Marissa says she booked a flight in 2008 before canceling and using the credit to try to buy another flight. But United said she’d waited too long to re-book the flight, so her sunk cost and frequent flyer miles are gone.

She writes:

I have been through a customer service maze for the last few weeks and I just received an email from United Refunds Department that has my blood boiling.

I re-booked a ticket that I originally booked in 2008, to travel for February 24. When I called to confirm my seats, I was told by the United rep that the ticket was no longer valid AND that they could not refund the miles to my account because it had been more than 2 years. If I had known during rebooking that this would happen, I would have happily refunded the miles to my account.

Instead, I am left without a ticket and without my 90,000. Whoever I talk to or email does not actually take into account the fact that I had successfully (or so I thought) rebooked the ticket and was not made aware of this policy. United effectively has stolen my 90,000 miles from me.

Have you ever canceled a flight and lost your credit and miles because you waited too long to buy a new flight? What do you think Marissa can do to get her money and miles back?

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