How to get a refund from United Airlines
If United cancels your flight or changes it significantly and you decline the rebooking, you can get a full refund to your original payment method through United's refund request form. Tickets booked directly with United can also be cancelled in My Trips within 24 hours for a full refund.
Checked against United Airlines's own help pages on October 24, 2026.
Official ways to reach United Airlines
Refund request form (and refund status)
Customer Care form (compliments, complaints and requests)
Reservations, English (calling from the U.S. and Canada, 24 hours)
Listed on united.com/en/us/fly/help/contact-reservations.html
United says refunds on tickets issued by a travel agency must be requested from that agency, which pays the refund, and tickets issued by a partner airline go to the airline you bought from.
What United Airlines's help pages say about refunds
- If your flight is cancelled, delayed or rescheduled by 3 hours or more domestic or 6 hours or more international, moved to a lower class, or switched to different airports or extra stops, and you choose not to travel, you can request a full refund to your original payment method. Source
- Accepting United's rebooking, such as flying the delayed or rescheduled flight, means you are no longer entitled to a refund. Source
- A ticket booked directly with United can be cancelled in My Trips within 24 hours of booking for a full refund, and all other refund requests go through the refund form and need approval from United's refund team. Source
- Credit card refunds are processed within 7 business days of the request, and other refunds within 20 business days. Source
- Cancelling: Cancel in My Trips within 24 hours of booking directly with United for a full refund. After that, any refund depends on your ticket type and goes through the refund request form. Source
Policies change. Follow the source links for United Airlines's current wording before you rely on a detail.
Write your United Airlines refund request
Paste the receipt or billing email United Airlines sent you. We'll pull out the charge details and write a specific request you can send through any of the routes above, plus a script if you'd rather call.
United Airlines refund questions
Does United Airlines have an email address for refunds?
We didn't find a customer email address on United Airlines's own help pages. Its published routes are refund request form (and refund status), customer care form (compliments, complaints and requests), reservations, english (calling from the u.s. and canada, 24 hours). Paste your written request into the form or chat so your wording is on record.
How do I contact United Airlines about a charge?
Use the routes above, all taken from United Airlines's own pages, including the phone number 1-800-864-8331. Have the charge date, amount and your account email ready, and ask for a reference number.
What if United Airlines won't refund me?
Send one follow-up with a short deadline, keeping everything in writing. If you paid by credit card, you can dispute a charge for something not provided as agreed with your card issuer, generally within 60 days of the statement that showed it. Consumer agencies like the FTC or your state attorney general take complaints too.