24-Hour Rule
When booking a flight, it is good to know that you can cancel the flight within 24 hours and receive your money back; but there are some other ways to hack this rule.
First, what is the 24-hour rule?
The 24-hour rule ensures free cancellations or changes on most flights that:
originate in or are going to the US on any airline (not just US-based companies)
were booked directly with the airline
were booked at least seven days in advance.
It does not cover:
tickets that were booked via an online travel agency (Expedia, Travelocity, etc.)
were booked within seven days of departing
are for flights that do not originate in or are traveling to the US
are for flights where the airline has opted to offer a free 24-hour price hold instead of a free 24-hour cancellation/
This rule gives the traveler a ton of leeway for 2 main reasons.
It can help you get the lowest price on your flight. Prices are not stagnant and can change at the drop of a hat for a variety of reasons. You may feel you bought the best price, but often flight prices can fluctuate (both becoming cheaper or more expensive) within hours. If you find a cheaper fare within 24 hours of booking, you can cancel your original, more expensive ticket and purchase the cheaper one!
It also gives you 24 hours to decide if you want to take the trip. Sometimes the price is just too good, so you purchase the ticket before checking anything else out (childcare, time off, etc.).
If you found a cheaper fare within 24 hours of booking your original ticket, book your new ticket before canceling the original one. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve gone to the final page of booking a ticket and within the 2 seconds it takes to load the next page, the fare is gone.
Do all airlines allow 24-hour cancellation?
The 24-hour rule is a regulation from the US Department of Transportation that dictates that airlines must offer either free 24-hour price hold or free cancellation within 24 hours. All airlines, including non-US companies) must honor this rule for flights going to, or originating in, the United States, so long as the flight was booked directly with the airline at least seven days in advance of the flight.
For example, a Delta flight from London to Boston is covered; a British Airways flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt is covered, but an Etihad Airways from Doha to Paris is not.
Online Travel Agencies (such as Orbitz, Travelocity, etc.) have some fine print regarding the 24-hour rule. Here are some of those terms:
Orbitz: Most of the time, Orbitz will allow you to cancel tickets on US carriers, up to 10 or 11 pm on the day after purchase. Always check the terms and conditions though, because some flights are non-refundable.
Priceline: Priceline offers 24-hour cancellation or change, but you can hack this… They allow you to cancel tickets free of charge until 11:29 pm ET the next business day. So if you book on a Friday you can cancel by 11:29 pm Eastern Time the following Monday! This does not apply to Express Deals or flights on Frontier or Spirit, so again, always check the T&C.
Expedia: Expedia’s terms are a little shady. “For some airfares, if you cancel within 24 hours, no penalty fees apply.” However, it also says that “if you cancel a non-refundable flight reservation, the airline may issue you a flight credit for a future booking instead of a refund” and that “some flight reservations are not eligible for a flight credit after cancellation. If you cancel one of these reservations, you will lose the value of your ticket.” Basically, you may be able to cancel within 24-hours with no penalty if you have the right type of reservation…
Travelocity: They allow 24-hour flight cancellation, but as always, there is some fine print. To be eligible, you must have booked each ticket you are seeking to cancel on Travelocity at least seven days before the scheduled departure date. If you are flying on two separate airlines, the terms apply to each ticket separately. The rule also doesn’t apply to international low-cost carriers.