Nov 28, 2016, 8:35 am
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
UA Gift Certificates Usage
Gift certificates as described here are extremely difficult if not impossible to use on UA.com. UA has discontinued this product and is now routing people to the new UA Travel Registry.
UA states (Nov 2016)
In order to use your existing gift certs, you will need to call in for ticketing.
Credit to 1KChinito
Gift certificates as described here are extremely difficult if not impossible to use on UA.com. UA has discontinued this product and is now routing people to the new UA Travel Registry.
UA states (Nov 2016)
Give loved ones the world
We've decided to discontinue the United gift certificate program, so gift certificates are no longer available for purchase. You can redeem any existing gift certificates and check your balance on the Check Gift Certificate Balance page. You can still help your family and friends get to where they want to go by purchasing gift miles. On the Buy Miles page, simply select “Give Miles” and log in to your MileagePlus account to get started.
We also invite you to check out united.com gift registry to see if your favorite traveler is registered to receive the gift of United flights.
We've decided to discontinue the United gift certificate program, so gift certificates are no longer available for purchase. You can redeem any existing gift certificates and check your balance on the Check Gift Certificate Balance page. You can still help your family and friends get to where they want to go by purchasing gift miles. On the Buy Miles page, simply select “Give Miles” and log in to your MileagePlus account to get started.
We also invite you to check out united.com gift registry to see if your favorite traveler is registered to receive the gift of United flights.
In order to use your existing gift certs, you will need to call in for ticketing.
Credit to 1KChinito
You can make a reservation online and select:
1. Other forms of payment in payment information
2. Cash in drop down menu if available --- "Pay in Person" is the name for the option now
3. Click purchase
A record locator will be created. You can then call UA with your record locator and your gift card information. This way, your airfare is locked and CSR has a much easier time to retrieve your itinerary instead of creating a new one, saving a lot of time and possible fare increase as you have experienced.
An UA CSR taught me this trick because I was in the middle of making a reservation and was unable to use my gift card. She walked me through the above 3 steps. My reservation was complete in a few minutes.
You may have to babysit your reservation until it is ticketed because it may take several weeks for UA to issue your ticket.
1. Other forms of payment in payment information
2. Cash in drop down menu if available --- "Pay in Person" is the name for the option now
3. Click purchase
A record locator will be created. You can then call UA with your record locator and your gift card information. This way, your airfare is locked and CSR has a much easier time to retrieve your itinerary instead of creating a new one, saving a lot of time and possible fare increase as you have experienced.
An UA CSR taught me this trick because I was in the middle of making a reservation and was unable to use my gift card. She walked me through the above 3 steps. My reservation was complete in a few minutes.
You may have to babysit your reservation until it is ticketed because it may take several weeks for UA to issue your ticket.
Issues using UA Gift Certificates - [discontinued]
Jul 20, 2016, 1:08 am
#76
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: East Coast
Posts: 1,018
Same here. Both of the certificates didn`t work, so I had to call. A rep said she would wave the booking fee since "there is a system upgrade", but when I checked the reservation on united.com, the $25 service charge was right there. What a pain!
Aug 17, 2016, 4:25 pm
#77
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,152
United.com Gift Certificate from 2013?
I have a $195.00 united.com Gift Certificate from 2013 (Terms below)
Difficulty redeeming it on united.com (Gave me an error) I went ahead and paid with a card and emailed them since I didn't want to miss out on a cheap fare. They replied call us next time???
I asked them to refund and they sent me a travel voucher good for a year instead
Anyone else have an issue with old certs? Can I have them reissue? Is there a way to check balance online w/o booking?
__________________________________________________ ___
Please do not delete this message! You will need the united.com Gift Certificate Number below to redeem this united.com Gift Certificate towards the purchase of air travel on united.com.
Amount:
$195.00
Expires: 7/28/2018
Gift Certificate
Gift Message:
united.com Gift Certificate Number:
You'll need this to redeem your
united.com Gift Certificate
How to Use Your united.com Gift Certificate
1. Visit http://www.united.com
2. Begin a flight search from our home page.
3. After you have selected the flights you want, provide your Gift Certificate number on the  "Complete Your Purchase" page.
Terms and conditions:
Redeemable only on united.com. Not valid for reservations ticketed via United airport ticket office or city ticket office.
A minimum of 25.00 USD and a maximum of 10,000.00 USD
Only forms of payment with billing addresses in the United States and its territories are eligible
Certificates purchased Aug. 20, 2010 or later are valid for five years from the date the certificate is purchased. Certificates purchased prior to Aug. 20, 2010 are valid for one year from the date certificate was originally issued.
