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

A few months ago I cancelled my flight due to a schedule change. Unfortunately the change was too minor to get a full refund. UA allowed me to use the ticket value for future travel waiving the change fee.
Talking back then with UA agents I understood that I have to complete all travel for the new itinerary within 1 year of the original ticketing date. However I am not too sure anymore if this is really the case. I have found other rules that state that I have to do the change (reissue) within 1 year from the original ticketing date and then all travel has to be completed within 1 year from the date when the ticket was reissued. That means that in the best case I would have 2 years from the original date of ticketing to complete all travel. It is an international ticket from Germany to US. Could anybody give me advice or is there any official policy that applies to this case?

Assuming this is a full ticket reschedule and not a partially taken trip, you have to rebook within a year of the original purchase date, and the travel can be as more as 11 months in the future. So, yes, you have nearly a one year window.

Thanks a lot for your reply. Yes it is a fully unused ticket. Just to be sure: So in this case if the original purchase date was 9. June 2017 I have to call to change the ticket until 8. June 2018 and the actual flight even could be in May 2019 ? Is there there an official policy where I can find that?

Also when trying to change the ticket online and searching for new flights I don't get all the search results I am getting when using the search function for a completely new ticket. Are there any restrictions changing the ticket? My understanding was that I am able to buy any itinerary sold by UA and my old ticket counts as payment (same as cash).

You are summarizing correctly but best not to push it to the last second to make the change. Not aware of any explicit statement / policy addressing this specific situation -- it is a combination of standard policies. Some agents confused the changing of a partially used ticket and the changing of a ticket that has not been used -- leading to the inncorrect advice you received.

The online change tool is limited and commonly has this problem, better to call.

Cancel after check in??
 

Thank you. This is a very useful thread.
Can one cancel after check in (but before departure) and still be able to use the residual on the ticket after change fees?

thank you
Lurker :)

Thank you emcampbe

Lurker :)

Buy cheap ticket using credit from cancelled ticket
 

Yes, the wiki (top post) of this thread has the step-by-step for do this.

The cheap throwaway ticket is discussed on https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...ht-credit.html

Ways to aviod the change fee are also discussed in the wiki and https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...hange-fee.html

and if there is any medical reason for the cancellation, see the link in the wiki for Medical refunds

Thanks for info and thanks to moderator who moved to this thresd
I didn’t remember the term residual value

How Can I find the lowest cost ticket available on United???
im buying this ticket only so I can realized some of the value in a $1500 ticket that had to be cancelled
the person will not be flying sgain
I know I’ll need to pay the $200 change fee
thanks for any help

Always changing (expect about $75-ish) but

I hope this is a simple question. Can't find it answered anywhere else.

I bought a $1400 nonrefundable ticket from the US to Japan last July but was unable to go on the trip so I called and had the rep cancel the trip but preserve the ticket's value so I could use it in the future.

I now want to use that ticket toward an $800 ticket to Japan. I know that I'll pay the $300 change fee. What happens to the remaining $600? Can I use that toward a different international itinerary, and if so, does the clock reset on that use? Or does that amount expire in July. I assume that I would pay $300 again.

I hope that I've made this clear, thanks!

Upon paying the $300 change fee, you will receive a $600 voucher (known as an Electronic Travel Certificate, or ETC) good for purchasing another UA ticket one year from the date of issue. This voucher can be used for you or for another traveler, you do not need to pay another change fee to use it, and the only restrictions are that travel needs to be on United or United Express -- it can be used domestically or internationally. The ETC will retain residual value if you use it to purchase a ticket that costs less than $600.

In theory, they're supposed to email you with the ETC information, but in practice I've never had it arrive. If you don't receive it, make a note of the PNR for your Japan trip. You can then call UA and make a new booking -- just say "I have some residual credit on PNR XYZ123 and I'd like to use it to book a new flight." If they ask you to pay a telephone booking fee, you should request that they waive it since you never received the ETC information in the first place. If you do receive the ETC, it can be used during the purchase flow on United.com -- as long as all of your flights are operated by United, you'll see an option for "United Payment Types" on the payment screen.

Hope this helps. :)

Thanks, extremely helpful!