Travel tip: Rebook flights to save money

When you bought a plane ticket, you were locked into the airline — and there were hefty fees (up to $200 plus fare differences, according to Thrifty Traveler) for any changes to your itinerary. But then COVID changed all that. Airlines have been forced to waive fees and rebook policies to allow exchanges for passengers who are ill or are not allowed to travel due to CDC guidelines.

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Even if the epidemic is slowing down with readily available vaccines, these airline policy changes appear to be struggling to encourage people to travel again, especially as the airline industry struggles to recoup losses of more than $200 billion. Bloomberg.

Due to flexible booking policies, it is useful to change the itinerary after booking your ticket by tapping the price drops on the changing flights. As Forbes puts it, “Essentially, if the price of the ticket drops compared to what you paid, you may be able to cancel and rebook at a lower price – locking in the difference as a loan for future flights.

First, it’s important to keep in mind that airlines rarely give their refunds in dollar terms. When you take advantage of the cost savings that can come with rebooking flights now, it’s often in the form of a credit or voucher for future travel. Still, this can add up if you travel a lot or sign up to meet a large family.

Another thing to remember is that almost all airlines have established ticket levels, often non-standard and non-premium “economy” options that never allow changes. According to Forbes, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta and United offer changes in main cabin and premium/business/first class cabins at no extra charge for American flights (some, like American, also offer this from international routes from North and South America).

Even for budget airlines, Spirit offers no change fees up to 60 days before travel, Forbes noted, and Southwest has a fully flexible policy that allows changes to flights at any time without penalty.

If you take advantage of discount rebooking, know that the best time to “negotiate” and get a good deal is around 5am and usually on Sunday at Travel + Leisure. Research by CheapAir.com also found that, on average, the best time to book is 64 days before domestic departures.

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Travel + Leisure, citing the survey, qualified that prices for flights are the most expensive when they are first released to the public (generally a year in advance) and lowest 21 days before departure. They said the sweet spot is between 95 and 21 days after leaving town. After that, last minute walks come into play. So you might want to monitor prices within that 3-month window and even use real-time alerts when there’s a price drop like Hopper.

Just be aware, if you’re rebooking a flight, there are usually terms that apply—according to Forbes, you can usually only use the credits or vouchers within a year of booking the original flight. So, if you book a flight in January 2022 but find a better deal in September, you only have a few months left to use the credits to switch to another flight. The article is quick to note, but this does not mean that Southwest (where credits do not expire) and Delta allow all credits to be used until the end of 2023.

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