Is a Partially Used Award Ticket Refundable?
Mar 15, 2022, 3:43 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,765
Is a Partially Used Award Ticket Refundable?
I just had a rep in the process of changing the date for my return on an award ticket tell me that the ticket was non-refundable.
My assumption was that under the current rules if I wanted a refund I could get a refund of the miles attributable to the return portion of the ticket. So, e.g., if I had a RT ticket to AMS for 70K miles (fared based on 35K each way), if I didn't take the return flight I could refund it for 35K miles.
Was I correct or the rep correct?
(somewhat contradicting what she said, I had contacted Delta to change the return date on a half-flown ticket, and the reissuance caused me to be refunded 5K miles as the alternative flight cost was 5K less than what I had originally booked.)
My assumption was that under the current rules if I wanted a refund I could get a refund of the miles attributable to the return portion of the ticket. So, e.g., if I had a RT ticket to AMS for 70K miles (fared based on 35K each way), if I didn't take the return flight I could refund it for 35K miles.
Was I correct or the rep correct?
(somewhat contradicting what she said, I had contacted Delta to change the return date on a half-flown ticket, and the reissuance caused me to be refunded 5K miles as the alternative flight cost was 5K less than what I had originally booked.)
Mar 15, 2022, 4:10 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,237
Partially used can't be refunded except for flight cancelation by airline/delay over X minutes. Awards nowadays can have RT requirements for lowesr cost just like cash tickets.
Mar 15, 2022, 6:30 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,248
https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles.../program-rules
This is what is in the program rules -- "Once travel has commenced on an Award ticket, the Award is considered used. Mileage will not be credited back to the account for the unused portion of the ticket."
However, they are still changeable after travel has commenced and unused fare components can be exchanged for higher or lower award fares (you just can't completely cancel them for a full refund). In the case where you exchanged the return award fare for a lower priced award fare, you were not actually getting a refund on unused portion of ticket as award ticket would still be fully used with the new exchanged award fare.
This is what is in the program rules -- "Once travel has commenced on an Award ticket, the Award is considered used. Mileage will not be credited back to the account for the unused portion of the ticket."
However, they are still changeable after travel has commenced and unused fare components can be exchanged for higher or lower award fares (you just can't completely cancel them for a full refund). In the case where you exchanged the return award fare for a lower priced award fare, you were not actually getting a refund on unused portion of ticket as award ticket would still be fully used with the new exchanged award fare.
Last edited by xliioper; Mar 15, 2022 at 6:59 pm