Refundable airline tickets vs Non-refundable airline tickets with Travel Insurance

In my opinion, if you want your airline fare back guaranteed (and quickly), the best way is a refundable ticket. I wouldn't place my faith in the claims processing department of a travel insurance company. Even if your claim is justified, there's still a chance they won't come through for you or it takes months to get your money back. And I say that as someone who filed a successful claim on my travel insurance (but it took 4 months to process).

It comes down to how much risk you want to take on and how much you're willing to pay for that risk. Not sure anyone here can do that calculus for your personal situation, but it sounds like you've penciled out the cost differences so you have that part of the equation.

I've been going the same route as CL--just get the refundable fare for ease. In the past, I purchased "cancel for any reason" riders on my policies, so they were not insignificant in cost and I still only got 75% back the one time I had to use it.
The way schedules can change nowadays, I like being able to cancel an itinerary easily.

Hello,

I am wondering if you are comparing apples to apples......your refundable tickets are cancellable for any reason. Is your Travel Guard policy CFAR?

Non-refundable Premium Economy tickets on Delta, if cancelled, are issued a credit which you have one year to use. That works for me since I don't buy CFAR insurance.

Just want to add, so as not to give bad information, that I have read on Travel Insurance FAQ pages that they require the Entire Trip to be insured, including non-refundable airfare for CFAR policies. So please double check what your travel insurance policy requires.

I hope this helps.

I never pay for refundable tickets or insure airline tickets. Most of the time you can get a credit from the airline if you cancel or you can pay a fee to change the tickets. I only get insurance for expenses I can’t afford to lose (like my house burning down) or if the loss would cause significant mental anguish (like a very expensive prepaid tour).

You would have to get refundable for any reason to cover airlines tickets. That would be more than usual travel insurance. Do that math.

Until recently we didn't even get travel insurance. The amount I saved in 65 years of international travel by not buying this product would pay for at least two of our lengthy trips to France and Italy. Now that I am ancient I do get it but have still only once used it in 65 years of international travel. I broke an elbow in southern france and Alianz paid the hospital directly for the surgery and then reimbursed me for medical expenses incurred in follow up in Paris. This saved the 10 week trip and also saved them money by not having to fly me home. Now I get an annual policy. My policies are for the total cost of the trip; there is no provision to 'add airline tickets' which make up the biggest expense we incur. Are you in a non US country where this is the norm i.e. adding ticket costs.

How often do you have to cancel tickets? We travel to Europe twice a year in retirement and a couple of domestic trips and have traveled regularly for years and have never yet had to cancel one.

My philosophy is that you insure for catastrophe. If you can afford the trip you can afford to lose the ticket (it is not pleasant but it doesn't bring financial ruin. most airlines will let the value be applied to a later ticket but even if it is lost, it is a finite amount). The thing that can bring financial ruin is having to pay 200K to be air ambulanced back to the US or having huge medical bills. I know someone who had to mortgage their house to bring their daughter back from Cairo after she was injured in an accident and had no insurance. Her subsequent care wiped them out financially.

I buy refundable plane tickets. Yes it costs more. I don't need a reason to cancel my flight to get a refund. If I have to cancel, I don't want an airline credit. As I get older, too many health and personal issues may make the credit worthless. I can always book and pay for another flight if I want to (having received the refund from the original flight).
I have found that when I call (United) with a problem, I get good customer service. Don't know if that's due to "refundable" or not. I know it's not because I have special standing since I now only fly once a year.

Insurance is a whole different issue. I buy an annual Medjet policy for evacuation and GeoBlue for medical. I started buying minimal trip insurance from Allianz for trip cancellation and interruption to cover a few non-refundable costs. It's my comfort level.

I add the cost of the airline tickets to my insurance instead of buying refundable tickets. I usually modify my policy a few times adding new non-refundable costs as I incur them.

