General Rules for Crediting Fare Difference?
 

Can anybody give me a general set of rules for fare difference credits? I.E. If you buy a ticket now at $500, then it later goes on sale for $200, what (if anything) will the airline do to give you your money back?

Note: I'm posting here rather than a specific airline forum because I'm looking for general rules. I know it will vary a bit by airline, but I imagine they all have the same basic policies. Moderators, if there is a better place for this topic please feel free to move it.

Southwest will credit the difference to your "account". That is, you can use the difference, to purchase another ticket, up to one year from the original purchase date. You need to keep your confirmation number, as the funds are allocated by that number to your name. I have two flights recently on which the price dropped about $40 each, so I have $80 to use on a future WN flight. I think they let you combine up to five confirmation numbers to make one purchase, but I am not sure. Someone more familiar with the ins and outs of this policy can likely chime in with an update.

I believe WN to be the most liberal in this area. It would shock me to find out that any of the "Big 6" offer anything like this, except, perhaps, to their highest elites.

Regards,
Stevekoe

Then be shocked. United has done this for a long time. Just call reservations, they'll check the pricing and send out a voucher.

AA does it too.. It's called a "rollover"

They will do it in almost all cases unless the fare rules for the original ticket specifically state "no rollovers"

NW & CO
 

Last time it happened to me NWA issued a MCO and mailed it to me for the diffference MINUS a $25 processing fee. This was on the lowest available class of fares also. CO offers you a similar voucher. I believe that on both airlines they expire one year from date of issue.

DL also has the same policy
 

DL will give airline credit for future flight specific to the ticket holder. I just did that when the price dropped 40% a week after I bought my ticket. However, I think the expiry date is one year from the new ticket issue date.

Since the question isn't about miles and points but about fare rules and procedures, I'm going to move the thread to TravelBuzz.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator