United Airlines Cancellation and Refund Policy (2026)
United refunds any fare in full if you cancel within 24 hours of buying a ticket booked a week or more ahead. Later, Basic Economy earns a partial credit, other non-refundable fares a future flight credit. If United cancels a flight to, from or within the US or moves it 3 hours or more (6 international) and you decline the new flight or credit, US law requires a cash refund.
Key facts
- 24-hour policy, checked 31 October 2026: a full refund to your original payment on every fare, Basic Economy included (conditions below). Cancel the whole reservation in My Trips.
- Basic Economy after 24 hours: cancelling gives a partial travel credit, lost at departure. A paid add-on in My Trips removes the change fee; United does not publish its price, and the charge is non-refundable.
- Economy and premium cabins: no change fee on US domestic and US-origin international routes (full list below); cancelling gives a future flight credit, usually valid one year.
- United cancels or significantly changes your flight: decline the new flight and any credit, and you get a full refund of fare, taxes and paid extras within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days (other payments) under 14 CFR Part 260. A credit offered instead must stay valid for at least five years (260.6(c)(2)).
What United gives back, by fare type
Once the 24-hour window has closed, the fare you bought decides what a voluntary cancellation is worth.
| Fare | Change after booking | Cancel after the 24-hour window |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Economy | No direct changes. A paid add-on in My Trips ("United Economy benefits") removes the change fee; terms below the table. | Partial travel credit (amount not published); no value after the departure date. |
| Economy, Economy Plus, premium cabins (non-refundable) | Free on waiver routes; you pay any fare difference, and a cheaper flight leaves a credit. | Future flight credit, no cash. |
| Refundable fares | Allowed under the fare rules. | Refund to the original payment, minus any fee in the fare rule. |
Sources: United Basic Economy and Flexible booking options pages; Contract of Carriage Rule 27 B and E (revised 30 September 2026), all read 31 October 2026.
Under its terms on United's Basic Economy page (read 31 October 2026), the add-on removes the change fee only on Basic Economy tickets bought after 30 April 2021; you still pay any higher fare, every passenger on the booking must add it, it covers United and United Express flights only, and its unpublished charge is non-refundable.
The change-fee waiver covers Economy, Economy Plus and premium-cabin tickets on flights within the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, between the US and Mexico or the Caribbean, and on international flights that start in the US. On other international itineraries change fees still apply, at amounts United does not list; check the fare rules in My Trips first.
The 24-hour flexible booking policy
United refunds the full ticket price to your original payment if you meet four conditions (united.com, 31 October 2026):
- Book at least one week before departure.
- Cancel within 24 hours of the time you bought the ticket.
- Cancel every flight for every passenger on the reservation. Partial cancellations do not qualify.
- Do not pay with electronic travel certificates, and do not leave the reservation on hold unpaid. United's terms state: "Tickets purchased using e-certificates are excluded" and "Reservations that are being held but have not yet been purchased are excluded."
It covers every fare, Basic Economy and Money + Miles included, on tickets bought from United itself: online, in the app, at its ticket offices and airport counters, or through its reservations center. Agency bookings follow the agency's terms, group tickets the group contract.
The window is also a federal floor: 14 CFR 259.5(b)(4) requires airlines flying to, from or within the US to let you hold the quoted fare or cancel "without penalty" for at least 24 hours when you book a week or more before departure. United chose the cancel option.
