EZEDoesIt

A no-status friend wanted to change her non-refundable economy ticket from 25DEC to 24DEC. I advised that if they want to charge an exorbitant change fee, ask about waiving the change fee if upgrading to F. (I was currently see G is only $74 more than T). First the agent offered $200+fare diff ($14), then when she inquired about F he said it would be $100+fare diff ($150???), but he could do $100+14 and keep her in economy. I haven't read every post on here, but I've never heard of a discounted change fee. It's usually been all or nothing. Was this a Christmas special offer?

She jumped on it, although I was really hoping she'd snag some FCM-action and circumvent any fees altogether.

Guess it pays to barter, whether you're in the souk or on the phone with DL.

Mr. Tickets

Odds are that the fare for the new departure date was less than the original departure date. In that case, Delta will allow you to use the residual to put towards the penalty. Most legacy carriers will not allow this and will make you pay the penalty and bank the residual for future use.

EZEDoesIt

I checked her receipt and it clearly shows $100 in fees, and a $14 fare diff to whatever the going rate for X is right now.