How Much Does Delta Charge To Change A Ticket?
How much does Delta charge to change a ticket?
If you have booked your flight with Delta Airlines, your plans may change and you want to modify your airline ticket. Delta does permit ticket alterations; however, when changing an airline ticket, it can come with the cost of the fare difference or a change fee. But how much does Delta charge for flight change? Below is information regarding Delta Airlines' change policy, cancellation policy, and any charges that may apply.
Basic Ticket Change Fees
Delta levies a $200 fee per ticket for date, time, origin, or destination charge for domestic flights, while it charges a $350 fee per ticket for the same on international flights. This change fee is in addition to any fare difference between the ticket you originally purchased and the flight you want to switch to. The change fee is calculated individually for each ticket. Therefore, if you bought several tickets under one reservation and all of them needed to be changed, you would be charged the fee for each ticket.
There are a few exceptions where Delta will waive the change fee:
- When you buy a flight with a fully refundable ticket, it does not attract a change fee if you want to change your dates or other details of the flight. You will still be required to produce the balance of the airfare cost if the price has increased.
- If you have one of Delta’s Medallion statuses within SkyMile's frequent flyer program, change fees do not apply when customers alter their flights on the same day or convert to another flight in the same merchants and destinations.
- Delta policy also allows change fee exemptions to active military personnel and their dependents when traveling on Delta for personal reasons.
- Some customers who are booking flights to or from specific cities that may be affected by weather waivers or airline schedule changes may be allowed to alter their flight bookings at no extra cost.
Same-Day Changes
Delta does permit flight changes at the airport for the same day at the cost of $75 for each ticket. If there is a lower fare available for the new flight you select, that fare will be charged instead of the change fee. It is also important to note that you can only change your flight to a later same-day flight in the same city of origin and destination of your original ticket if there is an available seat.
Further changes can also be done on the same day for an additional $75 if you pre-request the preferred new flight time by clicking on the ‘Change Flight’ button on Delta’s website or by using the Fly Delta app. The confirmed change reserves you a seat on the new preferred flight if the flight has not been fully booked. If the new flight is more costly, then you are required to pay the additional amount for the ticket.
Cancelling A Ticket
If your schedule is altered and you have to cancel a Delta flight completely and not just change the date or time of the flight, you are subjected to both a change fee and a cancellation fee. First, they tend to charge change fees as outlined above for every ticket in the booking or as stated in the table below.
Then you must also forfeit the airfare you paid according to the following criteria:
- Refundable tickets: Get a full refund of the flight but be charged for the fare difference and change fee.
- Domestic standard tickets: Get a travel credit equivalent to the difference between the amount paid and the change fee, with a validity of one year from the date of issue of the ticket.
- Basic Economy tickets: No refund policy However, it should be noted that no refunds are allowed in this case. In case there is any remaining value, it is provided as an electronic travel voucher less the change fee.
- Vacation packages: Get a full refund if you cancel before the end of the fourth week before the trip begins. Within 30 days, for the flight-only tickets, follow the above-mentioned policies.
- International tickets: It is important to understand that refund policies and penalties depend on the class of the ticket for Delta’s international flights. Also, refer to Delta’s international contract of carriage to get specific details.
Travel Credits from cancelled flights
When you cancel Delta tickets and get an e-voucher in place of cash back (after misusing the change fee), then it can be used to pay for the next trip on Delta Airways. Travel credits are usable for one year, starting from the date of the initial ticket purchase. They can be applied to new tickets under the name of the original passenger.
If you have flight credits from a previously canceled trip and these credits are already near the expiration date, it is possible to ask for a one-time rollover to extend the validity for another six months. Delta does impose a processing fee for travel vouchers that are issued for travel, and this is $50 for each ticket.
Minimizing Change Fees
While changing fees on Delta tickets can be steep, there are some ways to avoid or reduce fees if your travel plans shift:
- Whenever possible, purchase fully refundable tickets because, even though they cost more in general, they are not subject to cancellations. Refundable tickets allow passengers to change their flight number, date, time and even airline without incurring any charges.
- Do not make date or flight changes until 24 hours before departure because that is when admiral-free standby service is allowed on earlier or later flights within the same city pair.
- The change fees on new flight adjustments can be paid by credits from other canceled trips. Credits have to be in the same passenger’s name but can be made up of multiple older flight credits.
- Ask for a voucher for the value of the canceled ticket to postpone your travel instead of switching to another flight. Vouchers can be used for up to one year with little charge.
- As another approach, one may modify several passengers in a reservation instead of the entire booking to minimize the total fee for changes. These charges are levied based on the number of passenger tickets issued.
Depending on Delta, the terms of the ticket change and cancellation may be muddled, but by adhering to a few main guidelines and carefully planning your changes, you can avoid additional charges. But with demand for air travel changing so frequently, high however change fees are Delta’s way of ensuring that it has control over its seat offering and prices.
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