What happens in each situation
| Situation | Rule that applies | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| You cancel inside the 24-hour window | United 24-hour policy; Contract Rule 4; 14 CFR 259.5(b)(4) | Full refund, any fare |
| You cancel later, Basic Economy | United Basic Economy page; Contract Rule 27 E | Partial travel credit; nothing after the departure date |
| You cancel later, other non-refundable fare | United flexible-booking FAQ; Contract Rule 27 E | Future flight credit |
| United cancels your flight, whatever the reason | 14 CFR 260.6(a); United refund policy | Full refund if you decline rebooking and credits |
| United makes a significant schedule change (next section) | 14 CFR 260.2 and 260.6; United refund policy | Same refund if you do not fly the changed itinerary |
| United makes a smaller change | Contract Rule 24 C | Fee-free rebooking or a future flight credit; a refund only if United offers no rebooking and you refuse the credit. No federal refund right |
| You are stuck at a connecting airport with no flights available | United refund policy | A return to your starting point and a refund |
| You cancel a MileagePlus award ticket before departure | United award redeposit page | Miles back in your account at no fee |
| You miss the flight without cancelling | Contract Rules 5 C and 27 E; award redeposit page | United may cancel the rest of your trip if it gets no notice before departure (change or cancel that flight in My Trips first); Basic Economy loses all value; an award no-show costs $125 to redeposit the miles |
| Death, jury duty, certain illnesses or military orders stop you from flying | United refund policy, "unplanned events" | Refund to your original payment if the event stops you using the ticket within a year of buying it. Death covers the traveler, a traveling companion or an immediate family member; illness needs a letter on letterhead from a licensed doctor |
Sources: United refund policy, Basic Economy, flexible-booking and award redeposit pages; Contract of Carriage Rules 4, 5, 24 and 27; 14 CFR 259.5 and Part 260, all read 31 October 2026.
Money + Miles tickets are refunded "according to the rules of the fare you bought", with the miles counted as a form of payment (United refund page).
The federal refund right holds only while you do not accept the alternative: flying the changed flight, taking the rebooking or accepting a credit ends it. United may not treat you as having accepted a credit "unless the consumer affirmatively agrees" (14 CFR 260.7), and if you do not respond and the flight leaves without you, the refund becomes automatic (260.6(a)(2)(iii)).
When United cancels or changes your flight
A cancelled or significantly changed flight to, from or within the US entitles you to "a full and prompt refund of the airfare, including any taxes and ancillary fees" (14 CFR 260.6(a)), even on a non-refundable or Basic Economy ticket. A change counts as significant under 14 CFR 260.2 when:
- you would depart 3 hours or more earlier, or arrive 3 hours or more later, on a domestic itinerary (6 hours on an international one);
- your departure or arrival airport changes;
- your itinerary gets more connections than you booked;
- you are downgraded to a lower class of service.
United's refund page uses the same thresholds. Two further triggers, listed by both, apply only to passengers with a disability: a different connecting airport, and a substitute aircraft that lacks an accessibility feature they need. Their companions on the same reservation get a refund too (260.6(b)).
One exception runs until 7 July 2027: a flight that operates normally under a new flight number counts as "cancelled" under the 2024 rule, but DOT does not enforce refunds if you are rebooked on the renumbered flight and it runs "without any significant change or delay". The full federal rules are in our guide to US flight refund rules; still at the airport, start with our step-by-step guide for a cancelled flight.
What changed, and when
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 28 October 2024 | DOT refund rule (14 CFR Part 260) takes effect for airline cancellations and significant changes |
| 5 December 2025 | DOT pauses enforcement for renumbered flights that run without significant change, initially until 30 June 2026 |
| 7 July 2026 | DOT extends that pause to 7 July 2027 |
| 30 September 2026 | United's latest Contract of Carriage revision, used on this page |
| 23 October 2027 | Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amending EU261 applies (flights departing the EU) |
Sources: Federal Register 2024-07177, 2025-22140 and 2026-13675; United Contract of Carriage; EUR-Lex 32026R2202, all read 31 October 2026.
United travel credits: how long each one lasts
| Credit | When you get it | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| United future flight credit | You cancel a non-refundable ticket yourself, or change to a cheaper flight | Usually one year from the date it is issued; a "travel by" date, so the trip must begin before it |
| Credit offered instead of a refund United owes | United cancels or significantly changes your flight and you choose a credit over cash | At least five years (14 CFR 260.6(c)(2)); United must state the expiry date and that you could have had cash |
| Travel certificate | You give up your seat voluntarily, or as a goodwill gesture | Most expire 12 months after issue; a "book by" date |
Sources: United Travel credits page; 14 CFR 260.6(c) and 260.8, read 31 October 2026.
