Delta and Cancellation Fee

[luvsvacations]

I am just wondering - have to cancel our trip for Feb - is there any difference in canceling the trip or waiting until we know when we might go and have new dates. From my understanding they will deduct $200 from the price of the ticket and then hold the balance for a year - is that correct?
Thanks

 

[Anthony1971]

The best thing to do is read the ticket fine print that will tell you the terms for the ticket you purchased or you can call as well. Delta has different policies for different tickets ranging form full loss to fully refundable.

 

[tinka-belle]

If you find that you do have the type of nonrefundable fare that can be changed with a fee and is good for up to one year, PLEASE verify when dates your new travel dates can fall into.

Several airlines are very restrictive in that your new dates must have your travel completed within one year from the date of your original PURCHASE, not one year from your original travel dates. Other less restrictive airlines allow you to purchase a new ticket for up to a year from the original purchase date but your new travel dates can be beyond that. Others can have even more expanded dates of when they can be used, such as a year from the cancel date.

Just verify exactly when you can travel with those funds if you have a changeable ticket. Best not to be surprised by the specific restrictions and lose the funds altogether.

 

[luvsvacations]

Thank you that is very helpful and did not think of those things as I have never had to cancel a ticket before and there are 4 of them. Thanks again

 

[DebbieB]

https://www.delta.com/us/en/change-cancel/cancel-flight

 

[luvsvacations]

Thanks - I did find that. Also verified that it is the original booking date and not the cancellation date - that was a disappointment. But Delta also told me that if the flight had a time change of 90 min or more - you can get a refund. So, knowing that I will wait until a couple of days before we are supposed to go to officially cancel the flight. I know - slim chance but worth waiting for to make sure.

 

[MillauFr]

Thanks - I did find that. Also verified that it is the original booking date and not the cancellation date - that was a disappointment. But Delta also told me that if the flight had a time change of 90 min or more - you can get a refund. So, knowing that I will wait until a couple of days before we are supposed to go to officially cancel the flight. I know - slim chance but worth waiting for to make sure.

I think you are on to something here. It might be better to see if Delta changes your flight and see if you can get a full refund.

 

[bumbershoot]

Delta does like to change flights.

But you’re going to have to watch it. They don’t always let you know of changes. I think they are supposed to, but they don’t. So check on the reservation daily.

 

[writerguyfl]

But Delta also told me that if the flight had a time change of 90 min or more - you can get a refund. So, knowing that I will wait until a couple of days before we are supposed to go to officially cancel the flight. I know - slim chance but worth waiting for to make sure.

Don't cancel a could of day early. Wait until the day of the flight (or the night prior if you happen to be on the first flight of the day). That gives you the best chance of getting a refund, as it wouldn't be unusual for a delay to crop up on the day of travel.

For what it's worth, if you have to cancel a non-refundable flight, Delta is the "best" airline. As bumbershoot notes, when it comes to US airlines, Delta does seem to play around with their schedule the most of any carriers.

Also, you'll want to check your reservation often...especially over weekends. Major schedule changes tend to happen on Saturday nights.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I agree with the thoughts of the others above.
Plus you mentioned the tickets are for February, any snow in Atlanta or a mini hub can throw Delta off significantly.
We lucked out a few years ago when we needed to cancel a trip due to an emergency surgery on my wife 3 days before our flight. Knowing the weather forecast we decided to wait it out, and our flight delayed over 2 hours that day. A call to Delta got us a credit for the next flight.

Also may check your credit card for trip cancellation insurance. Many have it now and you may file a claim that route.

 

[luvsvacations]

I had not thought to check daily I will do that, Just thought I would wait for an email from them. Also, for a snow delay (we live in Michigan and have a 7:30 am flight), would they give a refund or just a change of time. I was thinking I had about a 0 chance of a flight time change, but maybe there is Hope.
Thanks for the great suggestions

 

[AquamarineSteph]

For a weather delay, Delta generally gives you a limited window of new dates (as close to the original travel dates as possible) when you can reschedule your trip without extra cost. If you're not planning to make the trip that month, that might not help you much.

As somebody else said above, keep checking your reservation. I've had major changes pre-trip which generated an email, and then sometimes...no email. If checking the flight daily gets to be too much, make sure you check on Sunday/Monday each week. Delta does so many changes on Saturdays that it's a bit of a running joke.

 

[writerguyfl]

I had not thought to check daily I will do that, Just thought I would wait for an email from them. Also, for a snow delay (we live in Michigan and have a 7:30 am flight), would they give a refund or just a change of time. I was thinking I had about a 0 chance of a flight time change, but maybe there is Hope.

You probably don't need to check daily. But, certainly check every weekend and Monday morning. As AquamarineSteph notes, Saturdays are known as "Schedule Change Saturdays" by some Delta frequent flyers.

Delta is pretty liberal about what they consider to be a change. If they change the aircraft, that's usually enough to allow you to cancel for free. So, you might not need the flight time to change in order to receive a metaphorical "get out of jail free" card.

As for receiving an email about a flight change, that process takes time. Delta operates about 37,800 flights each week. Imagine a scenario where just 2.5% of those flights get changed on when they fiddle with the schedule. If there are 75 passengers booked on each flight (an arbitrary figure), that means they have 70,875 schedule change emails to send. They will purposely avoid sending those emails all at once because they don't want the call center/website inundated by thousands of people. They will send emails based on travel date (soonest first). If your changed flight is weeks or months away, you probably won't get an instant notification. That's why periodically checking the website is a good plan.

I used to work at the Disney Reservations Center. One of my friends worked in the Air Department. She dealt with schedule changes every day. As she explained it, some airlines will change the plane type to meet demand and/or increase fares for flights far out. If the desired result isn't achieved, the software will switch that plane back to the original aircraft in the next round of changes. In that scenario, you will only know about the change if you log into the airline website because email in the queue notifying you of a change will get removed when the plane gets switched back to the original aircraft.

 

[luvsvacations]

I never would have thought they would refund because they had changed aircraft. If that were to happen and I called would I request a refund "because they changed the aircraft"??

I never would have thought of these and I do appreciate all of the info. I will check daily!

 

[macraven]

It did not work for me in October when I changed my flight
Was told it had to be a 90 minute difference before they would waive the fee

They changed my flight twice before departure date and had change of seats each time

I’m only flying twice a year so my experience is quite limited in helping others with Delta

 

[bumbershoot]

I had not thought to check daily I will do that, Just thought I would wait for an email from them. Also, for a snow delay (we live in Michigan and have a 7:30 am flight), would they give a refund or just a change of time. I was thinking I had about a 0 chance of a flight time change, but maybe there is Hope.
Thanks for the great suggestions

If the delay or change is big enough to prompt allowing you to change with no fee, it’s also big enough to offer a refund.

Delta is pretty liberal about what they consider to be a change. If they change the aircraft, that's usually enough to allow you to cancel for free. So, you might not need the flight time to change in order to receive a metaphorical "get out of jail free" card.

And “change of aircraft” will be seen as “where did my seat assignments go?” because a different airplane will have different seats available.

So if you see your seating change, check it out.

 

[writerguyfl]

I never would have thought they would refund because they had changed aircraft. If that were to happen and I called would I request a refund "because they changed the aircraft"??

That's how my friend explained it. Sure enough, a few years later I had it happen and I was able to make a fee-free change online.

It did not work for me in October when I changed my flight

Was told it had to be a 90 minute difference before they would waive the fee

They changed my flight twice before departure date and had change of seats each time

I’m only flying twice a year so my experience is quite limited in helping others with Delta

The first step is to try on the website. If that doesn't work, you'll have to call. When calling, success depends upon the agent. Some agents are sticklers to the exact wording of a policy. Other agents are more willing to make changes.

And like any call center, sometimes you get an agent that insists that what they say is 100% correct when they are 100% incorrect. That's definitively frustrating.

 

[BamaBornNemoNut]

Well - looking for more valuable input to my Delta flight schedule change situation.

My flight is still more than seven months away and I saw that the departing flight I have booked is no longer available due to a schedule change. I have not been notified yet, and I know that things can change several times up until the trip. If other options are expensive, should there be more options than just a full refund? Finding the right schedule on the right date at a reasonable price was tough and now I don't know what to do. Any frequent Delta passengers have suggestions?

 

[maxiesmom]

Well - looking for more valuable input to my Delta flight schedule change situation.

My flight is still more than seven months away and I saw that the departing flight I have booked is no longer available due to a schedule change. I have not been notified yet, and I know that things can change several times up until the trip. If other options are expensive, should there be more options than just a full refund? Finding the right schedule on the right date at a reasonable price was tough and now I don't know what to do. Any frequent Delta passengers have suggestions?

Go to their web site and look for a flight that works for you. They should put you on that new flight, no problem, no matter the cost. There most likely is a notice at the top of the page that you have had a schedule change. I can't remember what all it says, but it will ask you if you agree to the change. Don't do that! Call.

 

[seashoreCM]

Now that you somehow found out that a flight of yours was cancelled, try immediately finding alternate flights (on the same airline) you would like. Doing it now, you should have a better selection to pick from as opposed to closer to your travel date.

If you don't really like what shows up as alternate flights now then you can hold off and still check back every so often, and see if new flights appear that were not there before.