My husband and I bought our plane tickets to Italy (April 26-May 7) back in September. Overkill? Probably. But we are who we are, and I'm Type-A. :)
I knew that airfare would probably go down as it got closer, especially on international flights. It didn't much bug me then, because the original amount we paid was still within our budget. BUT, our flights are $1500 cheaper (combined, for two tickets) now than they were when we bought them. That kind of made me depressed. So, I thought I'd get in touch with American Airlines and see what they could do for me (refund the difference, throw some frequent flier miles my way, etc). I figured, what's there to lose? Well, much to my surprise, there's an airline rule I didn't know about (for AA anyways)! Here's the response I got from customer service:
"We manage such fluctuations fairly by offering ticket reissues known as "rollovers" to the lower fare for those ticket holders who qualify. Those customers who already hold tickets may be eligible for a refund of the difference between the price paid and the new discount, provided the lower fare is the same fare category as originally purchased, all associated conditions are met, and travel has not yet begun. If these conditions are met, the customer may be entitled to a refund of the fare difference in the form of a transportation voucher. The applicable change fee will be deducted from that amount at the time the ticket is reissued."
So, bottomline, we "rebooked" at the lower rate. Got charged a $250 fee for that each. But both my husband and I walked away with a $385.80 voucher for American Airlines (free flights, anyone?).
Moral of the story: don't be afraid to ask. We would have never known about that if we didn't ask! :)