (workaround - UA Electronic Travel Certificate & Codeshares/partner flights)

To get maximum ETC (or new type FFC), an option is to pay the change fee (if any) and book the cheapest possible OW fare and throw that ticket away -- how to find that cheap fare, see Cheapest possible flight (How do I redeem this flight credit?)

If the reason for the change / cancellation is due to medical issues or death of a close relative, see Consolidated "Refunds/Cancellations Due to Illness/Death" Thread [Merged] for the process to get a refund of the change / redeposit fee.

Other cases for "free" changes are:
1) if the flight is covered on the day of departure by a waiver (WX related or other reasons). Note there may be a limited time frame for the change fee waiver.
2) or by an airline's change in schedule

What if it is 1 year from the original ticket purchase date and I am not ready to buy another United ticket using my canceled ticket's funds? Buy a throwaway ticket on the cheapest fare you can find. United will issue an Electronic Travel Certificate for any unused funds. That ETC is valid for one year from issuance (see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1369495-ua-electronic-travel-certificates-etc-general-q-new-combinability-policy-34.html). If you do this on the expiry date of your original ticket, you effectively extend the availability of the funds for an additional year at the cost of a throwaway ticket.

What if I purchase a refundable ticket with the credit from the non-refundable ticket, can I then cancel and get a refund? No, the funds from a non-refundable purchase remain non-refundable even if used to purchase a refundable fare.

Cannot find the canceled reservation online?
Go to Manage Reservations and look in both "Current" and "Cancelled" tabs
Find the appropriate reservation and look for "Use Future Flight Credit"

After rebooking a canceled ticket, is there a new 24-hour window for fee changes?
No, the 24-hour flexible change only applies to the original /new booking and does not extend to rebooking of canceled / changed tickets.
Uniteds 24-hour cancellation / flexible booking policy

What if one leg is a refundable fare and another leg is non-refundable?
For a single ticket, the most restrictive fare rule applies to the entire ticket. So a refundable segment paired with a non-refundable segment makes the entire ticket non-refundable. Same with the change fee, the segment with the highest change fee applies to the entire ticket.

Archive thread: How to get residual/"future flight credit" from non-refundable flight {Archive}

Other related threads
Changing/Canceling/Replacing a ticket costing less than the change fee?
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How to get residual/"future flight credit" from non-refundable flight

Old Apr 3, 2020, 8:07 pm
  #271  
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Programs: united
Posts: 7
Originally Posted by jsloan
Yes, that's correct. Your ticket is refundable less the cancellation fee.


None of that is relevant for your case; don't worry.


Here are your options:

1 - Refund now, and get everything back -- as a credit to your card -- except for the cancellation fee.
2 - Wait until closer to the travel date, hoping for a change fee waiver. If there is a waiver, change her ticket to the cheapest one you can find; the remainder will be refunded to your card.
3 - Wait until closer to the travel date, hoping for the flight she's on to be cancelled. Then, ask for a refund of the entire amount.

You should be able to find the amount of the cancellation fee in the fare rules on the itinerary, which you can look up from the United My Trips screen.

The 12-months-to-refund stuff shouldn't really apply, because you have a refundable ticket. However, it's possible UA could decide to play hardball about not waiving the cancellation fee.

Personally, I would be inclined to cancel it now and eat the cancellation fee, as that simplifies things a lot. It also protects you against a change of heart on her part regarding allowing you to retain the value of the ticket.

.
Thank you!
One last question, for this option: ""2 - Wait until closer to the travel date, hoping for a change fee waiver. If there is a waiver, change her ticket to the cheapest one you can find; the remainder will be refunded to your card.""

If I do that, then book her on a $29 United Basic Economy ticket (and she doesn't make the flight), United will automatically refund the remaining ~$1970 right back onto my card, with no restrictions or hoops to jump through? Sounds a little too good to be true haha.