Hi there, you've gotten some great advice above. Just wanted to reiterate - if you're flying with a major US airline NOT in basic economy, you can change or cancel your flight and the $$ go back into your account and are indeed good for a year. IF in the meantime the ticket price for that route on whatever date you choose has gone up, you will pay the difference. If you haven't started your travels, the total amount would go back into account. I do this a LOT, traveling 3x a year to Europe, but I keep careful track of my credit so I remember to use it within a year! Personally, I wouldn't pay up for fully refundable tickets if you're comfortable with this alternative.

I do not buy refundable tickets, generally I just accept the credit if I need to cancel, since I travel often enough that it is not an issue.

You might however check your credit card. My card provides Trip Cancellation coverage for those things paid for with the card (like my airline tickets). It would mean filing a claim and likely some hassle (like any insurance) but it is coverage. If that becomes your plan, then I would check into what is involved in the claims process and what paperwork is needed. It may not be "for any reason" insurance for example, or require some qualifying event.

I agree with Sandancisco! I fly Delta and know I can change or cancel and will have that money in my SkyMIles account for future use.

a major US airline NOT in basic economy, you can change or cancel your flight and the $$ go back into your account and are indeed good for a year.

And for Delta (basic), after a $200 fee, the rest becomes a credit. And if you buy your tickets way in advance, the chances of a significant change are greater and that non refundable ticket turns into a refundable ticket at no extra cost. That's my strategy. Have gotten a full refund a couple of times for my basic ticket. And if it doesn't happen sometime, those tickets are so cheap, I can just shrug it off.

I also buy non-refundable tickets and in the event of having to change or cancel I accept the credit. Last Thanksgiving I had to cancel almost $2000 in tickets on Alaska Air knowing that I probably wouldn't be flying for another year. I wasn't worried because I could use those credits to buy tickets for friends or family with those credits. It's fun to fly your nephews out for a visit.

I've also heard, but have never tried, to use a credit within one year and then cancel that "new" reservation and thereby extend that credit for another year. Like I said I've "heard" that you can do that but have no idea if it really is a viable path.

Let's suppose a refundable airline ticket costs $100 more than a non-refundable ticket.

And let's also suppose that if you cancel a non-refundable ticket, you get nothing back, not even a credit toward future travel.

Now imagine you take twenty trips, and in one case you had to cancel, and let's say the airfare for the trip you canceled was $1500.

I know these numbers are just random, but they illustrate why airlines love to sell refundable seats. Most people don't cancel. And the overall effect of cancellation is a net benefit to the airline, not to the customer.

By the way, this is true of all insurance. It's just that some insurance is needed because the risk of loss is too extreme. But balance the upside/downside potential of spending extra money for refundable airline tickets. Or do your own math based on your personal experience. (Just remember that your personal experience doesn't consist of the one trip you canceled. It consists of all the trips you've taken in your lifetime.)

If you were really lucky in my scenario, you had to cancel two or more trips. But I bet you don't feel very lucky about having to do that. It's kind of like saying you were lucky when your house burned down because you had insurance.

What Trotter said a couple of posts up doesn't work. You typically cannot use a credit for a cancelled ticket for anyone other than the person for whom the original ticket was purchased. I say "typically" because I've heard of some exceptions, but I wouldn't count on being an exception.
Secondly, the airlines have done away with the loophole of rebooking the ticket for further out to extend the credit. If you cancel, your credit reverts to the original ticket purchase date.

I also never buy refundable tickets but I book far enough out that there's almost always a schedule change that will make my ticket changeable or refundable. This is on Delta though, YMMV on other airlines. I haven't flown anything but Delta in over a decade.

I will echo a bit of what SunnyBlueFlax said.

First, don’t assume all airlines have the same policy. Next, there are now SO many levels of tickets (I am also writing this if anyone else comes across this thread).

I fly AA and basic economy international has a “no refund, no changes” policy (this is not the same for basic economy domestic). If flying premium economy, you would probably get your money back as trip credit, but not cash.

