Can You Refund A Delta Plane Ticket?

Aug 14, 2024

Buying plane tickets is not a cheap activity at all, and when you need to buy tickets for your entire family or a big group of people, it may become even more challenging. Therefore, what is the likelihood that if you have booked a flight with Delta Airlines and later on need to cancel your trip, it would happen? Can Delta tickets be refunded, and if so, what are the conditions one has to meet and what is the cost of the process? In this article, I found all the necessary information regarding Delta and its policies and process of ticket refunds.

Delta's Refund Policies

Delta provides refunds and travel credits on tickets in many circumstances. However, their exact refund and cancellation policies vary depending on the type of ticket that was bought. There are usually two options when canceling a Delta flight:

Get a travel credit for the full amount of the ticket to be utilized in the future when traveling with Delta. This retains the full value you paid, but it is attached to Delta only.
Get a return of a part of the ticket price. Delta will issue a refund to your original form of payment in the amount of the base fare and taxes and fees. However—and this is key—cancellation and other charges are not refunded.

Thus, if you buy a somewhat expensive refundable fare that allows changes and is closer to a basic economy ticket, it will cost you less in cancellation/refund fees than a basic economy ticket. Consult Delta’s contract of carriage for comprehensive information on all categories of tickets and refund options.

Besides the ticket type, the refund policy also varies depending on the time of cancellation and whether the ticket has been utilized at all. Timing is everything.

Refunds on Unused Tickets

For unused tickets (meaning you have not traveled at all and the ticket is still valid for future travel), Delta offers two refund options:

Refund the ticket for the remaining amount if any. This leads to full reimbursement of the ticket cost and other cancellation charges, if any, for the ticket. While the residual value refund is often fairly small, that is because basic economy tickets come with high cancellation fees.
Get an eCredit for future travel. This preserves the face value of the ticket for the next journey within one year of the ticketing date. You must book in the same class of service or you will be required to pay the difference in fare. The credit also comes with a $75 redeposit fee if the customer rebooks a domestic flight or $125 if rebooking an international flight.

So if this is all about maximizing value, the future travel credit may be restrictive to Delta only, but you are allowed to retain the full unused ticket amount. Just be aware that you need to re-book it and use the credit within one year, otherwise, you lose the remaining amount.

Refund on partially used tickets

If part of the ticket has been used like taking an outbound trip and you need to cancel the return trip, different rules apply to the unused portion.

In most cases, Delta will offer an eCredit, which is a credit that can be used for future travel, instead of a refund of the unused ticket amount. So if you only took one leg in a roundtrip ticket, you would get a travel credit for the unused segment of the roundtrip ticket. There would be refunds for unused legs in terms of the tax amounts though.

For partially used tickets, the credits must be utilized within one year from the date of the issue of the ticket and not the date of cancellation. And you might be required to pay the difference in the fare if you are to upgrade to a higher class than your original ticket.

Important: Delta policy states that if only taking one leg of an international itinerary, one has to inform Delta in advance rather than simply failing to turn up or else the remaining leg will be viewed as ‘abandoned’. This eliminates any residual utility as the ticket contract mandates utilization of all the booked flights.

Refund Timeframes

Timing requirements also apply for Delta refunds in terms of when you must cancel and request a refund:

Passengers who buy fully refundable tickets must cancel their tickets at least 3 days before the flight’s scheduled time. If a product is returned within 72 hours from purchase, it is considered for its residual value and a refund will not be given instead the customer will be given an eCredit.
Any refund claim has to be made within one year of the date of cancellation of the flight or else the remaining amount is non-refundable. Therefore, do not miss any refundable amounts and file the refund request as early as possible.

It is crucial to observe all the timeframes when claiming a refund on any wholly or partially unused Delta tickets.

Refunding Award Tickets

Complimentary tickets booked via frequent flyer miles can also be canceled and used again within tighter parameters:

Award tickets can be retained for future use up to the limit of 1 year from the date of issue or redeposit as miles within the next 90 days of cancellation.
Redeposit is subject to a redeposit fee of $150 and if not redeemed, miles will expire with normal Skymiles account procedures.
There are different rules about partner award tickets. Pay particular attention when redeeming free award tickets on partners.

To sum up, I have found that Delta indeed does permit award ticket refunds in the form of miles redeposits or reuse of tickets but they restrict reuse more than paid fares. Exercise caution with award tickets if there is a possibility that the award ticket can be canceled.

Refund Fees

Apart from the charges for amounts representing airfares on canceled Delta tickets, more charges may apply depending on the fare type and circumstances of the refund request. Common refund-related fees include:

Cancellation penalties: For refunds/changes on a discount economy fare, it is charged based on the amount paid which determines the fare. It can be a fixed fee or a percentage of the total air cost.
Refund service charges: Fee for processing to get actual flights or tax reimbursements instead of vouchers for future travel. Billed on an individual ticket basis or per head.
Redeposit fees: Charge for restoring the value of fully or partly used tickets for subsequent journeys. As passenger-based or per trip or per direction where it is applicable.

Before asking for a refund on airfare from Delta, know all possible fees, especially if seated in a restrictive basic economy. Fees can easily overwhelm the actual refundable components of your canceled ticket value.

Getting Your Refund

If you meet the above-stipulated conditions of being eligible for an airfare refund, Delta refunds are processed through the mode of original payment. Typical timeframes are:

Purchases made through credit cards take 5 to 7 business days after the completed refund request.
Cash payments will be made by check within 20 business days and refunds will be issued by check.
If you purchased with an eCertificate, the value will be credited back to you to reuse instead of getting cash back. Specify the timeliness of refund submission to avoid setting wrong expectations.
Delta Airline ticket refund policy and other tips for travelers
Follow these tips and best practices when faced with canceling Delta tickets to maximize your refund value:
Book refundable fares even with higher prices to avoid high cancellation charges. Upgrade at the time of purchase or later.
When purchasing any ticket, always read all fare rules and Delta’s contract of carriage to understand the other fees required if one needs to seek a refund later.
When possible, utilize value first as eCredit within 12 months of validity since it expires after. Refund only after eCredit has expired or when it becomes clear that it can not be used.
Do not use basic economy fares if there is a high probability of canceling the flight. That anyway is not permitted to change requiring one to forfeit a ticket.
If one is in urgent need of a refund, it is advised to act quickly. Provide yourself enough time to meet 72-hour void deadlines to extract the remaining value and avoid extra charges.
Make sure to review the award tickets' flux value when planning redeeming miles. Use within a shorter time than the expiry date to ensure it is within the acceptable reuse limits.

When Delta customers cancel their plane tickets, the company offers them refunds or future travel credits, but the said options come with complicated conditions that depend on the unused value, fare type, and time constraints. It is therefore wise to familiarize yourself with Delta’s refund policies and other rules that the airline is legally bound to adhere to by being a member of the ARC so that you can make the best decision if you are ever in a position to seek a refund later after an inevitable change in travel plans.

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