Originally Posted by
GregMM
Maybe it's different with an agent, but if you do that change online, you don't get a refund of the original purchase, you're just moved to the new seat. It's only if the new seat is more expensive that there is a refund and a new charge.
But to be fair, making the change online doesn't mean you're not *entitled* to the refund, just that it isn't necessarily automatic. You should still seek it through the refunds web page.
I'm flying with my whole family over Thanksgiving -- nine seats in all, ugh -- and due to an equipment change we got shuffled all throughout the E+ cabin, even young children. The website wanted to charge me to rebook our original seats (!), though not the full amount. But when I called instead, the agent sorted it out in seconds at no cost.