While traveling is exciting and fun, it can have its fair share of uncertainties. Whether you’re planning a girls’ getaway, a family vacation, or a solo adventure, life can sometimes throw unexpected changes your way. And in these times, it’s important to have an understanding of the airline change and cancellation policies. 

This Ultimate Guide to Airline Change and Cancellation Policies includes the cancellation and change policies for a number of the major U.S. and common foreign carriers. It will help you handle last-minute changes, and provide some tips to ensure you get the most out of your travel plans without unnecessary stress or extra costs.

 

Can you cancel airline tickets?

The simple answer is yes, you can cancel airline tickets. However, while you can cancel, you sometimes will not get a full refund and occasionally you will have to pay a change or cancellation fee. The timing for when you change or cancel also plays a role.

Generally, if you book a main cabin ticket and not a basic economy fare, you can get a refund of your points or at least a credit/voucher for a future flight. In most instances, if changed or canceled before your scheduled departure, award bookings will redeposit your points or miles for free or a small redeposit charge. Where applicable, a redeposit fee will return the points to your loyalty account and taxes/fees to your original form of payment, instead of leaving it as a credit with the airline to use toward a future ticket. 

 

How do I change or cancel my flight?

Airlines prefer that you change or cancel your flights via their mobile app or website. You will log into your loyalty account with that airline, select your ticket that you want to change or cancel, select “Manage My Booking”, then change or cancel your flight from there.

 

 

Air France/KLM

Change Fee: 70 euros

Cancellation Fee: 70 euros

Notes: As long as you change or cancel your flight before the latest check-in time, you can pay 70 euros to have your points or money refunded. If you cancel online, the cancellation fee will be charged to the card you paid with when the tickets were purchased. If you would like to pay the fee with a different card, you can call and do so over the phone.

Flying Blue offers some of the best deals with points to Europe, but also has one of the highest change and cancellation fees. If you think your plans might change, maybe hold off on booking those flights with Air France or KLM until your dates are certain.

 

 

Alaska Airlines

Change Fee: $0 for Main and First Class Fares

Cancellation Fee: $0 for Main and First Class Fares

Notes: Saver fares cannot be changed. Saver fares are eligible for a credit of 50% of the ticket value when canceled at least 14 days before departure of the first flight on the ticket. You can receive a full refund if you purchase a refundable fare.

Award reservations can be canceled, for no change/cancellation fee, by calling Alaska’s reservation center. Alaska Airlines will deposit the miles back into your account, and you’ll receive a refund for any taxes paid. Alaska does charge a $12.50 partner award booking fee, and that’s non-refundable if you cancel.

You can read more about Alaska Airlines’ cancellation policies here. 

 

American Airlines

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0 up to 1 year after purchase

Notes: American Airlines has no change or cancellation fees for award fares. As long as you cancel your flight before the scheduled departure time, you will receive your points redeposited back into your account and taxes/fees refunded. 

More details about American Airlines’ change/cancellation policies can be found here. 

 

 

Avianca Airlines

Change Fee: Corresponds to an additional charge generated by voluntary changes made to the ticket (only for basic, light, classic, XS, S and M fares).

Cancellation Fee: Yes, but it is unclear what it will be. The site is difficult to read regarding this.

Redeposit Fee: $200 per passenger – this one hurts! I wouldn’t do speculative bookings with them.

For more information, follow this link. Good luck – it is vague and you will have more luck doing changes/cancellations with a live agent!

 

British Airways

Change Fee: $55

Cancellation Fee: $55

Redeposit Fee: $25

Notes: British Airways charges an additional $25 fee if you cancel over the phone. It’s also worth noting that if the taxes & fees on your ticket were less than the $55 change/cancellation fee, British Airways allows you to instead forfeit those fees rather than pay $55. 

British Airways has different change and cancellation fees based on where you are located. It is $55 from the U.S., and you can find the full chart here. 

 

Delta Airlines

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0

Notes: Delta does not charge any change or redeposit fees on SkyMiles reservations when the flight originates in North America. As with many of the other airlines, basic economy tickets do not offer the same flexibility. Any airline tickets on Delta originating outside of North America are subjected to a $150 per person change or redeposit fee.

You can change or cancel your award ticket before the scheduled departure time of your flight.

 

 

Emirates

Change Fee: $25 for a date change and $75 for a destination change

Cancellation Fee: $75 

Redeposit Fee: $75

Notes: If you book a Flex Plus award flight, then there is no fee to change or cancel or redeposit.

 

 

Hawaiian Airlines

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0

Notes: As with many of the other airlines, there are $0 fees for changes and cancellations for main cabin or higher tickets. 

 

JetBlue

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0 if canceled before departure

Notes: If you book a Basic Blue fare, there is a $100 change/cancellation fee for flights originating within North America, Central America, and the Caribbean and a $200 fee for flights originating everywhere else.

You can see Jet Blue’s full cancellation policy here.

 

Qatar Airways

Change Fee: $25 if more than 24 hours before departure, $100 if 3-24 hours before departure

Cancellation Fee: $25 if more than 24 hours before departure, $100 if 3-24 hours before departure

Redeposit Fee: Variable, see this chart.

Notes: If you are within 3 hours of your flight, you cannot change or cancel without forfeiting your miles. 

 

 

Southwest Airlines

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0

Notes: Southwest is that magical airline that doesn’t charge any change or cancellation fees for even their lowest-priced tickets. They have the best policy in the industry. You can change or cancel any flight up to 10 minutes before the flight’s scheduled departure time. Points will be immediately redeposited into your Rapid Rewards account and do not expire.

 

Turkish Airlines

Change Fee: $70

Cancellation Fee: $70

Redeposit Fee: $70

Notes: You must change or cancel your award ticket before the scheduled departure time of your flight or you forfeit your miles.

 

United Airlines

Change Fee: $0

Cancellation Fee: $0

Redeposit Fee: $0

Notes: As long as you change or cancel before the scheduled departure time of your flight, United has no change, cancellation, or redeposit fees for award tickets. 

 

 

Virgin Atlantic 

Change Fee: $100

Cancellation Fee: $100

Redeposit Fee: $100

Notes: You must cancel your award flight at least 24 hours before your scheduled departure or else you will forfeit your points.

 

Bottom Line

As you can see, these airline change and cancellation policies vary wildly. It is always a good idea to read and understand each policy before booking your flight. Many of the U.S.-based airlines do not have fees for award flight changes or cancellations, however, many of the foreign carriers do. We hope this Ultimate Guide to Airline Change and Cancellation Policies will help save you a headache the next time you have to change or cancel a flight.

 

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