Future flight credits are normally usable only by the named traveler, except credits for tickets bought on or before 31 August 2021; credits from agency bookings are used through the agency. After a United cancellation, take a credit only if you are sure to fly United before it expires.
The fine print: where United's contract reads differently
Three contract clauses read differently from federal law or United's own help pages. The law sets the floor: under 14 CFR 260.11 a carrier "must not include terms or conditions in its contract of carriage inconsistent with" Part 260.
| Contract wording | What United's pages or US law say | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Rule 27 C 4: a service-fee refund "must request a refund within 90 days of the date the fee(s) was originally paid or flight date, whichever is later" | 14 CFR 260.4(a): the carrier "shall provide a prompt and automatic refund" of fees for ancillary services not provided through no fault of the consumer; when a service failed only for you, your notification "is considered a request for a refund" (260.4(c)) | If a service failed for everyone (Wi-Fi down, flight cancelled), the refund should come without a form. The 90-day window is United's rule, not the law's; report a failure that hit only you early anyway. |
| Rule 24 D: in a force majeure event United "may refund … in the form of a travel certificate or travel credit" | 14 CFR 260.6 requires a refund for any cancelled covered flight, whatever the cause; United's refund page offers "a full refund to your original payment method" | In our reading, weather or a strike does not turn your refund into a voucher on a flight to, from or within the US. |
| Rule 26: Basic Economy tickets "even if unused, have no residual value" | United's Basic Economy page: "After 24 hours, you'll get a partial travel credit"; Rule 27 E: no value "after date of departure" | Cancel a Basic Economy ticket before departure to keep the partial credit. |
Sources: United Contract of Carriage Rules 24, 26 and 27; United Basic Economy and refund policy pages; 14 CFR 260.4, 260.6 and 260.11, all read 31 October 2026.
What other answers get wrong
We checked Google's AI Overviews, ChatGPT and the top results for United cancellation searches against the primary sources on 31 October 2026.
| What you may read | Where we saw it | What is correct |
|---|---|---|
| Refunds to other payment methods "take up to 20 business days" | Google AI Overviews for "united airlines refund policy" and "united airlines 24 hour cancellation" | That is United's wording for refunds in general. A refund owed under Part 260 (United cancelled or significantly changed the flight) is due within 7 business days to a credit card and 20 calendar days for debit cards, cash and other methods (14 CFR 260.2) |
| You can cancel up to 24 hours before departure for a refund, but United "may keep 10% of the fare" | Google AI Overview for "united airlines cancellation policy" (mobile) | That is Colombia's Right of Withdrawal and applies only to tickets bought there. United's refund page lists other local rules for Argentina, France and Taiwan |
| Basic Economy has no value once cancelled, or earns a credit "minus a cancellation fee" | The same AI Overview (no value); ChatGPT with web search, citing United's 2018 annual report (fee) | Cancelled before departure, Basic Economy gives a partial travel credit, with no fee named on United's current page; it loses its value only after the departure date |
| United "has generally not charged redeposit fees" on award tickets | ChatGPT with web search | Redepositing is free when you cancel; after a no-show it costs $125, and the fee is not refunded |
| Anyone traveling during the FAA schedule cuts can get a refund, even on Basic Economy | United's own schedule-reductions page, still ranking for "united airlines 24 hour cancellation" | That offer covered travel through 16 November 2025 and has expired |
Sources: 14 CFR 260.2; United refund policy, Basic Economy, award redeposit and FAA schedule-reductions pages, all read 31 October 2026.
