Travel expert reveals how to get money off flights even after you’ve booked | Personal Finance | Finance

Booking your summer holiday well in advance can often make you big savings than leaving things to the last minute.

Expedia says the best time to book a domestic flight is around 28 days before departure, making you savings of up to 24 percent, while international flights are best booked around 60 days in advance.

But flight prices can drop as your departure date draws closer and if you find yourself out of pocket, you can actually get some money back even if you’ve already booked and paid for your trip.

Travel expert Wayne Mills says it is possible to swap out your flight tickets for a cheaper alternative after you’ve booked them by using a clever hack.

According to Mills, if the price of your flight drops after you’ve bought your ticket, you won’t be able to get your money back and pay the lower price unless you have a refundable ticket. The airline may also charge you ‘change fees’, plus service and admin charges, which can be costly.

But, it is possible to swap your ticket for a cheaper one – and pay nothing in change fees – on some US airlines, thanks to a rule change in response to Covid-19.

Mills, EMEA Head of Operations at Seven Seas Worldwide, explains: “Certain U.S. carriers ditched these change fees for flights within the U.S. in the last few years, in response to COVID-19.

“Fliers can now swap out their flight ticket for a cheaper one at the last minute to get a refund and pay nothing in flight change charges. On many airlines now, you will only have to pay ‘the applicable fare difference’. That means getting a refund on your more expensive flight when you swap it out for a cheaper one is now more cost effective.

“While it may be a hassle to rebook a flight to a cheaper one and secure that refund, the effort can be well worth the while because you can use the refund as credit to use on a future flight, saving money down the line.”

Mills says the flight refund-for-credit hack is particularly worthwhile for frequent fliers. He adds: “If you’re a frequent flyer, this hack really pays off over the long term. I know fliers who do this whenever they fly by setting up flight price reduction trackers and acting on the alerts, which you can get sent to your phone via an app.

“Using this flight-price tracker hack to get refunds, alongside other common sense tips for shaving money off your flying travel costs, can help ordinary people see more of the world than they would otherwise be able to see. And that can only be a good thing.”