Just heard on a radio travel show that if you book an airfare and the price goes down at a later date, most airlines will refund the difference?

It was my impression you had to cancel you original tickets, take the applicable penalty, and than if the price is less than the orginal price and penalty, your ahead of the game.

I'm specifically thinking about American Airlines. Looking at a NY to Rome Flight for late May early June. Prices have bounced around from $1200 roundtrip, up to $1600 and now back at $1200. Still think I can get a better price sometime in March or early April.

Thanks.

No.

I would not put too much credence into most of these travel experts on radio/tv. In most cases they steer their listeners in the wrong direction. They are either uniformed completely or years behind with actual info.

The fare reduction refund was mostly US based airlines thing. Most foreign based airlines never offered this option. These days most US based airlines are going away from that. AA stopped doing it altogether for domestic flights and I believe they may be still doing it for international flights but with $100 change fee. I believe other major US based airlines are doing the same thing or some may have gotten away completely from this practice.

Check with your airline before doing something you may regret later.

I did this with a United domestic ticket last July.

My options were
1) get a refund of the ticket price minus $100 fee and then buy the ticket at the lower price, or
2) get a travel voucher good for the difference in the fare.

Since the difference was less than $100 I chose option 2.

That was last July and things may have changed. USAir had a similar policy about a year ago but it changed some time last year, I think.

Go to yapta.com to sign up for email alerts when fares go down and read about how to claim a refund.

Thought I'd add to this thread because just today I did the same as mrwunrfl.

I had domestic tickets I purchased on United's website in January. Checked the website again today and my fare had dropped about $200.

I read the fare rules (in really tiny print) which gave the options as mrwunrfl described.

I called United and was offered a voucher for the difference. I was not offered the refund less the $100, but that was ok since I had decided I wanted the voucher anyway.

Now I'm just waiting to see if it comes in the mail.

I haven't done a survey, but my general impression is that most airlines do not give you back the difference if they lower fares. I wonder if I can get some money back from the guy who sold me my car?

I think the voucher is a clever way of dealing with the problem. If they give you nothing, you may be inclined to avoid their airline in the future; if they give you a voucher, you feel that they treated you right and you want to stay with them. Plus, giving you a voucher greatly increases that chance that you will buy another ticket from them, rather than losing the value of your voucher. And the biggest plus is that the vouchers often come coated with conditions on their use, so there is some chance you will not comply with some condition, and they won't have to pay up on the voucher. I think its fairly common that we see a posting here where someone failed to note that the voucher had to be used by a certain date, for travel completed by a certain date, and is now stuck in uncomfortable circumstances.

The fare rules did indicate that the United voucher must be used within a year of its issuance.

That was fine for me, because I know that I'll be purchasing tickets within a year and the flights will be on United.

If I didn't already have plans to purchase a ticket within the voucher's time period, I would have declined the voucher offer and asked for the refund instead.

I am curious about other possible restrictions on the voucher, though. The agent was very vague when I asked about them, only really mentioning that they must be used within a year.

I also did notice that only the voucher was offered by the agent. No mention was made of the option of a refund, though the fine print of the fare rules indicate that this is possible. It would be interesting to hear if someone insisted on a refund and whether they were given it.

Tom1863, You are right on! I've had yapta on my PC for about a year. They do show you how to get a refund if the fare goes lower.Check it out!

chepar-I've requested the refare vouchers from United several times, although the last time I used one was about a year ago. I don't recall a lot in the way of restrictions, other than that I had to go to the airport (or mail it in) in order to actually ticket a new reservation using the voucher. I'm not sure if that process has changed.

To the best of my knowledge (for United), a straight refund of the decrease is not an option on most non-refundable tickets without paying the change fee and rebooking.

Great thread and perfect timing.
Thank you all.

I checked my 22 April flight IAD-AMS this afternoon and the cost is now $567.70 or $281.61 less.

I called UAL and spoke to a very nice agent who explained the policy.
There is a $100.00 fee to change domestic tickets, and $200.00 for international. $281.61 vouchers, good for a year, would be issued for each ticket. Otherwise I would lose the $400.00. When I told her I would not be traveling again until September, 2009 she said that was ok that as long as I made the reservations By April 4 of next year, I could fly at a later date.

She also told me to keep checking the fares before departure time and if the price goes lower they will issue additional vouchers.

I have recent experience with Southwest only - if the price goes down, just make changes on your reservation, and the difference will be kept in your name, can be used by anybody.

Frank, how can you cancel a non-refundable ticket with AA, or you buy refundable paying more?

chepar-I just remembered the other major condition: the vouchers were only good for flights on United, Ted and United Express; you can't use them on an itinerary that includes flights operated by partners. Again, though, this was last year--not sure if there have been any changes.

thanks for the information on the restrictions, ms_go.

Unless there are some restrictions such as blackout dates or something along the lines of the kind of ticket (ie refundable vs. nonrefundable) I should have no problem using the voucher.

I'm just hoping it arrives in the mail as promised. I spoke to an agent who had very good English skills, but was obviously outsourced. I live in Hawaii, so my address is challenging enough for someone who speaks English as their first language.

We ran through my address a couple of times, even using the "charlie, foxtrot, delta" method of spelling - but I am still unsure if he got it down right. He seemed mighty puzzled at my city name.

In California, in the evening, I've gotten UA agents on the phone in Hawaii.

You should be able to use your voucher for any fare or date. It will say that if you use it to buy a refundable fare then the amount of the fare paid by the voucher would still be nonrefundable.

I got 3 vouchers for $300 each from US Air last year when my June flight went down in price. The vouchers were valid for 1 year from issuance.

Just as a follow-up to my original post. I waited until late March and was able to grab a $900 roundtrip from NY to Rome. The best fare I ever saw from American Airlines after checking on and off for 9 months.