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How to use a United Airlines trip credit (and few details you need to know)

  • Joseph Hostetler

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    SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 06: A United Airlines plane sits parked at a gate at San Francisco International Airport on March 06, 2020 in San Francisco, California. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, airlines are facing significant losses as people are cancelling travel plans and businesses are restricting travel. Southwest Airlines says they expect to lose between $200 to $300 million dollars in the coming weeks. Other airlines like United and Jet Blue are cutting flights. The International Air Transport Association predicts that carriers could lose between $63 billion and $113 billion this year. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.

    It’s been about a year since your summer 2020 travel dreams were dashed against the stone of COVID-19. Do you have trip vouchers, credits, or funds that are soon to expire?

    Several airlines have extended travel credits into 2022. Whether you’re in a rush to use them or not, it’s nice to have a visual guide to explain the process to you. I just repurposed my 2020 United Airlines flight credit for an upcoming trip to the West Coast next month. I’ll show you how easy it is to use a United flight credit and give you a couple of tips along the way. And how you can pair a United credit card with it to get the most value.

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    (Photo by Justin Sullivan / Staff at Getty Images)

    Step 1. Find future flight credits at the top of the page

    Once you log into your account, you’ll find any flight credits displayed at the top left of the screen. Click that to get the process started.

    Step 2. Click the details of your future flight credit

    You’re now taken to your dashboard displaying your mileage balance, TravelBank balance, elite status progress, etc. Under “Travel credit,” you’ll see any future flight credit you’ve accrued. Click “View details.”

    Step 3. Click “Book with credit”

    I’ve only got credit from one canceled trip. United prominently displays the value of that flight which can be attributed to another United trip. You’ll also find the expiration date for your flight here.

    Click “Book with credit.”

    Step 4. Enter your new travel info

    You’re now carrying your trip credit’s value along with you as you search for new flights. Enter your new details, check all the passengers that will be traveling with you, and click “Continue.”

    Note that while there aren’t any fees for changing your flight, you’ll still have to pay the difference if your new fare is more expensive than your trip credit — but if your new fare is less than your trip credit, you will forfeit the difference in your trip credit. For example, if you’ve got a $100 trip credit, but your new flight is $90, you’ll lose $10.

    This is a good principle to keep in mind when reserving your flights. Perhaps try to book two one-ways instead of a round-trip, so if you have to cancel, your trip credits will be smaller and you’ll have less chance of forfeiting value.

    Step 5. Choose your new flight

    Your new airfare doesn’t have to be the same origin and destination — your trip credit can be used towards any flights. I changed my flights from Portland-Maui to Dayton-San Francisco. In your search results, United displays flight prices relative to your applied flight credit. As you can see, most flights are at least $33 more expensive per person.

    As a side note, I’m able to choose United Basic Economy (the absolute worst seats), because I have the United℠ Explorer Card, which negates most of the restrictions that Basic Economy enforces. For example, United cardholders can bring a carry-on bag for free, and they’ll receive preferred boarding. Basic Economy travelers without a United credit card will board dead last and aren’t allowed to bring a carry-on.

    Step 6. Reserve your trip

    You’ll then need to review your trip details, and it’s time to check out! You can see the actual cost of the itinerary minus the applied trip credit.

    Something big to note is that you can’t mix any United TravelBank cash with a trip credit. If you’re applying a previously canceled trip’s value to your flight, any remaining value will have to be paid in cash. An unfortunate truth.

    Bottom line

    If you’ve got another voucher in another program, let us know if you need help with that. Also check out our guide to making American Airlines flight credits more valuable. It could save you literally $1,000+ — just look at the comments!

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    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)