I do carry an annual policy that would cover cancellation for all illness, etc. However last year I had basic economy tickets for my fall trip and then had 2 nephews decide to get married during my trip! (I could have worked around one wedding, but not two.) I am pretty sure insurance doesn’t cover cancellation for weddings, new babies, etc. Ha! In my case, I got lucky, I think, because I have status and they had just put a new policy in place for domestic cancellation (with a fee) and squeaked through with just date change for my flights (plus a tiny bit of extra for fare difference). So just thinking out loud that there ARE reasons to cancel that might not be covered by trip insurance.

It’s all about your risk tolerance and what you are ok with, balancing the fine print on your ticket and on any insurance policy.

My challenge with a credit is that I often buy my airline tickets when they become available, around 330 days ahead. If I had a last minute cancelation (which is what I consider my greatest risk) I might have a 30 or 45 day window to use the credit. (United credits are good for 1 year from date of purchase, not date of travel.)

Even if I needed to cancel sooner, I often have several trips booked and couldn't necessarily fit in another within the credit time frame.

So despite the math or the odds, I like having full control over refundable tickets.

I have been traveling internationally since 1979. I have never canceled a trans Atlantic flight but have rescheduled, for a fee (about $250 each time), two flights. I have never bought a refundable ticket. Allowing for the 2 incidents, I have saved at least $10,000.00 over upgrading to free changes or refunds.

CWsocial - Booking that far out, you are even more likely to have a change in flight schedules that would make you eligible for a refund. I booked my December trip in September and I think I already had 3 or 4 changes. They weren't very significant changes, but Delta made the tickets refundable at some point. I think the "rule" is the change has to be at least 3 hours, but mine were not anywhere near that - all were less than an hour, as I recall.

Thanks so much for all of your great replies!! We decided to purchase non-refundable but changeable tickets directly from Delta. We already have trip insurance for our Rick Steves tour that is Cancel for Any Reason — but we have decided to not add the flights to our existing policy this year. It is for the reason that many of you have cited. (e.g., can reschedule tickets at the Premium Economy level, can absorb the cost, etc.)

We have spent a great deal of money over the years making sure our entire trip costs are covered, but never needed to invoke the policy. That practice has resulted in quite a bit of additional costs. At the end of the day, all that we really need is coverage for unexpected medical issues and the biggest ticket item — which is the cost of the tour.

Thanks again!

Celeste - that's why I specifically said Alaska Air. I don't know whether Delta, for example, would have allowed me to use the credit for someone else. But that's also why I read the terms and conditions of any ticket I buy, which is probably the real moral of the story.

Regarding refundable tickets, the credit from American Airlines was one year from PURCHASE date when we had to cancel last minute due to an auto accident. Since we had purchased the tickets when they first came available, that credit was good only for a couple months.

Mr. É, I am not sure about your accounting. I feel like non-refundable, non-changeable tickets haven’t been the norm ever since 1979. So you would need to know when that became the new normal and how many trips you have taken since then.

I had also not ever cancelled a flight before August, but it would have been at a cost of loss of the entire flight: $1,200, not a change for $250, if I hadn’t received some accidental grace. Not earth shattering, but also not insignificant. Another lovely AA policy for those same basic economy, non-refundable, non-changeable flights is that you cannot pay either miles or dollars to upgrade. No in-app or email offers. Nada. But I don’t think all of this has been the situation for decades.

I may still book a basic economy; but unless I get sick, I have to know I stand to lose the total cost.

I was really thinking the last 15 years or so. The “since 1979” speaks to the odds of my changing a ticket.

In the last 15 years I have averaged 3 international trips a year (not wealthy, but I have a home in Europe). So 15 years x 3 trips a year x $250 savings by buying the cheapest ticket (But I think the difference is much greater) = $11,250. Now subtract $500 for the twice I had to pay to reschedule (both with Turkish Air), and the savings is $10,750.

