You book a flight three months in advance for $450, feeling pretty good about securing your seat. Two weeks later, you're scrolling through flight deals and see the exact same flight for $275. Your heart sinks—until you remember that repricing flights might be an option.
In today's dynamic airline pricing environment, flight prices can swing by 50% or more between booking and departure. The good news? Most major airlines now allow you to cancel and rebook when prices drop, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars with just a few clicks. Understanding how to find cheap flights is just the first step—knowing how to reprice them is where the real savings happen.
Quick Answer: Can You Reprice Your Flight?
Yes, you can typically reprice your flight if you find a cheaper fare. Most major U.S. airlines—including Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, and United—allow free changes and cancellations on standard fares. You'll usually receive the price difference as a travel credit rather than cash, and basic economy tickets are generally excluded from this benefit.
Why Flight Repricing Matters More Than Ever
Flight prices have become increasingly volatile, with airlines using sophisticated algorithms that adjust fares based on demand, fuel costs, competition, and even the time of day you're searching. Flight prices can fluctuate by up to 50%, making it crucial to track them if you want to save money.
The pandemic fundamentally changed airline pricing policies. Previously, most carriers charged hefty change fees ($200+ for domestic flights), making repricing rarely worthwhile. Now, major airlines have eliminated most change fees, allowing you to take advantage of price drops.
This shift means travelers can now take advantage of price drops without eating massive fees—as long as you know the rules and avoid common pitfalls.
Understanding Airline Repricing Policies
Major Airline Policies
American Airlines American Airlines does not charge change or cancellation fees on business-class, first-class, premium economy or Main Cabin fares. For cash fares, you'll receive trip credits for the price difference valid for future travel within one year. Consider pairing your American flights with the Citi AAdvantage card for additional benefits and elite status perks.
Delta Air Lines There's no change fee for most tickets originating in the U.S. and Canada, excluding basic economy tickets. Delta allows you to reprice tickets by calling their customer service, with the difference issued as eCredits.
United Airlines United eliminated change fees on most domestic flights, making repricing straightforward. Except for domestic Basic Economy tickets, fares can be refunded in the form of a United travel credit that you can use for future flights.
Southwest Airlines Southwest's policy has become more complicated recently. Southwest replaced Wanna Get Away fares with more restrictive Basic fares. This new fare class restricts changing or canceling its cheapest flights, and flight credits now expire after six months. However, Wanna Get Away Plus and higher fare classes still offer more flexibility.
JetBlue Airways With change and cancellation fees eliminated on most fares except Blue Basic fares, repricing your JetBlue flight for less is possible. Credits are valid for one year and can be used for other passengers.
The Basic Economy Exception
The biggest limitation across all airlines is basic economy fares. These ultra-restrictive tickets typically cannot be changed or canceled without significant fees, if at all. When booking, consider whether the small savings on basic economy are worth losing repricing flexibility. For more insight on choosing between basic economy and standard fares, remember that flexibility often outweighs minimal upfront savings.
Step-by-Step Guide to Repricing Your Flight
Step 1: Track Your Flight Price
Don't rely on memory or luck to find price drops. Set up automated tracking using these tools:
Google Flights Monitor flight prices and make sure you never miss a price change. Effortlessly track prices for specific travel dates or for any dates, if your plans are flexible, to uncover the best deals. Simply search for your route on Google Flights and toggle "Track prices" to receive email alerts.
Hopper App Hopper predicts price changes with 95% accuracy and offers a "Price Freeze" feature. The app will notify you when it predicts the best time to book or rebook.
Going.com Consider signing up for Going.com (formerly Scott's Cheap Flights) to receive alerts about significant price drops on routes you're interested in.
Step 2: Calculate If Repricing Is Worthwhile
Before making changes, determine if the savings justify the effort:
- Price difference: How much will you actually save?
- Credit expiration: Can you realistically use travel credits before they expire?
- Future travel plans: Do you have upcoming trips where you can use credits?
Step 3: Choose Your Repricing Strategy
You have two main options:
Option A: Change Your Existing Reservation Some airlines allow you to modify your existing booking to the lower fare. This keeps your confirmation number and seat assignments but isn't always available.
Option B: Cancel and Rebook Most airlines obfuscate the process. In many cases, they won't even show your original flight as an option when you click to change reservation. Instead, the way is to cancel your original flight, receive flight credit in exchange, and then use it to quickly rebook the new [lower] fare.
Step 4: Execute the Repricing
For Cash Fares:
- Log into your airline account
- Locate your reservation
- Click "Change" or "Cancel"
- Follow prompts to cancel (if changing isn't available)
- Receive confirmation of your travel credit
- Immediately search and book the same flight at the lower price
- Apply your travel credit during checkout
For Award Tickets: Award tickets are generally easier to reprice since airlines typically don't charge redeposit fees for miles. The difference in miles gets returned to your account immediately.
Advanced Repricing Strategies
The One-Way Advantage
Most airlines won't let you cancel just one leg of your itinerary, which makes it challenging to reprice your flights if one leg drops in price after booking. If it's the same price to book two one-way tickets, it's advantageous to book them over a round-trip itinerary so you have more flexibility to change your flights if the price drops on one leg.
Timing Your Price Checks
Most airlines launch their discounts on Monday nights, so you can pick up the best prices on Tuesday mornings. Typically, you'll save somewhere between 15 and 25 percent. Check prices regularly but don't obsess—major drops are relatively rare.
Credit Card Protection Strategies
Smart travelers use travel credit cards not just for earning points, but for built-in protection against price changes and trip disruptions.
