How To Avoid Airline Change And Cancellation Fees

By, fancyn

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Everyone’s been there: having to change a flight and facing a fee that’s almost as much as the original airfare. (Change fees can be $200 on airlines like American, United and Delta, and international flight changes can cost up to $450).

Most of us have resigned ourselves to paying the fee to change our itinerary, no matter how far out the trip still is, but you shouldn’t have to. I’ve dug deeper to find smart ways to get around paying those penalties. 

• Look for a travel waiver. They are usually issued during times when airlines anticipate significant numbers of delays or cancellations. For example, during bad weather, natural disasters or — more recently — virus outbreaks, many airlines will adjust their operations, and they’d rather provide flexibility for travelers in advance than try to accommodate you at the airport. The specifics of travel waivers vary by airline and the specific reason for the waiver, but they usually let you change or even cancel your flight(s) without incurring fees.
• Keep an eye out for schedule changes. If your flight schedule changes after you book a ticket. For example, if your flight was set to depart at 1 pm but now departs at 2:30 pm, you may be eligible to change or cancel your flight for free. Often these schedule changes are sent via email, but it’s also important to frequently review your trips to identify these on your own.
• Remember the 24-hour rule. Airlines are required by law to offer free 24-hour holds or refunds within 24 hours of booking as long as the flight is more than seven days in the future. This can really come in handy if the price drops or you are still nailing down some travel details.
• Consider booking one-way vs. round-trip. Most airlines charge the same total price regardless of whether you book two one-way tickets or a round-trip itinerary, but the implications for change fees can be dramatically different.
  
  For instance, if you book a $300 round-trip flight on American, Delta or United and then need to change the first flight, you’ll incur a $200 change fee, since you’re making a change to the first. However, if you instead book two $150 one-way fares, you could simply discard the first flight and purchase a new one-way ticket with the same airline or another carrier, sacrificing only what you already paid for the first flight.
  
  On the other hand, booking a round-trip flight could enable you to change dates on both ends of the trip for a single change fee. In general, it makes more sense to book flights as round-trip tickets when the total cost of the trip is significantly more than double the change fee.

• Have a good reason. Travelers can often have change fees waived in the event of illness, a death in the family or other extraordinary circumstances like a natural disaster. Just be prepared to offer supporting documentation, as it’s been a long time since airlines simply took passengers at their word.
• Consider your credit card coverage. Keep in mind the trip cancellation and interruption insurance that comes with many travel rewards or airline credit cards if you used it to pay for the booking. In certain scenarios, this protection may cover any change or cancellation fees you’d incur in additional to other eligible, nonrefundable expenses. For example, if you have a covered reason (such as jury duty or serious illness) for needing to cancel or change your trip and you booked with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’re eligible for up to $10,000 in reimbursement per trip.
• Earn elite status. One of the greatest advantages of having airline elite status is that certain tiers with select carriers will waive change fees and mileage redeposit fees on award tickets. Some — most notably JetBlue and Alaska — even offer these waivers on paid tickets. In addition, most airline loyalty programs also offer discounted or waived same-day flight changes for elite members on paid tickets. Finally, travelers with elite status are also more likely to be granted a waiver from a sympathetic airline representative, especially if you call your elite customer service number.
• Use a credit card travel credit to cover your fees. If all else fails, you can use travel credits from a premium travel credit card to cover your change or cancellation fees. If you go this route, you’ll still be subject to paying these fees, but you may be able to cover them with a statement credit or your miles. Just note that this is most applicable to award tickets, since the change or cancellation fees are often an additional out-of-pocket expense in those situations. With paid flights, the fees are simply deducted from the value of your ticket.
• Don’t pay cancellation or change fees until you have to. If you book a flight and you need to cancel the trip later, you shouldn’t pay that cancellation fee any earlier than you need to. You never know when the airline might announce a schedule change, a delay or a flight cancellation that will entitle you to change or cancel your trip without paying the fee. Note as well that airline-initiated cancellations of service should result in a refund to your original form of payment, not a travel voucher, making this a powerful tool in your arsenal if the airline can no longer provide the service you booked.

Having to change or cancel a flight is never fun — especially if you were supposed to go on a family vacation or another relaxing getaway. To make matters worse, doing so may result in a large change or cancellation fee, so it’s always good to know your options for avoiding these fees when you can!