I recently had to cancel my United flight and I wanted to share what I learned about the option of whether to cancel or reschedule
Reschedule- The advantage of rescheduling is that
- you can reschedule on a partner airline (even though I had bought the ticket originally with an Electronic Flight Certificate which was only valid on United-operated flights)
- you don't have to wait to receive a Electronic Travel Certificate or Future Flight Credit before booking your next flight
- The disadvantage of rescheduling is that
- If rescheduled flight is higher fare, you cannot use a Electronic Travel Certificate or Future Flight Credit to pay the difference (at least you can't online but I didn't try calling an agent to see if they could do it)
- If rescheduled flight is lower fare, you lose the difference (but Dan has said that if the ticket was issued on 3/2/20 or earlier will get an electronic travel certificate for the difference)
Cancel - If you cancel, you can elect to receive an Electronic Travel Certificate or a Future Flight Credit (Dan posted about the differences between the two here
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/united/1-week-left-cancel-take-future-flight-credit-electronic-travel-certificate-cancelling-united-flight/)
- I wanted an ETC. As Dan posted here
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/united/no-united-hasnt-cancelled-electronic-travel-certificate-refund-just-simplified-get/, Electronic Travel Certificates are not available online. I had to call an agent to cancel the ticket and get the ETC.
- The ETC was emailed to me less than 48 hours after I called. (But I know the last time I cancelled a ticket and requested a ETC, it took much longer. I've seen mentioned on this board that it can take up to 20 days)
- The ETC I got is valid for 2 years from when it was issued