Chase Sapphire Cards The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers excellent trip cancellation coverage up to $10,000 per person, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve provides the same coverage plus premium travel benefits.
Capital One Venture X The Capital One Venture X offers up to $2,000 in trip cancellation coverage and has eliminated foreign transaction fees, making it ideal for international repricing scenarios.
American Express Cards Consider the American Express Gold Card for dining and grocery rewards that can help offset travel costs, or the Platinum Card from American Express for comprehensive travel protection and airport lounge access.
Common Repricing Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1: Waiting Too Long
Airlines can remove lower fares without notice. If you see a significant price drop and meet your criteria for repricing, act quickly rather than waiting for an even better deal.
Mistake 2: Forgetting About Seat Assignments
When you cancel and rebook, you lose your original seat assignments. Popular flights may have limited seat availability, especially for free seats.
Mistake 3: Not Reading the Fine Print
Travel credits often come with restrictions:
- Expiration dates (typically 12 months)
- Original traveler restrictions
- Blackout dates or limited availability
Mistake 4: Repricing During Peak Travel
During holidays or major events, lower fares disappear quickly. The time you spend canceling your original booking might be enough for the sale fare to sell out. Understanding when airline prices typically drop can help you time your repricing attempts better.
Mistake 5: Ignoring Ancillary Costs
Consider whether you had paid for extras like seat upgrades, baggage, or priority boarding on your original ticket. These costs might not transfer to your new booking.
Tools and Resources for Successful Repricing
Price Tracking Tools
Free Options:
- Google Flights price tracking
- Airline mobile app notifications
- Basic Hopper alerts
Premium Services: Consider Going.com for comprehensive deal alerts and insider tips on mistake fares that could save you even more than traditional repricing. For frequent travelers, Thrifty Traveler Premium provides curated flight deals directly to your inbox.
Browser Extensions
Extensions like Honey or Capital One Shopping can automatically check for lower prices and coupon codes when you're rebooking, potentially stacking additional savings. These tools work especially well when combined with cashback credit cards for maximum value.
Credit Card Benefits
Beyond trip protection, travel credit cards offer other repricing-friendly benefits:
- No foreign transaction fees for international repricing
- Travel credits that offset annual fees
- Airport lounge access for comfort during rebooking processes
When NOT to Reprice Your Flight
Basic Economy Bookings
If you originally booked basic economy, repricing is usually impossible or prohibitively expensive. The small upfront savings rarely justify losing flexibility.
Small Price Differences
For flights that incur a fee, do the math to determine if paying a change fee is worth the price difference. Generally, price drops under $50-75 aren't worth the effort unless you're certain you'll use the travel credits.
Last-Minute Travel
Within two weeks of departure, available seats at lower prices become scarce. The risk of losing your original booking often outweighs potential savings.
Complicated Itineraries
Multi-city trips, partner airline bookings, or tickets with special accommodations are often harder to reprice. Stick with simple roundtrip or one-way bookings for easier repricing.
Tax and Point Considerations
Cash vs. Points Bookings
Award tickets are generally easier to reprice since most airlines don't charge redeposit fees. If you booked with points, the difference typically returns to your account immediately. According to The Points Guy, this makes points bookings more flexible for repricing scenarios. For strategies on maximizing your point earnings, check out our guide on maximizing your Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Travel Credits and Taxes
Understanding how travel credits work can help you maximize repricing value. Most airlines refund taxes and fees separately from the base fare, which affects how credits can be applied.
Real-World Example: Successful Flight Repricing
Let's walk through a typical scenario:
Original Booking:
- Route: New York to Los Angeles
- Price: $485 roundtrip
- Fare class: Main Cabin (American Airlines)
- Booked: 8 weeks before travel
Price Drop Discovery:
- New price: $298 roundtrip (same flights)
- Discovered: 3 weeks before travel
- Potential savings: $187
Repricing Process:
- Logged into American Airlines account
- Selected "Cancel reservation"
- Received $485 travel credit (expires in 12 months)
- Immediately searched same flights
- Booked at $298 using partial travel credit
- Kept $187 credit for future travel
Result: Saved $187 while maintaining the same flights and gaining future travel credit.
The Future of Flight Repricing
Airlines continue evolving their pricing strategies, with some testing dynamic pricing that adjusts in real-time. Airlines, through these extremely sophisticated pricing and revenue management software systems that they use, have become experts in matching fares to consumers' willingness to pay.
This trend makes price tracking and repricing skills even more valuable for savvy travelers. The airlines that embrace transparency and flexible policies often win customer loyalty over those that maintain restrictive practices.
Final Takeaways
Repricing flights can be a powerful tool for saving money, but success requires understanding airline policies, using the right tools, and timing your moves carefully. Now, when a price drops, you can cancel the flight, get the travel credits, and rebook at the lower cost without incurring any fees—as long as you hadn't booked a basic economy fare.
Key points to remember:
- Most major airlines now allow free changes on standard fares
- Basic economy tickets are typically non-changeable
- Travel credits have expiration dates and restrictions
- Price tracking tools can automate the monitoring process
- Consider travel credit cards for additional protection
The airline industry's shift toward more flexible policies means repricing is easier than ever—but only if you know the rules and act strategically.
Ready to start tracking flight prices for your next trip? Begin by setting up price alerts on Google Flights and consider applying for a travel rewards credit card that offers trip protection benefits. For more ways to save on travel, explore our comprehensive guide to travel hacking strategies. Your wallet will thank you when you catch the next significant price drop.