If the full amount of the certificate is not used for a transaction, you can use the balance towards the purchase of another ticket within the original validity period
The certificate will be null and void if its remaining value is less than 1.00 USD
Only valid for air travel purchases, including ticket, taxes and surcharges
Non-refundable
Fully transferable until redeemed
Not valid in conjunction with any other programs (example MilagePlus award redemption)
Valid with any fare types (e.g. United Specials, or eCertificate redemptions)
Cannot be used in conjunction with an Electronic Travel Certificate
Mileage accrual is allowed in conjunction with applicable fare rules for the ticket being purchased
Ticket purchased is eligible for any MileagePlus united.com booking bonus applicable to the ticket at the time of purchase.
Only one Gift Certificate may be used per transaction for the purchase of airline tickets.
The Gift Certificate will be applied to the total price of the airline tickets in any one transaction.
Valid for use on flights operated by United Airlines and United Express only.
Difficulty redeeming it on united.com (Gave me an error) I went ahead and paid with a card and emailed them since I didn't want to miss out on a cheap fare. They replied call us next time???
I asked them to refund and they sent me a travel voucher good for a year instead
Anyone else have an issue with old certs? Can I have them reissue? Is there a way to check balance online w/o booking?
__________________________________________________ ___
Please do not delete this message! You will need the united.com Gift Certificate Number below to redeem this united.com Gift Certificate towards the purchase of air travel on united.com.
Amount:
$195.00
Expires: 7/28/2018
Gift Certificate
Gift Message:
united.com Gift Certificate Number:
You'll need this to redeem your
united.com Gift Certificate
How to Use Your united.com Gift Certificate
1. Visit http://www.united.com
2. Begin a flight search from our home page.
3. After you have selected the flights you want, provide your Gift Certificate number on the  "Complete Your Purchase" page.
Terms and conditions:
Redeemable only on united.com. Not valid for reservations ticketed via United airport ticket office or city ticket office.
A minimum of 25.00 USD and a maximum of 10,000.00 USD
Only forms of payment with billing addresses in the United States and its territories are eligible
Certificates purchased Aug. 20, 2010 or later are valid for five years from the date the certificate is purchased. Certificates purchased prior to Aug. 20, 2010 are valid for one year from the date certificate was originally issued.
If the full amount of the certificate is not used for a transaction, you can use the balance towards the purchase of another ticket within the original validity period
The certificate will be null and void if its remaining value is less than 1.00 USD
Only valid for air travel purchases, including ticket, taxes and surcharges
Non-refundable
Fully transferable until redeemed
Not valid in conjunction with any other programs (example MilagePlus award redemption)
Valid with any fare types (e.g. United Specials, or eCertificate redemptions)
Cannot be used in conjunction with an Electronic Travel Certificate
Mileage accrual is allowed in conjunction with applicable fare rules for the ticket being purchased
Ticket purchased is eligible for any MileagePlus united.com booking bonus applicable to the ticket at the time of purchase.
Only one Gift Certificate may be used per transaction for the purchase of airline tickets.
The Gift Certificate will be applied to the total price of the airline tickets in any one transaction.
Valid for use on flights operated by United Airlines and United Express only.
Aug 18, 2016, 7:28 pm
#78
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: CA
Posts: 1,304
Invalid UA GC
I purchased 2 $50 UA gift certificates June 2015.
I attempted to redeem them for air travel on united.com
I get error of GC is not valid.
These have never been redeemed and i'm a little surprised that UA doesn't recognize them.
Anyone have similar issues? What do i do to resolve this?
I attempted to redeem them for air travel on united.com
I get error of GC is not valid.
These have never been redeemed and i'm a little surprised that UA doesn't recognize them.
Anyone have similar issues? What do i do to resolve this?
Aug 18, 2016, 7:32 pm
#80
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: GVA (Greater Vancouver Area)
Programs: DREAD Gold; UA 1.035MM; Bonvoy Au-197; PCC Elite+; CCC Elite+; MSC C-12; CWC Au-197; WoH Dis
Posts: 52,140
I had a similar problem a few months ago - a GC was not valid online, but they had no problem redeeming it over the phone.
Aug 22, 2016, 8:49 pm
#81
Join Date: Jul 2003
Programs: UA1K 3MM, AS MVP 75K Gold
Posts: 2,706
What a hassle
I have a $500 gift certificate. I find out that you cannot convert this paper cert into an electronic cert and when you want to redeem it you have to call UA.
I call UA and after a 30 min. call I get it redeemed.
I check my reservation over the next few days and no receipt. It shows "ticketed and confirmed" but no receipt so you cannot upgrade or even get seats.
I call UA. On the phone for 40 min. and the agent says that it's going to take a while so they will call me back tomorrow since the person doing it is going off shift.
Next day, no call.
I wait a week. Still no call and still no completed reservation.
I call today and after 45 min., the agent says that it shows that it's in the queue but since it's for a flight in Dec., the certs are processed according to when the flight is.
She says wait a week and see what happens. Mind you, this will be three weeks after I made the reservation.
