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Refunds from an airline? Say it ain't so
Just when you thought that airlines were nickel-and-diming us ruthlessly, (Let me check. Yep, they still are.) we get news to give us a sliver of hope.An article in USA Today tells us that if the price of a non-refundable airline ticket that you've already bought goes down, you can ask for a refund. It just needs to be requested before the scheduled flight.
I'm not sure which idea is more surprising: prices going down, or airlines willingly giving up money.
Southwest makes it the easiest--they'll rebook at the lower price, refund the price difference directly to your credit card, and they won't charge you a change fee.
Other carriers give will you a refund, but they make it a little more tedious--giving you a voucher instead of reimbursing your credit card, and they might charge a change fee (from $75 to $150 for a domestic flight). The process for placing the request varies by airline, either by website or phone.
Refund by credit card, without change fee: Southwest
Refund by voucher, without change fee: United, JetBlue, Alaska
Refund by voucher, with change fee: Continental, Delta, US, Airways, Northwest, American
No refunds: AirTran, Virgin America, Spirit, Frontier
I hadn't heard of Alaska's guarantee before, but I like it: it applies if you buy a ticket on their website, but later notice a cheaper ticket (by $5) for the same flight on another website. If you call within 24 hours, you can still get the price difference applied to your credit card, plus a $50 voucher to boot.
Are you doubtful or encouraged? Yes, it takes some extra legwork to research fares and contact the airlines. And the refund might be nominal after the change fee. But the money that you get back might offset what the airline charges for checking luggage or requesting a blanket. Plus, it's just satisfying to get money back from the airlines for once, isn't it?
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Filed under: Airlines, Transportation, Budget Travel
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bruce Dec 28th 2008 7:52PM
I don't mind airlines paying the fare difference by voucher, but the change fee is just another example of anti-consumer behavior on the part of legacy airlines. As soon as I exhaust my frequent flyer miles and elite status, I will try to avoid buying from them as much as possible because of policies like these. Maybe Continental, Delta, US, Airways, Northwest, and American should take a look at GM, Ford, and Chrysler and see where years of anti-consumer behavior might leave them.
lupe Dec 29th 2008 9:33PM
wow bruce...i like that!
duffy Dec 30th 2008 12:13AM
FlyForHalf.com Dont pay to much use vouchers and promo codes from airlines to fly for half
Bruce Dec 30th 2008 2:41AM
If you think the U.S. domestic airlines are crappy, wait 'til you try dealing with the foreiign carriers! A recent experience with Mexicana where a confusing online booking engine ended up changing the return date for a round trip flight ultimately resulted in a $200 change fee being imposed, and then I couldn't even book the same fare working with the "customer service" agent, because "that is an online offer only". Final result? Paying MORE THAN TWICE what the flight was originally quoted, just to change a computer error. Will this be the last time I fly with them? You'd better believe it!
nun Dec 28th 2008 8:49PM
What is that author talking about?
I rebooked on Southwest 3 times this year to get a lower price and they do not refund to a credit card. Is there some trick to this I need to know? Or is the author just misinformed?
Amy Dec 29th 2008 9:02AM
With Southwest, I just tried this earlier in the month and found that they will only refund your credit card if you request it within 24 hours of booking the previous flight. After that, they just give you a SW credit if the price drops, not a cash refund on your card. But no change fees either way.
Enduring Wanderlust Dec 29th 2008 12:11AM
It's definately nice to get a refund from the airlines, but it seems unusual that a business that is often struggling is giving up profits that consumers aren't really complaining about.
Wouldn't it be smarter business to drop another fees such as the luggage fee instead of causing the passenger to hunt down the extra few dollars their owed? I can see the annoyed consumers having to make a bunch of calls to deal with a refund.
KidcityNY.com Dec 29th 2008 8:43AM
http://www.kidcityny.com/blog
First, people should be using a site like yapta.com to monitor the price of flights.
Second, They should find out in advance if the airline will refund the difference (almost ALWAYS in the form of a credit). Most airlines including Delta and JetBlue will NOT. I have tested this in the past 3 months and they most definitely will NOT do it.
Third, people should always watch a flight price over the weekend before they buy it. Generally, fares go down over a Saturday or Sunday if there are seats left, esp. in this economy!
Orbitz does have a policy of giving your money back IF another person books a ticket on the same flight for a lower fare, but that has obvious limitation.
Finally, a side note: ALL airlines will allow you to cancel your ticket within 24 hours of booking.
http://www.kidcityny.com/blog
ksavai Dec 29th 2008 3:38PM
I never found my ticket price going down.
I came across Yapta.com which watch yr ticket price. I dont know if that helps or not but interesting idea.
EMD Dec 29th 2008 8:34PM
I just hung up with Jetblue a little while ago, I had to cancel my parent flight back home (EWR to MCO). I asked if we could get a waiver for the fees because my Dad is in the hospital and would not be able to travel, probably for a few weeks. I was told they would not waive the $100 per ticket penalty, mind you the fee used to be $30. So basically my parents who live on a fixed income and my father who is literally fighting for his life just flushed $200 down the toilet.
Thanks Jetble, you used to be one of the good guys, you just lost an entire family that used to be loyal "jetters"
lupe Dec 29th 2008 9:43PM
money is the root of all evil...that is just sad...sometimes if you call and talk to the right person u can get them to do what we know they can. od bless ur family and ur fathers health.
DKL Dec 29th 2008 8:49PM
American Airlines also offers the same refund request as Alaska.... You can go to AA.com and on the left side of home page there is a banner/link for "lowest Fare Guarantee" click on that link and READ the entire rules for the offering. AA isn't that out of the realm!
