RockyMntFlyer

I am not a regular Delta flyer, but they seem to be the only direct provider for the flight I need. Last evening I purchased a one-way first class ticket (JFK-DEN). According to Delta.com when I purchased this, it is a refundable Z fare. I paid the extra for a refundable fare.

When I received the ticket confirmation, I could not find any indication (on the receipt, ticket, on my DL.com account, etc.) that this was a refundable fare. It does not state this anywhere (at least that I can find). Can anyone here tell me how I can confirm (with the paperwork I have) that this is refundable? Is this noted somewhere specifically on the ticket and I'm just missing it. It actually says in one place tickets are nonrefundable (unless issues as a refundable fare) - not very helpful generic language. I don't think all Z fares are refundable (maybe I am wrong).

I actually tried to contact Delta last night and today. Wow, what a complete cluster. I tried calling, their text message service, messaging on their website, and sending a FB message. I literally have been waiting on their text message service since 8:30 this morning (its now 2:30pm). Still nothing. FB just pushes you to the text service. Online messaging never connects to anyone. My first call gave no callback option and quoted a hold of 3 hours...Sorry for the moaning, but just needed to get my frustration out. I can't figure out why they are so busy right now. I called again this afternoon and they gave me the callback option. I am supposed to hear back by 4pm today...I am not optimistic.

This is a simple question and I am hoping someone can answer it for me. Otherwise, my plan is to cancel the flight (still in the 24 hour window) and book a connecting flight via another airline.

Any information would be helpful here.

Thanks.

steveholt

I would recommend cancelling it and, at the very least, rebooking anew while taking screenshots of the refundable option on Delta. A look at DL.com for JFK-DEN shows that both tickets in first and refundable first book into Z, so not all Z class fares are refundable.

rylan

Its unfortunate that you're having to deal with the unmitigated mess of Delta's customer service... phone and message response times have been horribly unacceptable for many months.

Regarding the fare, its unusual to see a refundable Z but not unheard of. The best way to tell was when you purchased the ticket, down near the bottom of the page in find print there is a hyperlink for 'fare rules' and that would open a window with details.

Otherwise, if you look in your receipt that was emailed down past the payment area there is a 'fare details' line with what looks like a bunch of gibberish to most people. In your case it should be something like JFK DL DEN 389.00VAVNA0FE USD389.00END
I've highlighted the important part which is the actual fare basis code. You'll want to post that here. Sometimes you can tell if there is a refundable R or non refundable N indicator in there.

RockyMntFlyer

I finally figured out how to confirm this. I was going to cancel the flight, so I clicked on Modify Flight. It then noted that my ticket is refundable (ugh). Still kinda want to cancel, but the direct flight is my preference. What if I had a real problem and could never get through to anyone to resolve it. I even called the Singapore CS number and just sat on hold. I had read on FT that other CS number would pick up, but did not work.

nrr

From info noted in threads on FT, DL is bringing back "lots" of phone agents, so hopefully (after a month of training) phone p/u times will be a lot faster...let's see what happens by June.

xliioper

Non-refundable fares are called out in the email receipts. For non-refundable BE fares, email will have this --

For non-refundable, non-BE fares with change fee, email receipt will have --


If it's missing these sections, it's refundable.

MSPeconomist

Another option should be to check the fare code on EF (paid subscription) to see the entire fare rules,

RockyMntFlyer

Follow up on my original note. I was finally able to connect with Delta via text messager after several days of trying. Rep was helpful and confirmed these are refundable tickets, so I am good. The rep could not help me find where this is indicated on the ticket. I'm sure it's in the fare code somewhere though. However, my farecode does not have an R or an N as RYLAN described above. Rep said they would note the ticket that it is fully refundable. I kept shots of the messages from Delta noting these are refundable, just in case.

It would be so much easier if a refundable fare just said 'refundable' on the e-ticket somewhere. Maybe I'm asking too much of the airlines...

Thank you all for your help.

xliioper

You are making it more complicated than it needs to be. If the email receipt does not say "This ticket is non-refundable.. " , then it's refundable. It will have this disclaimer both below the ticket amount, and in the "Terms & Conditions" section at the bottom of the email.
If you want detailed information on fare conditions, the 8-letter fare basis code (noted above) can be found in the "Fare Details:" line of the email receipt. It's in small print. However, the fare basis code does not directly tell you if it is refundable or not. You can use it to look up the fare on ExpertFlyer if you have an account to get the fare rules which will indicate whether fare is refundable or not in the "Penalties" section. If you can re-price on delta.com, you can also get the fare rules directly off of delta.com at the "Fare Rules" URL link below the fare quote. This will have the 8-letter fare basis code and the fare rules where refundability is addressed in the "Penalties" section. In rare cases, refundable fares may have a fee for a refund. These fares mostly seem to be on LHR routes.

GagaPilot

Another way I have found to confirm that the ticket is refundable, is on the main Delta website where you view your itinerary, you will usually see the verbiage “non-refundable” somewhere around your seat assignment and fare class. If it’s NOT there, that means it’s refundable. I don’t book refundable often, but when I do, this observation has always been correct and I’ve had no pushback if I ended up getting a refund.

And I second what other posters have said: your ticket receipt will show “non-refundable” or nothing at all if it is refundable. I agree this should be made more clear on the receipt.

flyerCO

Refund fees apply a lot more than just LHR. A lot of international tickets have them. Worst case I saw was one for 40% refund fee.

Be careful anytime see refundable. It is definitely refundable but the fee can be awful.

RockyMntFlyer

The email says the following on my now confirmed refundable ticket. This is why I was confused.

This ticket is non-refundable unless the original ticket was issued at a fully refundable fare. Some fares may not allow changes. If allowed, any change to your itinerary may require payment of a change fee and increased fare. Failure to appear for any flight without notice to Delta will result in cancellation of your remaining reservation.

I referenced this in my original post, but did not paste the verbatim language.

xliioper

Ah, sorry, it's the line above the text that says "NONREF" in it that indicates a non-refundable fare (see screenshots above). Your email would not have contained that line.

Fuzzytoo

Why are airlines, more than any other business that I'm aware of, allowed to obfuscate and hide their so-called rules?

xliioper

I suspect that most people can understand that "NONREF" indicates a non-refundable fare. It's more the issue that people might not be aware that the absence of said line in receipt indicates a refundable fare. The more devious case are refundable fares which carry a fee to refund which a number of airlines have. Fortunately, these are fairly rare and limited to certain routes. While it is unfortunate that airlines do not make a copy of the fare rules readily accessible post-purchase, the AA/AS/DL/UA websites do all provide a link to the fare rules when you quote a fare at time of purchase. Here are the links on DL's website after quoting an itin (they both go to the same fare rules page for your itin).


Here is the fare rules section applying to non-refundable fares --


Fare rules section applying to refundable fares -- yes, it does not actually say "refundable", but that's what the following section means.


Fare rules section for a refundable fare with a fee of $900 for refund (from a JFK-LHR D1 refundable Z fare) for ticketing after April 30th --