No business will offer any goods or services that they won't profit on. If it's a one-time deal, then maybe you buy. But if you do it frequently, then you are in the same playing field as the business, and you will lose.

I don't buy refundable trans-Atlantic tickets, it is always non-refundable in Basic Economy and never had to cancel a ticket. It's non-refundable and that's it. Not interested in the price difference between the two.

we have decided to not add the flights to our existing policy this year

For those considering this option, please read policies carefully. I've bought policies that say that you must insure all non refundable trip costs, and even said that you must insure those costs that would result in a credit.

I've never wanted to test that, which would have added to the cost of my insurance. By purchasing fully refundable tickets, I don't have to insure them, which helps to offset the cost - though not fully, in my own insurance case.

I've since switched to an annual policy, so I no longer have that consideration.

I just wanted to say that if you have never had to cancel or change flights that doesn’t mean you won’t have to do so in the future. Life happens. I had to make some cancellations this year due to in part to the health and subsequent death of a family member that I was responsible for. Thankfully I booked all the flights for me and my travel companions with airline miles, which made it easy to cancel and rebook flights with no loss of airline miles and refunds for the taxes and fees.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with paying for fully refundable tickets. Travel is a holiday, and holidays are about enjoyment and much about enjoyment is rooted in the intangibles. If buying fully refundable or insuring or whatever need lurks deep within gives peace of mind, and that improves the experience then its the right thing to do.

I'm on team Horsewoofie

Reviving this thread.

I'm in a conundrum because the only airline that has flights that get around our work duties right now is British Airways but their refundable tickets are more than twice the total value of the tickets. I guess we can still change them paying a high fee (especially if near the time we travel).

Is there a non-medical travel insurance that covers only flight tickets? We already have medical insurance for our travel through our employers health plan. I'm only thinking about catastrophic stuff like a death in our extended family or something.

Is there a non-medical travel insurance that covers only flight
tickets? We already have medical insurance for our travel through our
employers health plan. I'm only thinking about catastrophic stuff like
a death in our extended family or something.

The trouble is most are throwing in a little medical as part of the deal. Quite often not enough to do any good. What is most important I guess is the reason that you can cancel and get reimbursed. The safest bet is something called Cancel for Any Reason insurance. More here plus some names to research: https://www.usnews.com/insurance/travel/cancel-for-any-reason-travel-insurance

I understand where people get some peace of mind with tickets that can be canceled or changed for free. That’s great. During my best travel days I just wanted to travel, the more the better. For the cost of 2 tickets that I could cancel I could buy 3 that I couldn’t, so I never did the cancelable tickets. As it worked out, over literally hundreds of flights, I had to rebook twice and each time it cost me about $250. So I came out way ahead. But if it’s a one-off trip, a special big deal that wont be repeated for many years, the refundable ticket probably makes sense .... or at least insurance, which I never did either.

The one big ticket item that i did do was to buy hotel rooms on cancelable terms. That adds 15% to 25% to the cost of the room. Probalby wasnt the right thing to do, but I did it for peace of mind. I like nice hotel, part of the experinece for me, and they generally cost a lot more than the air tickets so that was where I protected my investment.

If I understand correctly, you want to have insurance in case of death in the family. Cancel for any reason insurance is very expensive. There are basic insurance plans out there that will cover cancellations due to death in the immediate family that are not as expensive. Take a look at squaremouth and input your criteria and see what you can find.

Also, some airlines will allow cancellation with proof of death certificate. Perhaps not a refund, but many will waive change fees or provide a credit.

I think I book similar to Mr E. My main expense is accommodations that I try and book as refundable. Airline tickets, I'm a Basic Economy traveler and I'm good at getting cheap tickets, so not as worried about that expense.

Our concern has been medical transport and medical costs, and we get annual policies thru Allianz. It’s those huge costs that worry us and that we want to insure.
We also have been getting refundable tickets these past two years, but are not sure if we really need to, it has just put my mind at ease as it seems to be Cancel For Any Reason “insurance”.