Fees and charges that affect a refund
United publishes no cancellation fee amounts. These are the charges it does name.
| Charge | Refunded? |
|---|---|
| Booking service charges | Only with a cancellation under the 24-hour policy |
| FareLock fee | Never refunded |
| Checked-bag fees | Yes if you do not travel because of a cancellation or significant schedule change. Also if the bag is lost or delayed more than 12 hours (domestic), 15 hours (international, flight to or from the US of 12 hours or less) or 30 hours (longer international flights), provided you file a Mishandled Baggage Report with the airline that operated the flight (on a multi-airline trip, the last leg) (14 CFR 260.2 and 260.5) |
| Premier Access, Priority Boarding | Yes if your flight is cancelled or its schedule changes; not if you change flights by choice |
| Seats, Wi-Fi and other paid services you did not get | Yes, automatically under federal law on flights to, from or within the US (14 CFR 260.4(a)); the 90-day request window is only United's contract (Rule 27 C 4) |
| Lost paper ticket refund | A $150 processing charge per ticket; may take 90 days |
Sources: United refund policy and flexible-booking pages; Contract of Carriage Rule 27 C, E and F; 14 CFR 260.2, 260.4 and 260.5, read 31 October 2026.
For the bag itself, and the expenses a delay causes, see our guide to lost and damaged baggage claims.
How to request a United refund
Cancel or decline online first; use the refund form only when the money does not arrive on its own.
- Inside the 24-hour window: open My Trips and cancel the entire reservation.
- After a United cancellation or significant change: decline the new flight and any credit offered, and screenshot the change.
- If no refund appears, submit United's refund request form. One request can cover up to 15 items, such as the ticket and Wi-Fi.
- For paid extras you did not get: if no automatic refund arrives, report it on the same form (within 90 days, to satisfy United's contract).
- Track it under "Check status" on the same refund page.
- Booked through a travel agency or another airline? Send the request to them; United's policy routes those refunds back to the seller.
- Still not paid after the federal deadlines in the key facts? File a complaint with the US Department of Transportation through its consumer complaint page.
Expenses such as a hotel after a cancellation go to United's Customer Care form, not the refund form.
Flights from Europe or the UK
On United flights departing the EU or the UK, Regulation 261/2004 or its UK copy applies on top of United's rules. A short-notice cancellation can add €250, €400 or €600 (EU) or £220, £350 or £520 (UK) by distance, unless extraordinary circumstances apply; our EU261 guide and UK261 guide explain who qualifies. United's flights from the US to Europe are not covered, because EU261 covers inbound flights only on EU airlines and the UK version only on UK and EU airlines (Art. 3(1)(b) of each).
United's notice for flights departing the EU and UK tells passengers to ask for a written Notice of Your Rights when such a flight is cancelled or delayed by more than two hours.
Official channels
Use only United's own website or app for cancellations and refunds:
- My Trips: cancel, change or check a booking.
- Refund policies: United's refund rules by category.
- Refund form and status: request or track a refund.
- Travel credits: look up a credit's value and expiry date.
- Contract of Carriage: the legal terms of your ticket.
Search results for United refunds are full of third-party "helplines"; see how to spot them in our guide to fake airline customer service numbers.
Common questions about United cancellations
Can I cancel a United Basic Economy ticket after 24 hours?
Yes, but only before departure: the partial travel credit is lost once the flight leaves, so cancel in My Trips before then. If United cancels the flight or changes it significantly, you are owed a full refund instead. American is stricter: only some AAdvantage members get a credit, minus a fee; see American's Basic Economy rules.
Does United charge a cancellation fee?
Not on most tickets: United publishes no cancellation fee amounts. The cost is that a non-refundable fare turns into a future flight credit instead of cash, and Basic Economy into a partial credit. Charges that do exist: $125 to redeposit miles after an award no-show, change fees on international tickets outside United's waiver routes (most that start outside the US), and any fee a refundable fare's own rule sets.
