Yes, you can get a refund on a plane ticket in several situations that federal law spells out, and since October 28, 2024, airlines have to issue many of those refunds automatically instead of pushing you toward a voucher. The clearest paths are the 24-hour cancellation window after booking, a flight the airline cancels or significantly changes, and any ticket you bought in a refundable fare class. Outside those, whether you get money back depends on the fare rules you agreed to and, sometimes, on your credit card.
The 24-Hour Window After Booking
Every airline that operates flights to, from, or within the United States must give you 24 hours to back out of a booking with no penalty, as long as you booked at least seven days before departure.1eCFR. 14 CFR 259.5 – Customer Service Plan The carrier picks the format: either let you cancel a paid reservation for a full refund within 24 hours, or let you hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without paying.2U.S. Department of Transportation. Refunds They don’t have to offer both.
This applies to every fare class, basic economy included, and to domestic and international itineraries alike. No processing fee, no administrative charge. The catch is the seven-day rule: buy a ticket less than a week before takeoff and the airline isn’t federally required to honor the cooling-off period, though some do it voluntarily.
When the Airline Cancels or Significantly Changes Your Flight
If the airline cancels your flight or makes a major change to it, you are owed a cash refund, and under the 2024 rule the carrier is supposed to send it automatically.3eCFR. 14 CFR 260.6 – Refunding Fare for Flights Cancelled or Significantly Delayed or Changed by Carriers The refund is due in three situations:
- The airline cancels and offers you nothing in its place.
- The airline offers a rebooking, alternative transportation, or voucher and you decline.
- The airline offers something, you never respond, and the rescheduled flight departs without you.
Why the flight was cancelled does not matter. Mechanical, weather, crew, low bookings — the refund obligation is the same, and it covers every ticket type, including basic economy and award tickets on which you paid taxes and fees.2U.S. Department of Transportation. Refunds Airlines will still push rebooking or credits as the default option after a disruption. You do not have to accept them. Say clearly that you want a refund, in writing if you can.
What Counts as a Significant Change
A cancellation is obvious. A “significant change” has a specific federal definition — your flight qualifies if the airline does any of the following:2U.S. Department of Transportation. Refunds
- Shifts the departure or arrival time by 3 or more hours on a domestic flight, or 6 or more hours on an international flight, in either direction.
- Changes the origin or destination airport.
- Adds connections beyond what you originally booked.4Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections (2024 FAA Reauthorization)
- Downgrades you to a lower class of service than you paid for.
- For passengers with disabilities, reroutes through a different connecting airport or onto a less accessible aircraft.4Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections (2024 FAA Reauthorization)
If any of these fit and you decide not to fly the modified itinerary, you are entitled to a refund of the airfare plus every tax and ancillary fee you paid. Screenshot your original itinerary as soon as the change is announced. It ends any dispute about whether the shift crossed the line.
Refundable vs. Non-Refundable Tickets
When the disruption is on your end — you simply changed your mind or your plans — what you get back is set by the fare class you bought. Refundable tickets let you cancel for any reason and receive your money back on the original payment method. They cost more, sometimes considerably, and that flexibility is the point.
Non-refundable tickets are the default. Cancelling one usually gets you a travel credit minus a change fee, or nothing at all. Basic economy is the least forgiving; on most carriers these fares allow no changes and no credits.
None of that applies when the airline is at fault. Even the cheapest basic economy ticket gets a full cash refund if the airline cancels or significantly changes the flight and you choose not to fly. Fare-class rules govern voluntary cancellations only.
Baggage Fees and Other Add-Ons
The refund rules cover more than the ticket. If you paid for a service the airline did not deliver, the money for that service is refundable too. That includes checked and carry-on bag fees, seat selection, Wi-Fi, in-flight meals, and lounge passes.2U.S. Department of Transportation. Refunds
Bag fees have their own timing rules. File a Mishandled Baggage Report at the airport before you leave, and if your bag isn’t delivered within the applicable window, the fee refund is automatic:
- 12 hours after gate arrival on domestic flights.
