United Airlines Cancellation Policy

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Where to?

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Passengers & Class

1 Adult, Economy/Coach

What is United Airlines' Cancellation Policy?

Want to cancel your United Airlines booking but not sure if you're eligible for a refund? Here at Alternative Airlines, we can help!

With United Airlines, you can receive a refund if you cancel your flight within 24 hours of when you first made your booking and at least 7 days prior to the departure date. This is known as United's 24-hour flexible booking policy. If you've booked your United Airlines ticket through us at Alternative Airlines and cancel your booking in the 24-hour cancellation policy window, you can receive a full refund, however, there are a few important factors to consider first.

If you attempt to contact us outside of our operating hours to cancel your United Airlines booking and the 24-hour period has already expired by the time we've received your refund request, we may not be able to honour the 24-hour cancellation policy as United Airlines won't issue the refund to us.

Please contact us between 9am - 8pm UK time (GMT) if you wish to cancel your United Airlines booking within the 24-hour cancellation window and receive a refund.

Can I get a refund for my United Airlines cancellation?

Of course, but only if you cancel your United booking within the 24-hour cancellation window which starts from when you first made your booking. If you booked your United Airlines flight(s) through Alternative Airlines and wish to cancel/receive a refund, please note that you will need to contact us during our operating hours (9am - 8pm GMT) and within the 24-hour window so that we have time to receive your refund request and send your refund to you shortly after.

If you contact us outside of our opening hours to make a cancellation request and the 24-hour window has already elapsed by the time we receive your request, we won't be able to issue you your refund.

Cancellation Protection with United Airlines

At Alternative Airlines, we offer Cancellation Protection - a service that lets you become eligible for a full refund should you need to cancel your United Airlines flight due to emergency circumstances. Some of these emergency circumstances include the death of an immediate family member, government travel bans, illness or injury to yourself or an immediate family member and home emergencies, among several others.

If you'd like to add Cancellation Protection to your United Airlines flight, all you need to do is pay a small percentage of the cost of your flight as an additional fee. You can have peace of mind knowing your money will be protected should any of these emergency reasons disrupt your flight.

Take a look at our full terms and conditions on Cancellation Protection for more information.

How to add Cancellation Protection to a United Airlines booking

Search for flights

First, using our search form at the top of the page, fill in your departure and arrival airports, the days you plan to fly, how many passengers will be travelling and the cabin class you'd like to fly in. Press 'Search Flights' when you're ready to proceed.

How to add Cancellation Protection to a United Airlines booking

Step 2 - Select preferred airline to fly with

Select your preferred airline

Once the search results have loaded, you can apply filters to narrow down your search. To only see flights operated by a specific airline (e.g., United Airlines), you can use the Airline filter. Select the flights that work best for you and confirm your selection.

How to add Cancellation Protection to a United Airlines booking

Apply Cancellation Protection

Enter all of the necessary passenger details and scroll down until you reach the Cancellation Protection section. To apply Cancellation Protection to your United booking, tick 'Yes, protect my booking'.

How to add Cancellation Protection to a United Airlines booking

Pay your way

Complete your booking by choosing any of the payment methods we offer at checkout. If you request a refund within the 24-hour cancellation window or through Cancellation Protection, we'll issue the refund back to the same payment method you used when you initially made your booking.

Need to make a claim?

If you've purchased Cancellation Protection and need to make a claim for a refund, please fill out this form or click on the button below.

Add Cancel For Any Reason during booking process

Cancel United Airlines Flights for Any Reason

We understand that plans can change and that the process of cancelling flights can be painful. At Alternative Airlines, we offer a Cancel For Any Reason service during the flight booking process that lets you cancel any flight for any reason and get 70% of your ticket costs back.

Travel plans change all the time. You may find you have booked your United Airlines flights but suddenly need to cancel for whatever reason. If you added our Cancel For Any Reason cover to your booking, you can activate it in Manage My Booking and get 70% of your money back in 30 days, no questions asked.

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United Airlines Cancellation Policy FAQs

What is the Cancellation Policy for United Airlines?

United Airlines' cancellation policy states that you can receive a full refund as long as you cancel your booking inside the 24-hour window which is when you first made your booking. After the 24-hour period has elapsed, you won't be able to receive a full refund.

You can follow the 24-hour flexible booking policy even if you made your United Airlines booking through Alternative Airlines. However, if you wish to cancel your booking and receive a full refund, please do so during our operating hours and make sure this is done as soon as possible before the 24-hour window expires. If you contact us outside of our operating hours to cancel your United booking and the 24-hour period has already elapsed by the time we have received your refund request, we won't be able to honour the 24-hour refund/cancellation policy.

I've cancelled my United Airlines booking - why haven't I received a refund?

Unfortunately, you won't receive a refund if you choose to cancel your United Airlines flight after the 24-hour window has expired. This is because the airline will not issue us your refund to be processed and sent back to you as we are following the airline's own cancellation policies that state customers won't be eligible for a refund after the 24-hour cancellation window has expired.

Alternative Airlines is open from 9am - 8pm UK time (GMT). If the 24-hour cancellation window for your United Airlines flight has expired whilst we are closed and you attempt to contact us during this time, you won't be entitled to a refund. It's important that you contact us within our operating hours to allow us time to process your cancellation/refund request and issue you your refund.

Can I buy refundable United Airlines flights?

Absolutely! With Alternative Airlines, you can easily search for and book refundable United Airlines flights. We've created a guide that shows you how to identify if your United Airlines booking is refundable or not. Refundable tickets give you more flexibility for your trip and are ideal for those who are not sure whether they will be able to travel or not.

Read our guide on refundable flights with United Airlines for more information.

Can I cancel my United flights for any reason?

Yes - but only if you added our Cancel For Any Reason cover to your United booking before checkout. Cancel For Any Reason lets you cancel any flight for any reason and get a refund of 70% back in 30 days. This product is especially handy if you're unsure about your travel plans and are likely going to have to cancel if your plans change.

You can find out more about Cancel For Any Reason here.