How do I cancel a United flight for just one traveler?
Divide the reservation first: on the booking in My Trips, choose the individual cancel option in the travelers section. United then splits it into separate reservations, and you cancel the one for that traveler. United's 24-hour terms exclude partial cancellations and do not say whether a split-off booking counts as one, so check the refund amount shown before you confirm.
Can I cancel a United award ticket and get my miles back?
Yes. Cancel in My Trips before departure and United redeposits the miles at no fee, usually within 5 to 7 business days, and only into the account they came from. A no-show costs $125 (United notes that award fees vary outside the US and Canada and by MileagePlus status). United's award page does not say how the cash taxes on an award are returned, so check the cancellation screen before you confirm.
Does United refund taxes on a non-refundable ticket?
Not when you cancel voluntarily: the contract excludes "the fare and any taxes, fees, or other charges" on non-refundable tickets. If United cancels or significantly changes the flight and you decline the alternatives, the federal refund includes "any taxes and ancillary fees".
Does United give anything extra when it cancels a flight?
For cancellations within its control, United's customer commitment promises a meal voucher after a wait of more than three hours, a hotel voucher (and a ride voucher if the hotel has no shuttle) if you are stuck overnight away from home, and, on request, a partner-airline seat in your cabin when no United flight leaves until the next day. With no partner room available, it repays reasonable hotel costs on receipt; turn the services down and it repays nothing you buy yourself.
Where to go next
- Do You Get a Refund If Your Flight Is Cancelled? US Rules for 2026
Yes. If a US flight is cancelled or changed by 3+ hours (6+ international) and you decline the alternative, the airline owes you a cash refund within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days. Scenarios, deadlines, bag fees and the 2026 rule status.
How we checked this guide
Last checked 31 October 2026 against United's own US pages, its Contract of Carriage (revised 30 September 2026), 14 CFR Parts 259 and 260 and the Federal Register. We are independent and not affiliated with United.
- eCFR 14 CFR Part 260 – Refunds (260.2, 260.6, 260.7, 260.10, 260.11)
- eCFR 14 CFR 260.4 – Refunding fees for ancillary services not provided
- eCFR 14 CFR 260.5 – Refunding fees for significantly delayed or lost bags
- eCFR 14 CFR 259.5 – Customer Service Plan (24-hour hold or cancel)
- Federal Register 2024-07177 Refunds final rule (compliance 28 Oct 2024)
- Federal Register 2025-22140 renumbered-flight enforcement pause (5 Dec 2025)
- Federal Register 2026-13675 pause extended to 7 July 2027 (7 Jul 2026)
- US DOT File a Consumer Complaint
- EUR-Lex Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (Articles 3 and 7)
- legislation.gov.uk UK Regulation 261/2004, Article 7 (amounts in pounds)
- EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 amending EU261 (applies 23 Oct 2027)
- United Airlines Flexible booking options (change fees, 24-hour policy)
- United Airlines Basic Economy (flight changes and refunds)
- United Airlines Refund policies (US)
- United Airlines Refund form and refund status (US)
- United Airlines Award travel cancellation, redeposits and fees
- United Airlines Flight changes (cancel for one traveler, FAQ)
- United Airlines FAA-mandated schedule reductions (offer for travel through 16 Nov 2025)
- United Airlines Travel credits (future flight credits, certificates)
- United Airlines Contract of Carriage, revised 30 Sep 2026 (Rules 4, 5, 24, 27)
- United Airlines Notice for flights departing the EU and UK
- United Airlines Customer Care request form
- United Airlines Customer Commitment (assistance for delays and cancellations)
- United Airlines My Trips (manage or cancel a booking)
- legislation.gov.uk UK Regulation 261/2004, Article 3 (scope, inbound flights)
- Federal Register documents affecting 14 CFR 260 (none newer than 7 Jul 2026, checked 31 Oct 2026)
This guide is general information, not legal advice.