If you cancel your reservation, United may keep $50 or up to 10% of the fare, plus non-refundable taxes and administrative service charges. Although Basic Economy reservations aren't eligible for changes within 24 hours, they're still eligible for a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours, according to the united cancellation policy, all customers have 24 hours from the time of their original booking to cancel their united airlines' flight without being charged a cancellation fee, regardless of the fare selected, as long as the ticket was purchased a week or more before departure.

United Airlines Cancellation Policy Overview

  • According to the united cancellation policy, a customer can cancel his/her ticket within 24 hours from the time of booking to avoid a cancellation fee.
  • Once these 24 hours are completed you will be charged a certain amount as a cancellation fee but this can be avoided if you purchase a refundable ticket.
  • United Airlines Booking system segregated tickets into two different classes when it comes to ticket cancelation. They are Refundable and Non-Refundable.
  • As per the United cancellation policy, a Refundable ticket can be canceled at any time, and the customer can get a complete refund without any cancelation fee.
  • When it comes to a non-refundable ticket a customer can only cancel within 24 hours from the point of booking. If he/she exceeds that time then they have to pay the cancelation fee of nearly 200$ depending upon their destination and the customer will not get any Refund however, he can use that amount to book a new flight.
  • United Cancellation policy is only applicable for the tickets that are directly purchased from the United Airlines website, customer care centers, and ticket offices.
  • If any customer happened to purchase their ticket using a United gift certificate, then the refund is given in the form of an electronic travel certificate.
  • As per the United cancellation policy, a customer has to pay a cancellation fee irrespective of refundable or non-refundable, if he/she wants to cancel their fight on the day of departure.

How To Cancel a United Flight Ticket Online?

  • Click on “My Trips” on the United Airlines flight search form.
  • Enter your 6-digit booking number along with your last name.
  • Choose the trip that you are looking to cancel.
  • On the very next screen, It will display the total amount that you will be getting as a refund.
  • Click “Cancel Trip” and note down the final refund amount.
  • Do not forget to check the registered email id for the cancelation confirmation from United Airlines.

Now depending upon the type of ticket purchased. United will issue a future credit or will be sending you the complete amount directly to your bank account. That will be taking from 3 to 7 business days.

United Airlines Flight Cancellation: Basic Economy Ticket

United Airlines will not allow you to cancel a basic economy ticket unless it is within 24 hours from the time it was purchased and was purchased a week or more before departure.

United Airlines Flight Cancellation: Non-Refundable Ticket

When you purchase a refundable ticket on United Airlines, you can cancel your flight with united airlines at any time without paying a penalty. You will get a full refund for the original ticket price. Keep in mind that refundable tickets often cost a lot more than nonrefundable tickets. What you get in return for the higher fare is the peace of mind that you will get your money back if you cancel your flight.

Be prepared to wait up to seven days for a refund. According to Frommer, the U.S. Department of Transportation has a regulation in place requiring airlines to credit you within seven days of receiving an application for a refund.

If it has been more than 24 hours since you booked your ticket, you will pay a $200 cancellation fee on domestic flights and up to $400 for international flights depending on fare class.

After you pay the cancellation fee, you can apply the unused value of your ticket toward a future trip with United as long as your new trip begins no later than 1 year from the ticket’s original issue date, and you canceled the original ticket before the departure of the first flight.

Hot Tip: Non-refundable tickets can still be refunded in the event of the death of the passenger or passenger’s traveling companion or because of military orders. Supporting documentation is required.

United Airlines Flight Cancellation: Refundable Ticket

When you cancel your flight on a nonrefundable United Airlines ticket, you will not get a refund. You can put the cost of your canceled ticket toward a new ticket, but you will be charged a change fee of between $50 and $150, at the time of publication, depending on your destination and the type of change you are making.

In the case of certain unplanned events, such as the death of a traveling companion or an immediate family member, or jury duty, United Airlines will provide a refund. According to its refund policy, an application can be made in those circumstances, and a refund will be issued, minus a processing fee of $50 at the time of publication.

If you’ve purchased a refundable ticket, cancellations can be made any time before the departure of your flight and the refund will be issued to your original credit card within 7 days (it should appear on your statement in 1-2 billing cycles).

Award Ticket

The fee for canceling your award ticket and having your miles redeposited can vary greatly depending on your status level with United. If you cancel your flight 61 or more days before departure, the fee is

  • $75 for general members,
  • $50 for Silver members,
  • $25 for Gold members, and
  • $0 for Platinum and 1K members.

If you cancel your flight 60 or fewer days before departure the fee is

  • $125 for general members,
  • $100 for silver members, $75 for gold members,
  • $50 for Platinum members, and
  • $0 for 1K members.