Originally Posted by
Hipplewm
AA follows the DOT rule, so if you buy a ticker <48 hours from the flight, it is not refundable, even if you bought a refundable ticket.
I don't think that's true.. refundable tickets are always refundable, aren't they?
For non-refundable tickets they go above and beyond the DOT requirement by offering a hold as well as a refund, and also offer the refund for tickets bought more than 2 days before departure (DOT requires 7)
But yes you are right, if you buy a nonrefundable ticket within 2 days of departure there is no 24 hr grace period.
United's published policy matches the DOT requirement -- you must purchase 7 or more days prior to departure to be eligible for a refund within 24hr. So AA is much more generous, at least in their published policy. I'm not sure what UA does in practice or if status plays into it.
https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...ng-policy.html
We know that life happens, and you may need to change your travel plans unexpectedly. United's 24-hour flexible booking policy gives you the freedom to make changes to select reservations within 24 hours of booking and ticketing, without being charged change fees if you made your purchase one week or more before the flight was scheduled to depart. This includes canceling your reservation and requesting a full refund of the ticket price. Although Basic Economy reservations aren’t eligible for changes within 24 hours, they’re still eligible for a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours and you made your purchase one week or more before the flight was scheduled to depart. Please view the terms and conditions below for more details.