Aristophanes80

I booked an award ticket for my sister for 35k miles from the US to Central America with a stopover in the US. She has flown the first segment and is currently in the stopover, and would like to cancel the remaining portion of the itinerary due to a medical issue. I went online and clicked the cancel itinerary link, and it showed me a screen stating that my ticket value is 35k miles and the taxes and fees, and that there would be a charge for cancellation. I did not click the cancel button at this point, I just left this tab open. The 35k figure seemed strange to me since she already flew one of the domestic legs which usually goes for 12.5k miles, so I did a google search on United cancellations while still logged into my United account on a different browser tab. I clicked the first search result, and it took me to a united.com page showing that my itinerary has been cancelled as I requested with the confirmation number of the itinerary in question. I also received an email of this cancellation a few minutes later, but I never actually clicked the cancel button myself, just a google search result. Also, the itinerary still shows in my account as ticketed and confirmed more than an hour later, even if I log in and back out again. I have multiple questions about this.

1. Is this itinerary cancelled? How long does it usually take for a cancellation to be reflected in the online account?

2. How many miles should I get back, considering the first leg of the flight has been flown? (35k - 12.5k = 22.5k, right?)

3. In this situation, is the cancellation confirmation window accurate with the number of miles to be credited back (it said 35k), or is all the account crediting done after the fact by a human who figures it out with an abacus or something?

4. How is this whole sequence of events even possible with the google search leading to a cancellation confirmation page that I've never been to before for a specific itinerary in my account that I was viewing in a separate tab?

WineCountryUA

The is no refund for cancelling after flying a portion of an award trip. United air travel award rules.

Due a medical issue you might be able to write to MPSC (Mileage Plus Service Center0 and ask for a waiver.

Aristophanes80

So the ticket cancellation screen that showed 35k and ~$80 of value in return for the cancellation fee is just wrong then? Why would there be a fee to cancel if I'm not getting anything back in return?

WineCountryUA

Don't know an explicit answer but I guess the website only knows how to cancel an award ticket if unflown and since it was partially flown it screwed up.

Often1

I would not do a medical cancellation online.

Aristophanes80

I wasn't intending on cancelling online, I just wanted to see how many miles I'd get back and what the fee would be. I don't think it's cancelled though, despite the email saying it is. I can still go into the itinerary and initiate changes. Does anyone know how long cancellations take to show up online? Is it ever this long (about 2 hrs now)?

I just called. The friendly representative said that the ticket isn't cancelled, and she confirmed that if I were to outright cancel I would not get anything back in return. However, she said I can cancel the remaining flights now and on the same confirmation number replace them with new flights to wherever within the next year for a $50 change fee assessed at the time of rebooking. She didn't have much to say about the email I received saying the flight was cancelled.

Baze

That would be a year from the original ticketing date. Not a year from the cancelation date.

WineCountryUA

That is within one year of the original booking dates, not travel dates. Fee will depend on the status of the account holder of the miles at time of change and the details of the change. See Award ticketing options/service fees

If travel can not be completed within 1 year of the original booking date, then medical refund via MPSC might be the route to go. If the change fee is higher than $50, then you can request a medical waiver for amount above $50 via the refund page.

Aristophanes80

Right, that's what she said too. Thanks for clarifying.