delta one ticket cancellation policy
 

i have two questions :

1. how close to boarding time can i cancel a delta one ticket and receive my full refund?

2. is there a restriction as to how many days in advance that ticket must have been purchased (i.e. can i buy a ticket for date X on date X - 1 and still cancel on date X?)?

thanks!

I would underscore this point and add that this is true for most Delta One tickets. I think (though I'm not sure) that many years ago it was true that most (all?) premium cabin tickets were also refundable tickets, but that has not been true for a long time. Unless you went out of your way to purchcase a refundable Delta One ticket (which would likely be extremely expensive), then your ticket is likely not refundable.

Those elements are set by fare rule, not cabin (coach or Delta One). If you have multiple fare rules (a round trip flight, or a constructed fare) the most restrictive rule applies to the entire ticket.

Without the specific fare basis and ticket issue location, e.g. USA, nobody here can give you an answer. Your ticket could be refundable, meaning that even if you do not cancel, you may still claim a full refund. And in certain instances for tickets sold in certain markets, your ticket may be wholly inlfexible with no refund or credit given. If you provide the fare basis, someone here can provide the information.

Those rules are supplanted by DL's policy which you may find on the website yourself. Note that it applies only to direct bookings.

As part of our Customer Commitment for customers who book direct on delta.com or the Fly Delta app, Risk-Free Cancellation means that after you’ve purchased a qualifying eTicket, you have up to 24 hours after booking to cancel it for any reason and receive a full refund with no fees.

Yes, without knowing the exact type of ticket, any answer could be totally wrong.

delta and fully refundable and a question
 

hello, i have some travel plans that are "iffy" for many reasons that i won't burden you with. if i buy a refundable USA domestic ticket on delta.com, can i cancel that ticket and receive a full refund even if i have already checked in for my flight and i am at the airport? if the answer is yes, how long before departure time must i cancel the ticket? thanks so much for your help!

Merged with a previous refund thread by the OP, who has repeatedly created threads on refund rules.

3Cforme - Delta Forum Moderator

Yes, you can cancel the ticket if you're checked in and at the airport. This is actually a "hack" some people use to gain airside access or even lounge access while going to the airport with family or waiting on family - buy a fully refundable ticket, check-in and get a boarding pass to get through security (or even into a lounge), then call and cancel the ticket. The ethics debate of this is another story and has been debated on here before over other threads but point is yes, you can cancel and get a refund even after you've checked-in. I don't have an answer for your question about the exact cut-off time.

If it is, in fact, a fully refundable ticket you can cancel and get a refund anytime during the validity period of the ticket (generally 1 year from the date it was purchased). Unlike non-refundable tickets where cancellation is require prior to departure to retain the value of the ticket for a future flight (minus applicable change fees), the refundability of a refundable ticket has nothing to do with the flight or with check-in.

*** IT CANNOT BE OVER EMPHASIZED *** There are no blanket rules for ticket and the rules can, and very often do, vary substantially even within the broad refundable/non-refundable categories. For example, some "refundable" tickets have a change fee. If you are buying a ticket that you are going to count on getting refunded (or may need to get refunded) make sure you (or someone you know) understand the fare rules. Also know that the most restrictive fare rules apply when multiple fares are combined apply (so you have to read them all...you don't want to have some cheap connecting flight bust an expensive and otherwise refundable long-haul flight.

Technically, according to US DOT rules, the 24-hr refund rule does not apply if the ticket is purchased less than 7 days in advance of the first flight. To my knowledge, none of the major US airlines enforce this requirement but they could. If I were to ever do this I would just buy a refundable ticket so that I don't have to worry about i) canceling before the flight departs and ii) the airline deciding to enforce the 7 day requirement. I also think it is slightly more ethical to use a refundable ticket for this purpose since they are marketed as refundable at any point and are intended for people who change their mind on taking a flight even if they decide not to go just prior to boarding.

Gee, I wonder why?

Be aware that a fully refundable DeltaOne ticket is likely to be very, very expensive. Like $7,000+ expensive. If you won’t know for sure that you’re flying until so close to departure that you’re even asking the question, are you even prepared to fly that ticket? Or are you asking for other reasons?

The answer to your first question is yes: you can cancel the ticket after checking in, online or at the airport. I have canceled tickets an hour or so before departure, at the gate, and gotten the refund. I am not sure how no-show would be handled for a refundable ticket.

No-shows don't typically matter for refundable DL tickets. If you don't show up for the first flight your entire reservation will be canceled but the ticket will have value. You have to call or go on-line to request a refund for the ticket and must do so within a year of the date the ticket was issued (not the flight date).

The whole ticket being forfeited if not canceled before departure business is generally only for retaining the value of non-refundable tickets.

For the OP -- Another option would be to purchase a refundable ticket now and then, once your plans are firm, call and ask the agent to reprice as a non-refundable fare. Often this will result in a decent refund and isn't all that hard to do. You can do this for both full tickets and partially used tickets (e.g. you fly to a city but aren't sure when you'll return but once the return date/time is firm you can call and have the unused portion of the ticket repriced as non-refundable).