The 24-hour refund rule is applicable to all fares, even those restrictive basic economy tickets or other typically non-refundable bookings. However, there are some cases that are exempt from the refund guidelines.
The exceptions
It’s important to note that the DOT rule does not apply in a handful of cases. The refund policy only applies to bookings made at least seven days or more before departure. But if you make a reservation less than seven days before the flight’s departure date, the 24-hour rule does not cover your booking—meaning you have no grace period to cancel and receive a full refund.
Additionally, airlines have the choice to either allow customers to hold their fare without payment for 24 hours or issue a refund if the reservation is canceled within 24 hours of purchase. (American Airlines, for example, has an option to put the fare on hold instead of refunding payments.) They do not have to do both. So if you already held your fare for one day without payment, and you decide to purchase that ticket, you won’t be eligible for a refund under the DOT regulation should you decide to cancel.
If you’re looking to make other gratis changes to your ticket—like changing the date of the ticket or correcting a misspelling in your name—you might be out of luck. Airlines aren’t required under the regulation to make those types of changes for free. In those cases, contact your airline to see what type of flexibility they might be able to offer you. But in most cases, you would likely need to cancel the fare (for a full refund) and rebook the ticket.
The 24-hour flight cancellation rule also only applies to fares purchased directly from an airline as well. So if you’re buying through an online travel agency, like Orbitz or Expedia, the DOT's rule won’t cover your ticket, and your reservation will be subject to the third-party company’s refund policy.
“Online travel agencies may also let you get a refund within 24 hours of booking, but not all do, so definitely read their policies before purchasing,” says Nastro.
If you booked the tickets through a travel agent, the DOT advises to first contact your travel agent before calling the airline for a refund.
What to do if an airline isn’t following the 24-hour rule
According to the DOT, airlines have to be upfront with customers about the one-day refund grace period both on their websites and when they are contacted by passengers. This means that not only does an explanation of the 24-hour reservation requirements need to be visible in the refund policy sections of an airline’s website (like on any terms and conditions pages or booking pop-up windows), but customer service representatives must also explain the rule to passengers who call them with questions about canceling.
Fortunately, airlines largely seem to cooperate with this regulation. “To my knowledge, I have not heard of a passenger getting denied a [24-hour] refund when they were entitled to one,” Nastro says.
Any airline (including international carriers) operating flights to or from the U.S. that does not follow these guidelines is seen to have “unfair and deceptive” practices, says the DOT. If customers suspect the airline isn't following the rule, they can file a consumer complaint on the Department’s website.
Submitting a formal complaint online might feel like screaming into the void, but rest assured that the agency actually does read and act on them. In 2022, for example, the DOT secured $600 million in airline refunds for travelers who had their flights canceled or significantly delayed at the onset of the pandemic and didn’t get their money back; it also fined the six offending airlines a collective $7.5 million for not issuing the refunds in a timely manner.
So no matter your airline or your destination, it does pay to know the cancellation rules for your fare.
