Are Delta Tickets Refundable?

Are Delta Tickets Refundable? A Guide

One of the important questions that come to a traveler’s mind as he or she books a flight is – in the event that I have to cancel my trip in the future, am I going to get my money back for the airline ticket that I have bought? This is especially the case when one books flights in advance with a view of fixing cheaper fares as they are released. People don’t want to be out of pocket for several hundred of dollars on plane tickets only for the trip to turn out to be different.

Delta: wait, do you know the policy they have towards ticket refunds? Is it possible to receive a refund in case you have to cancel your Delta flight? Here are the key points on the refund policy of Delta Airlines and how you can make the most out of your ticket when it comes to flexibility.

Delta's Regular Economy Tickets

In every flight across the globe, there are different fares offered when one is buying tickets from the various companies, and Delta Company is not an exception as it is a company that operates in the United States of America. Delta’s Main Cabin economy fares are the most affordable ticket options available for passengers. These are the cheapest tickets you can get and while they let you select a place for your seat and check in one piece of luggage, they have many limitations.

By design, Delta’s Main Cabin fares cannot be refunded or exchanged at any time. This means that in case you cancel your flight, you stand to be locked out of your money. The ticket value will be an e-credit which you may redeem with Delta for a future flight within the next one year starting from the original ticketing date.

Thus, while Delta will not refund the cash value on Main Cabin tickets if not used, they offer an option to reinstrument rather than losing the amount completely. Remember that there is often a 200 fee for changing Main Cabin flights rebooking fee.

Refundable Economy Tickets

What Delta does provide are some Basic Economy fares that fall under the Main Cabin category, which are refundable. But these are considerably more expensive – in most cases, about twice as costly as an economy flight ticket on the same flight.

If you opt for a refundable main cabin fare, you can then decide to cancel the flight and receive a real money refund to the original method of purchase. This offers some sort of insurance in that should there be any eventuality that makes one cancel their plans to travel, they have something to fall back to.

Just understand that you will be paying a higher amount of money initially so that you can have that kind of flexibility. Thus, including the cost of the flight, sometimes it is better to buy a refundable ticket which can be more expensive than a non-refundable one depending on the flight and your budget.

Delta Premium Select Tickets and First Class

While getting a Delta First Class or Delta Premium Select flight, you’ll be happy to know that most fares in these sections are fully refundable by policy. Thus, if you cancel your flight, you will receive an actual cash refund from Delta rather than an e-credit for future travel.

This perk makes purchasing the First Class suites or extra legroom of a Premium Select seat more valuable to many travelers, in addition to the comfort improvements. The fact that plans are refundable in case things do not go as planned is even more flexible since it is a built-in feature.

However, if you are planning to cancel your Delta First Class or Premium Select tickets, it is crucial to know that Delta charges a cancellation/refund fee of about $125- $150 if you cancel your tickets 60 days before the date of departure. For the tickets sold and flown within the next 60 days, there are no penalty charges incurred while 100% refund is allowed.

Using Delta Travel Credits

Also, stated earlier, if you managed to get tickets in the Main Cabin economy at a low cost, canceling with Delta Airlines does not get you your money back. However, that does not imply that the value of the ticket is wiped out. Instead, the funds will be converted into an electronic travel voucher credit that is associated with your Delta account.

These e-credits are to be used to book Future Delta flights and is good for one year from the date that your original ticket was issued. This gives you an ample opportunity to plan another trip with the same airline and save that money for another trip. I also take the liberty of pointing out that Delta often adds an Additional year to the expiration of travel credits if you fail to utilize them within the first year.

What you need to know about Delta e-credits…they cannot be used to book a flight in a different name of the ticketed passenger. For example, if you purchase a plane ticket for your spouse but later cancel the ticket, the travel voucher has to be used to rebook the ticket in the name of your spouse only.

It is important to note that you cannot transfer travel credits from one flyer to another in Delta. However, credits can be combined with cash to pay for a flight which may otherwise be more expensive than the voucher.

Trip Cancellations versus Trip Delays

It is also necessary to distinguish between the trip cancellation and rescheduling or postponing the dates of the trip with the Delta company.

If for instance you have to cancel the entire trip and will no longer be on the flight that you booked this is referred to as a full cancellation. As mentioned earlier, at best, this would allow Main Cabin economy tickets to qualify for a future travel voucher.

However, if you think that you might still be able to travel the same Delta trip but at a different time, that is classified under a different bracket. Instead of canceling the flight, you would ask for a one-time exception for a free date change.

If you make that change More than 72 hours before your originally scheduled departure time, Delta will not charge you a change fee and you will be able to pay any difference in fare. You can choose new dates for the same trip without incurring any extra costs or lose more money than the cost of the ticket.

This option to postpone a Delta flight is very useful, for instance, in case of creating or other events that demand a delay of the vacation for a number of weeks or months. But remember to do it at least 3 days before to make the difference take an effect. Within that 3-day period, there is no flexibility and you would have to fully cancel if you want your money back.

The moral of the story when it comes to the refundability of Delta airline tickets is this…

When it comes to Main Cabin economy fares, the refundable ones are only recommended if the right to get back the money is more valuable to you than the much higher cost. Otherwise, book only changeable, non-refundable tickets and know that your trade here is getting a voucher for future travel instead of money in pocket if the trip has to be canceled down the line.

And if targeting First Class or Delta Premium Select, experience the inherent schedule change leverage that accompanies most fares in these classes that would cover you in case things go awry.

Book your Delta Airlines ticket now! Call +1 833-902-2090