Interestingly, this note from United is now on my Trips page:
If youve previously canceled your trip, youll soon be able to convert your unused ticket into a travel certificate for more flexibility. Check back soon.
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 8:12 pm
  #272  
Moderator: United Airlines
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
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Originally Posted by Brianguy11
...
If I do that, then book her on a $29 United Basic Economy ticket (and she doesn't make the flight), United will automatically refund the remaining ~$1970 right back onto my card, with no restrictions or hoops to jump through? Sounds a little too good to be true haha. ....
yep, that is too good. What you will get is an ETC for the $1,970 usable by anyone with the PIN code which is good for 12 months (presently). Was thinking about a non-refundable ticket, lost track the OP has a flexible refundable ticket

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 4, 2020 at 12:08 am
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Old Apr 3, 2020, 11:30 pm
  #273  
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Originally Posted by Brianguy11
If I do that, then book her on a $29 United Basic Economy ticket (and she doesn't make the flight), United will automatically refund the remaining ~$1970 right back onto my card, with no restrictions or hoops to jump through? Sounds a little too good to be true haha.
For a wholly unused ticket, that should be correct. The only caveat would be if United had written something into the rules about what the replacement flight had to be (e.g., travel must be international). But, in the worst case, you'd still only be out the cancellation fee.

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
yep, that is too good. What you will get is an ETC for the $1,970 usable by anyone with the PIN code which is good for 12 months (presently).
OP has a refundable ticket. You're quoting the rules for a nonrefundable ticket. If the change fee is waived, OP can absolutely change to a $29 fare and get the remainder as an actual refund, provided that the itinerary remains valid.
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Old Apr 4, 2020, 11:23 am
  #274  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
So I had canceled some trips before United allowed you to issue an ETC, and therefore I only got future flight credit. I figured out that if you use future flight credit to book a new flight, then cancel that one, you can choose an ETC instead. So future flight credit is convertible into ETCs that are valid for 24 months.
jsloan and Hipplewm like this.
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Old Apr 4, 2020, 2:22 pm
  #275  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Originally Posted by villox
So I had canceled some trips before United allowed you to issue an ETC, and therefore I only got future flight credit. I figured out that if you use future flight credit to book a new flight, then cancel that one, you can choose an ETC instead. So future flight credit is convertible into ETCs that are valid for 24 months.
I have the same thing - off to book a flight
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Old Apr 4, 2020, 2:30 pm
  #276  
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While i think this will likely work, be careful with booking "no residual" flights, better to look for unrestricted / flexible fares.
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Old Apr 4, 2020, 9:35 pm
  #277  
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 178
United reschedule/cancel questions

For reschedule/cancel credits, does the route need to be the same and/or does the set of passengers on the booking need to be the same? Or is it just a credit that can be used any which way?
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Old Apr 5, 2020, 12:31 am
  #278  
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Originally Posted by acousticbiker
For reschedule/cancel credits, does the route need to be the same and/or does the set of passengers on the booking need to be the same? Or is it just a credit that can be used any which way?
"Future flight credit": The passenger must be the same. For a wholly canceled ticket, the route doesn't need to be the same. For a partially-used ticket, the flight has to make an allowable combination with whatever you've already flown; e..g, if you flew CDG-SFO, you can probably use the credit on LAX-CDG or SFO-FRA, but you probably can't use it on SFO-HNL. The traveler must be the same. For most tickets, if the new fare is lower, an Electronic Travel Certificate (ETC) will be issued for the difference. If you have several passengers on a reservation, they each have a credit. If you need to rebook them separately, you can do so (the original reservation will be split and each person's credit will carry to their new reservation).