Patricia Dec 29th 2008 8:55PM
How could anyone not understand a change fee? When tickets are purchased we do so by dates and flt times...why, because this determines the cost of the ticket. If there were no change fee everyone would buy the lowest priced ticket, call the airlines and change their itinerary according to what date and time they really want, thus costing the airlines a huge loss in ticket sales. Every airline has fare rules and regulations, yet, the consumer as a problem with reading what those conditions are before buying a ticket. If you want a ticket that's refundable, transferable, and no hidden cost....buy a refundable ticket!!!
Doug Dec 29th 2008 11:49PM
I had to rebook a flight with Alaska in May. I was charged the current price of the ticket (less what I originally paid for it) PLUS a change fee of $150 per ticket. This is an administrative fee. I understand paying the current price for the ticket and that would prevent someone from trying to take a low cost fare and move it to the date and time they really want to fly. But the change fee is egregious in my opinion and if charged should somewhat represent the added cost to the airline of maintaining a person on the other end of the phone or computer. If the person I talked with at Alaska for 15 minutes is making $600 per hour I'll happily apply for that job.
j-ER Dec 30th 2008 4:06AM
You must work for the airlines-let me guess...American! Because your attitude is as warm, friendly, and helpful as most of their employees. Maybe you don't understand how much money and misery the rest of us spend on airfare since you fly for free. I don't mind paying a REASONABLE amount more for good product and good customer service, but I fly very frequently and its rarely pleasant or reasonably priced. I am in the medical profession and have rendered FREE medical aid more times than I can count-and I have only ONCE received even a thank you (that one was Delta by the way) much less any compensation for far more than just the friendly smile that should be standard to help compensate for the ridiculous price of airfare. It is fortunate that I'm a caring medical professional because that rude airline employee who robbed me of a couple of days salary for a miserable, back breaking, rock hard middle coach seat (that I seriously doubt could possibly float) issued with a smirk and a rude comment might need CPR-and my back could be more strained than my wallet or my good humor. And I'm sorry, the dealing with unhappy customer excuse is wasted on me since my "customers" are usually having the worst day of their life and are not generally cheery and happy when they arrive for my assistance. So wipe off the sour face, lose the nasty attitude, price fares reasonably, and maybe say "thanks" occasionally. And hey, maybe even provide a flotation device that's remotely comfortable to sit on (because I personally have paid enough to suppy an entire fleet of comfortable seats in airfare) and we wont worry about a little refund or change fee!! See you in the air when you need emergency medical care!! I will be the one smiling and offering FREE assistance when you need it most!
Patricia Dec 30th 2008 11:52PM
It's a good thing you're in the medical profession....your psychic ability's would never get you far! I travel frequently, and yes, pay full price airfare as well, and I can tell you never would I fly American or Delta! There are many types of airfares that can be purchased, kind of along the same line as perhaps buying an insurance policy, one would not purchase without reading the fine print! Why fly on an airline that makes you miserable?! Why spend your money on airline that gives you such "friendly service"?! I think the big issue here is everyone wants something for "free", and as we all know in the airline business we have to spend the extra dollar for not only the added benefits but for the customer service!
CAT Dec 29th 2008 8:53PM
3 years ago I was scheduled to fly to Seattle, 3 days before I was to go my husband died suddenly. I never did get a refund of my ticket, they pocketed it all.
Needless to say I am convinced the airline co. does not care about their customers.
Pat McCullum Dec 29th 2008 8:58PM
My daughter purchased a ticket from Express Jet in San Antonio, Tx. Due to her getting sick she was unable to fly and she spoke with them about her situation. When she got ready to fly to New Orleans, La., for Thanksgiving she was informed that Express Jet didn't fly to New Orleans any longer. $200.00 went down the drain too.
Latisha Dec 29th 2008 8:58PM
As a past employee of a major airline in the refund department let me tell ya. If you have a refundable ticket it's just that--refundable. A non-refundable ticket, usually a lower fare, is just that--non-refundable. What does it take to understand this. a non-refundable ticket can be used at a later date but you must contact the airline to do this. A non-refundable can be refunded IF there is a catostraphic illness that is non-reversible or upon death of the ticket holder..with proper documentation of either sent to the airline. If you could not fly completely because of a mechanical problem and the airline could not accomodate you because of a fault of theirs then a non-refundable ticket can be refunded without penalty.
Airlines sell tickets for customer to travel not to expect them to ask for a refund. Many, many times flights are delayed or cancelled not to the fault of the airline. If there is a disaster, severe weather or other act of God issued the FAA will slow down traffic or stop it whatever the case. Not the ailrine. It's not the airlines most of the time when this happens. Would you want to fly into a lightening storm, an active tornado, severe fires (California and Arizona for example) or other life threatening occasions? Would you want to fly if the plane has a severe mechanical problem? You wouldn't drive your car with a flat tire, gas leak or electrical problem would you? So go figure what can happen before you blame any airline for these things that happen.
If you want a refund, it is better to write or email the airline. I probably took millions of calls concerning this and 99% of the time I would have to tell the caller to send documentation. some airlines are now charging if you call and use their call center services.
Happy flying everyone. Keep your mileage card. It's still the best deal to get free flights.
Hehe...sorry folks..I fly for free but have to wait for all of you to board and I get the middle seat IF I get on.
DKL Dec 31st 2008 3:15PM
I am with you on that Latisha! I also deal with the same issues you do....This was very well put....let's hope people will try and understand and try to see it from 'the other side". I have not been able to travel to see my family(for free none the less) for the holidays in 10 yrs as flights are full with complaining customers and I certainly do not make enough to buy something to get me there. haha nice write up Latisha! Happy holidays!