United Airlines gift card: fly for less, or sell it for cash

United gift cards are redeemed on united.com for flights on United and United Express in any passenger name. The seller books the itinerary you priced — Economy, Economy Plus or above; Basic Economy only if you asked for it — in your exact name with your date of birth and gender, puts your email and phone on the reservation, and pays with the card. United emails the receipt to the reservation contact, which is you.

Verifying a United Airlines booking made for you

On united.com open My Trips and enter the confirmation number with your last name. Look for a ticket number on the reservation (13 digits starting 016) — that is what makes it ticketed rather than merely held. The same receipt arrives in your inbox.

Cancellation, and why the payout waits for the trip

United refunds anything cancelled within 24 hours of purchase and has no change fees on standard Economy and above, but a later cancellation turns the fare into a future flight credit for the booker, and Basic Economy is locked once the 24 hours pass. Any refund or credit would return to the seller's card, so the payout waits until the day after your flight.

What a United gift card is worth here

United gift cards list here at roughly 8–15% off face value. Typical bookings: a hub-to-hub domestic trip, an Economy Plus upgrade booked into the fare, a one-way for a move. Fares and rooms reprice by the hour: up to 5% over the total you saw is the seller's to absorb, more comes back to you to approve. The fee mechanics — 2.5% platform fee, how the discount is matched — are on the travel hub.

Booking United Airlines for less

Price the fare on United Airlines's site and post it on the booking form with every passenger exactly as on ID — date of birth and gender included, the airline cannot ticket without them — the route, the dates and the total. A seller with the card accepts within the hour of opening it and books within two; you pay from your FlipGift balance when they accept, look the ticket up under your name, and the seller is paid the day after you fly.

Selling a United gift card

United cards do not expire and are accepted on united.com only — which is why they sit unused. List the balance here, and a buyer's united.com fare becomes the way you spend it; you are paid after they fly. A paid request gives you an hour from opening it to accept and two to book; the payout waits until the day after the passenger flies, and cancelling a ticket you booked for a buyer ends an account here. List it →

Other flights here: Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Airlines. Book United Airlines for less now →