United Canceled Your Flight? Here’s How to Get Compensation

Sometimes, even our best-laid plans get thrown off track due to factors outside our control.

If you’re stuck because United Airlines canceled your flight, you may be entitled to certain forms of compensation to ease your travel woes, depending on the reason for cancellation. 

What United Owes You for a Cancellation

In United’s contract of carriage, the airline lays out what their customers are entitled to when their flight is canceled. 

Rebooking

If your United flight has been canceled, the airline says they will automatically rebook you for free on the next available United flight. 

If the next United flight doesn’t depart until the next day, they’ve committed to booking you on a new flight with one of their partner airlines if you ask them. 

Keep in mind that this arrangement only works if United has no more flights available that travel day and their partner airline has a seat available in the same cabin you were flying on United.

Vouchers

After you’ve been delayed for 3 hours or more and it’s the airline’s fault, United says they owe you a meal voucher to spend in the airport.

This may be digital or printed, so if you don’t automatically receive one once you’ve been waiting 3 hours, ask the gate agent to print you one.

Complimentary accommodations

If the cancellation causes you to spend the night in a city that isn’t your hometown, United says they’ll provide you with a hotel room and transportation.

If all the rooms in their partner hotels are full, United says they will reimburse you for a room you book yourself.

They've committed to covering “reasonable” overnight accommodations, which includes the associated ground transportation.

Refunds

Maybe you decide after your flight gets canceled that taking the trip isn’t worth it. You can cancel and United owes you a full refund for the unused tickets. 

But be careful, because United may try to convince you to accept a travel credit instead of a refund. This is a great deal for the airline, but not for you!

They want to avoid shelling out cash if they can, and they know that not all customers remember to come back and spend their travel credit with the airline before it expires. 

Unless you know you’re going to use the travel credit for something specific, decline it and ask for your money back as a regular refund!

Understanding Your Rights When United Cancels Your Flight

Not all cancellations are created equal. Know the ins and outs of cancellations so you can claim appropriate compensation.

What makes an eligible cancellation

For you to be eligible for compensation, your flight has to be canceled for reasons within United’s control, called, (get this) “controllable cancellations.” 

Examples of common controllable cancellations are crew delays, mechanical issues, and fueling or baggage problems.

However, the airline is not responsible for providing you the same care and compensation during travel interruptions caused by factors outside their control, like:

• Extreme weather
• Security issues
• Medical emergencies
• Air traffic control problems

You aren’t eligible for vouchers or hotel rooms if your delay is caused by uncontrollable factors like these.

However, a new regulation from the Department of Transportation entitles passengers to a full refund if their flight has been canceled, regardless of the reason, and if the passenger chooses not to continue their trip. 

So, if your flight was canceled because of an extreme snowstorm and you decide not to take the rebooking, the airline owes you a full refund.

How the Department of Transportation fits in

Within the last few years, the Department of Transportation has improved its process for holding airlines accountable when they don’t treat customers right.

Technically, the DOT actually doesn’t have any of their own specific requirements for airlines related to customer care during travel interruptions, besides the refund regulation. 

However, the DOT does enforce the promises that airlines have made to their customers, which are specific and include amenities and services for customers experiencing controllable cancellations.

The DOT has created an Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard that details what each airline has committed to providing for customers in the instance of flight delays and cancellations. 

I highly recommend you check it out and have it handy whenever you’re flying — it’s a fantastic resource!

If United doesn’t offer you all the services they’ve promised they will, you can file a complaint with the DOT, which will ensure you receive your compensation. 

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Claiming Compensation

So now you know when and what you’re entitled to, but how do you get it?

Rebook like a pro

You should be automatically rebooked on the next available flight, and you won’t have to do anything except check in for the new one.

You can also manage your flight online or through the United app, where you can change to a different alternate flight.

However, if you’re interested in an earlier flight with a different airline, the gate agent should be able to schedule you with that carrier. This is an option if United can’t get you onto one of their flights until the following day.

Documentation is your best friend

United is supposed to provide you with vouchers for both meals and accommodations if it's a controllable cancellation, but it’s possible they won’t have any available. Remember — the airline has committed to reimbursing you!

Keep those receipts because you can submit them to get your money back.

Communicate with the gate agent

If you have any questions or issues with your canceled reservation, the gate agent should be able to help you. 

They’re also the ones who will be supplying vouchers and booking hotel rooms for stranded passengers, so make sure they know what you need — and that you know what you’re entitled to!

Other Compensation Options

Travel insurance policies and credit card benefits can both provide compensation when your flight gets canceled — and in most cases, it’s more generous than what airlines provide.

Travel insurance

If your flight gets interrupted for any reason, your travel insurance policy can provide additional compensation, like a larger meal budget or lounge access. You’ll also receive booking support to get you back en route ASAP. 

Your accommodations and other prepaid activities are also reimbursable. So, if you ended up stuck somewhere overnight because your connection was canceled, you wouldn’t be out money for the suite and dinner reservation you booked at your destination.

READ MORE: Which Situations Are Covered by Trip Cancellation Insurance?

Credit card benefits

Lots of top credit cards come with travel insurance as a benefit. So, if you used that credit card to book the trip, you might already be covered. 

For example, if you booked your flight with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you could receive up to $500 in compensation per ticket if it takes longer than 6-12 hours for the airline to book you on a new flight.

If your trip is totally canceled (say, if bad weather or a strike means no flights are available at all and you need to forfeit the whole thing), you could get up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip to cover any prepaid, nonrefundable costs. 

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TL;DR: How To Get United Flight Cancellation Compensation

When your flight is canceled by United Airlines and it’s their fault, they need to provide you with meal vouchers after 3 hours and complimentary accommodations if you’re stuck overnight. 

They’re obligated to give you a full refund if you decide to turn down rescheduled flights and all other forms of compensation they offer.

Remember that knowledge is your greatest travel companion in these situations!

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.