- 15 hours after arrival on international flights where the flight segment is 12 hours or less.
- 30 hours after arrival on international flights where the segment is longer than 12 hours.5Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections
Illness, Death, and Military Orders
Federal rules do not require refunds when a passenger or family member falls seriously ill or dies before a trip, but most major airlines have internal bereavement and hardship policies that waive fees or issue refunds in these cases. Documentation is standard: a death certificate, a physician’s letter, or official orders. Contact the airline’s bereavement or special assistance desk directly rather than filing through the regular refund portal.
Several carriers have committed through the DOT’s customer service dashboard to waive cancellation fees and provide full refunds when an active-duty service member has to change plans because of military orders.6U.S. Department of Transportation. Waives Cancellation Fees and Ensures Full Refunds for Service Not every airline has made the commitment, so check before booking if a deployment could interfere.
If You Booked Through Expedia or Another Third Party
The refund runs through whichever entity appears as the merchant of record on your credit card statement.2U.S. Department of Transportation. Refunds If the online travel agency’s name is on the charge, start there. If the airline’s name is on the charge, go directly to the airline. Ancillary fees like baggage or seat selection are always the airline’s responsibility, even when the travel agency handled the ticket.
One caveat on third-party bookings: airlines cannot tack processing fees onto refunds they owe, but the DOT has not finalized the same rule for travel agencies. If the agency charged a separate booking service fee at purchase and clearly disclosed it as non-refundable, it can keep that portion.5Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections The airfare itself is still fully refundable under the cancellation and significant-change rules regardless of where you bought it.
How Quickly the Money Comes Back
Once a refund is due, airlines must process credit card refunds within seven business days and refunds for cash, check, or debit card purchases within 20 calendar days.5Federal Register. Refunds and Other Consumer Protections Business days exclude weekends and federal holidays. Your bank may need another billing cycle to post the credit, but the airline’s clock is measured from when the refund becomes due, not from when the money shows up in your account.
To start a request, use the “Manage Booking” or “Refunds” section of the airline’s website. If the automatic refund under the 2024 rule doesn’t materialize, or if the carrier is offering a voucher when you want cash, submit the request there in writing and state that you want a refund to the original payment method.
If the Airline Refuses
Airlines sometimes stall, deny refunds they owe, or keep steering you toward vouchers. Two escalation paths are worth knowing.
DOT Complaint
Contact the airline’s customer service first and keep the response. Airlines must acknowledge a complaint within 30 days and give a written response within 60 days.7U.S. Department of Transportation. File a Consumer Complaint If that goes nowhere, file with the DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection through the portal at transportation.gov. The DOT forwards each complaint to the airline and uses the data to target enforcement, which often prompts carriers to resolve a case once a DOT filing is on record.
Credit Card Chargeback
If you paid by credit card, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you a separate right to dispute the charge as a billing error, and paying for a flight you never received qualifies. Send a written dispute to your card issuer within 60 days of the statement that shows the charge.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors The issuer has to acknowledge the dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, capped at 90 days. You don’t have to pay the disputed amount while it’s under review, and the issuer generally can’t report it as delinquent. Include your itinerary, the confirmation email, and any messages showing the airline refused. Debit card purchases don’t get these federal protections; banks sometimes offer a voluntary dispute process, but it is slower and less certain, which is a strong argument for booking airfare on credit.
Don’t Take a Voucher When You’re Owed Cash
A voucher is worth less than a refund. It ties you to one airline, may not cover taxes and fees on a future booking, and often expires within a year unless the airline’s policy says otherwise. Narrow federal rules require a five-year, transferable voucher when a travel credit is issued because of a government restriction tied to a serious communicable disease, but that scenario is unusual.9eCFR. 14 CFR Part 262 – Travel Credits or Vouchers Due to a Serious Communicable Disease When the airline cancels your flight or significantly changes it, the choice between cash and a credit is yours, and cash is the better outcome almost every time.