Another $680 Question

Looks like the sale is over.

Unfortunately, this seems like a moot point now since the sale has passed. There will be other sales - there are flash sales every year (usually 3 day sales to drum up demand and make folks act fast). I would not obsess over this. I know, it's tempting to think it will never happen again...but it will happen again if you're patient and on the lookout. With change fees (they are at least $200 now, not $100), you'd save about $200 - let's say $300 to be overly generous. There are more ways than one to cut $300 out of your budget annually - flight fares are only one possible way. There are many others. Time to get creative and identify all the ways you can to save that same amount over a year. Why buy something relatively expensive, even at a discount, that you know already doesn't meet your needs due to timing issues? That doesn't seem rational to me.

That's an interesting question! I have no idea what you could or could not do as far as changing your ticket. The last few years we have paid around $1400-1550 per person and generally travel with three people. I found $650 tickets on that United sale for us from SFO to Paris nonstop! If we were conservative and used $1400 as a typical cost our flight would be $4200. With the sale it would be $1950. If we paid $300 to change the ticket we would still save $1350!

I wonder if you bought the ticket to be used only Aug -March (under their restrictions of the sale) if they would allow a change in the ticket? They may know and not allow that change.

Obviously we know the sale is over, but I do wonder about Tony's question. Could you buy and change the ticket for another time?

Tony, I know you say you are not trying to sound cheap, but I am cheap, so I want to know the answer too!

I've never needed to change an airline ticket, but my understanding, based on what I've read, is that you pay not only the change fee but the difference in the cost of the flight from the original to the new dates. If this were not the case, wouldn't we all be buying bargain-basement tickets for January, then paying the change fee to use them between May and September?

Tony,
With the disclaimer, that you would have to check with the airline just to clarify what change fees (if they do allow changes) apply to your ticket, as a very broad-based basis and speaking very generally (not specifically), here is how it has worked in the past:

If someone booked a ticket in a fare class that allowed for future changes,

the person would be charged a $250 or $300 change fee (varies by airlines and by ticket class),

then you would be issued a credit that could then be applied to a future booking (usually must be used within a year),

then (here's the biggie) you would then apply that credit to whatever the cost would be of the tickets for fare at that time. You would not be able to just travel at whatever the fare was listed at the time you originally booked the ticket.

For instance if you paid $680, then told the airline you could not go, so you were then clipped (let's say) $300) the change/rebooking fee (IF they allow that on your fare class), then you would have a credit of $380 (for instance), then you could apply that $380 toward a ticket next year. But, let's say that when you go to book your ticket next year, you see that the fare has jumped to $1780 per person, then you would have to pay the $1400 cost difference as you apply your credit of $380.

If the fare is only $780 next year, then you would have to pay $400 and then apply your credit of $380.

I would advise ONLY booking such a fare IF you really plan to use for the travel period covered by the sale.

Now let's talk about the reverse:
Let's say you paid $1780 this year, and something happened that you could not travel, so you called the airline, got a credit of $1480, then next year you see a promo for $680 (as long as the airline allows you to apply your credit to that fare class, and things can change in the future), then you would still have a credit of $600 that could apply to yet another trip within the designated time frame.

Hope that helps.

But, ALWAYS make sure you understand whether or not future changes are allowed. Sometimes the airline language will say no, but then exceptions MIGHT be made in certain dire circumstances, but not for willy-nilly...gosh, I wanted to take advantage of your great sale and then hope to apply that deal to next year. Current pricing always applies.

You would normally pay the fee to change the ticket, then pay the difference between the credit and the new price when you plan to fly. You still pay the current fare, not the old, cheap fare. The old price is no longer valid.

Paul

I don't believe there is any ticket no matter what class/category that is not changeable (albeit for a steep fee). That would be just too much if a person could recover $0 from a purchased ticket. Every ticket has some residual value, but as has been stated before, airlines make it quite unprofitable to change dates/times. I remember when change fees were $100, then $150, and now they've shot up past $200 especially for international travel. That's why I prefer Southwest for domestic travel - no change fees, but fare differential still applies. I think that's fair.

I think you are looking at "domestic change" fees and thinking they are the same for Europe. And that's not always true.

For example, on Delta I think it's $125 or $150 to change a cheap domestic fare ticket. And yes, if there are seat sin your "fare class' then that's all you pay.

For international, that same change is at least $400! Bringing your $680 flight to at least $1,080

In addition, they sometimes use "special" codes for these cheap fares and there won't be any seats on the more popular flight you want... so then you are paying $680 plus the change fee, plus the fare increase... all of which is probably higher then that $1,100.