I just can't see how this is the most efficient way to redeem gift certificates. I'm praying the reservation clears in a week; otherwise, another phone call is going to happen.
I call UA and after a 30 min. call I get it redeemed.
I check my reservation over the next few days and no receipt. It shows "ticketed and confirmed" but no receipt so you cannot upgrade or even get seats.
I call UA. On the phone for 40 min. and the agent says that it's going to take a while so they will call me back tomorrow since the person doing it is going off shift.
Next day, no call.
I wait a week. Still no call and still no completed reservation.
I call today and after 45 min., the agent says that it shows that it's in the queue but since it's for a flight in Dec., the certs are processed according to when the flight is.
She says wait a week and see what happens. Mind you, this will be three weeks after I made the reservation.
I just can't see how this is the most efficient way to redeem gift certificates. I'm praying the reservation clears in a week; otherwise, another phone call is going to happen.
Sep 21, 2016, 7:54 pm
#82
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: BFL
Programs: UA, AA (Plt)
Posts: 99
My go-to method of using multiple forms of payment has always been to buy gift certificates with all but one credit card used, then apply the gift certificates, then pay the remaining balance on my own card. Now that UA.com is not selling the certificates, is there any other way to circumvent?
Oct 4, 2016, 9:21 am
#84
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: B6 Mosaic, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Glob, AA EXP
Posts: 56
These gift cards continue to be a fiasco. Of course while spending the requisite 45 minutes on the phone to book a flight that I could have easily reserved online in minutes, the price of my flight jumps from $435 to $850 and there is nothing the agent can do.
I have been dealing with legacy cards from 2012/2013 that will probably go unused because United has not figured out this issue that has been lingering for years. Add to that the fact that you can only use them one at a time and they are nearly worthless.
I have been dealing with legacy cards from 2012/2013 that will probably go unused because United has not figured out this issue that has been lingering for years. Add to that the fact that you can only use them one at a time and they are nearly worthless.
Oct 4, 2016, 10:51 am
#85
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
These gift cards continue to be a fiasco. Of course while spending the requisite 45 minutes on the phone to book a flight that I could have easily reserved online in minutes, the price of my flight jumps from $435 to $850 and there is nothing the agent can do.
I have been dealing with legacy cards from 2012/2013 that will probably go unused because United has not figured out this issue that has been lingering for years. Add to that the fact that you can only use them one at a time and they are nearly worthless.
I have been dealing with legacy cards from 2012/2013 that will probably go unused because United has not figured out this issue that has been lingering for years. Add to that the fact that you can only use them one at a time and they are nearly worthless.
1. Other forms of payment in payment information
2. Cash in drop down menu if available
3. Click purchase
A record locator will be created. You can then call UA with your record locator and your gift card information. This way, your airfare is locked and CSR has a much easier time to retrieve your itinerary instead of creating a new one, saving a lot of time and possible fare increase as you have experienced.
An UA CSR taught me this trick because I was in the middle of making a reservation and was unable to use my gift card. She walked me through the above 3 steps. My reservation was complete in a few minutes.
You may have to babysit your reservation until it is ticketed because it may take several weeks for UA to issue your ticket.
Oct 4, 2016, 12:21 pm
#86
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: B6 Mosaic, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Glob, AA EXP
Posts: 56
That's a very useful tip, thanks.
You can make a reservation online and select:
1. Other forms of payment in payment information
2. Cash in drop down menu if available
3. Click purchase
A record locator will be created. You can then call UA with your record locator and your gift card information. This way, your airfare is locked and CSR has a much easier time to retrieve your itinerary instead of creating a new one, saving a lot of time and possible fare increase as you have experienced.
An UA CSR taught me this trick because I was in the middle of making a reservation and was unable to use my gift card. She walked me through the above 3 steps. My reservation was complete in a few minutes.
You may have to babysit your reservation until it is ticketed because it may take several weeks for UA to issue your ticket.
1. Other forms of payment in payment information
2. Cash in drop down menu if available
3. Click purchase
A record locator will be created. You can then call UA with your record locator and your gift card information. This way, your airfare is locked and CSR has a much easier time to retrieve your itinerary instead of creating a new one, saving a lot of time and possible fare increase as you have experienced.
An UA CSR taught me this trick because I was in the middle of making a reservation and was unable to use my gift card. She walked me through the above 3 steps. My reservation was complete in a few minutes.
You may have to babysit your reservation until it is ticketed because it may take several weeks for UA to issue your ticket.
Oct 4, 2016, 2:28 pm
#88
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SFO
Programs: COdbaUA Platinum 2MM
Posts: 5,532
Oct 6, 2016, 5:27 am
#89
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 101
After calling UA, my reservation was changed to be on hold till the day of the flight. I was told to wait 48 hrs before UA issues my ticket. A few days later and it's still on hold. I guess I'll have to keep babysitting my reservation. A lot of work for a $70 ticket!