ETC: Several people have reported the option to turn a future flight credit into an ETC. ETCs are good for travel for any passenger on any route, provided that the flights are operated by United or Untied Express.
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 2:10 am
  #279  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: Continental OnePass
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I have a rather simple (I hope) question. I've never actually cancelled a flight before, so not sure how the re-using the credit from the cancelled flight works. Can I use the credit from the cancelled flight to purchase multiple new itineraries, or does it have to be used in one go? Conversely, if I have multiple cancelled itineraries, can I combine their credits to purchase a single new itinerary?
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 4:47 am
  #280  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: DCA
Posts: 69
How to convert flight credit to ETC

I have a large flight credit tied to a trip To Europe I cancelled. I had booked the tickets last August, and so my flight credit expires then. I attempted to use that credit online to book a fully refundable ticket for a week before credit expiry, but the website would only show me flights to the original destination. I wanted to either book a ticket I would be willing to use or a refundable ticket I could convert to an ETC, but the website wouldnt let me do either thing. Is it just necessary to go through a human agent to accomplish this?

thanks! If this question has been answered elsewhere (I was having trouble finding an answer through searching) please point me to the correct thread,
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 5:12 am
  #281  
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So you cancelled or UA cancelled? If you cancelled then you have a flight credit. If UA cancelled the flight then they owe you a full refund or you can alternatively get an ETC.
Trying to convert an already accepted 'flight credit' (you must have done that) to an ETC is not easy and UA may rightfully refuse to do so. There is no such thing as a refundable ticket that can be converted to an ETC. You can use an ETC to buy a refundable ticket that can lead to extra flexibility, not the other way around.
Using a flight credit from an existing ticket will have the same restrictions as the original ticket, however, if you book now they will give you extra flexibility.
Short of calling and pleading your case there is nothing you can do.
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 5:20 am
  #282  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
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You can use the flight credit to book a new flight at anytime. You can then cancel that new booking and get an ETC instead of the flight credit.
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 8:32 am
  #283  
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Originally Posted by swiftaw
I have a rather simple (I hope) question. I've never actually cancelled a flight before, so not sure how the re-using the credit from the cancelled flight works. Can I use the credit from the cancelled flight to purchase multiple new itineraries, or does it have to be used in one go? ...
Initially, the canceled ticket credit can only be used by the original passenger. If the credit exceeds the cost of the new flight, then that "residual" is converted to an ETC, which then can be used for additional flights for any traveler. This can continue until the entire amount is used.

There is one caveat -- Flights purchased since March 3 have no residual, so those flights can only be changed but no ETC will be generated if the new flight is cheaper. You should be fine if the cancelled flight was purchased prior to March 3.

Originally Posted by swiftaw
...Conversely, if I have multiple cancelled itineraries, can I combine their credits to purchase a single new itinerary?
No & Yes, as future flight recredit no -- just one. If converted to ETCs, yes.

UA is hinting the present canceled / future flight credits will be convertible to ETCs at some point without purchasing a replacement flight.

In Refunds
If you've previously canceled your trip, you'll soon be able to convert your unused ticket into a travel certificate for more flexibility. Check back soon.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 6, 2020 at 10:42 am Reason: repaired url
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 8:37 am
  #284  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: Continental OnePass
Posts: 855
Thanks. I have one ticket that I bought in January for March flights that I cancelled in early March, and I have two more tickets for flights in May that were bought February but I haven't officially cancelled them yet (but I will, since we definitely aren't going).
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Old Apr 6, 2020, 8:45 am
  #285  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: DCA
Posts: 69
Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Initially, the canceled ticket credit can only be used by the original passenger. If the credit exceeds the cost of the new flight, then that "residual" is converted to an ETC, which then can be used for additional flights for any traveler. This can continue until the entire amount is used.

There is one caveat -- Flights purchased since March 3 have no residual, so those flights can only be changed but no ETC will be generated if the new flight is cheaper. You should be fine if the cancelled flight was purchased prior to March 3.

No & Yes, as future flight recredit no -- just one. If converted to ETCs, yes.

UA is hinting the present canceled / future flight credits will be convertible to ETCs at some point without purchasing a replacement flight.

In Refunds
Thanks for this information. Is there a place where UA has made these hints that is publicly available?

Last edited by jsdc; Apr 6, 2020 at 8:46 am Reason: grammar mistake
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