Rebooked a flight 3 times because I ignored the 24 hour rule

I booked a cheap flight from Denver to Portland last month and found a better deal 2 days later. Tried to cancel but the airline said I missed the 24 hour grace period by 40 minutes. Had to pay a $75 change fee each time I rebooked. Ended up spending $150 extra in fees before I just kept my original ticket. Anyone else forget about that free cancellation window?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorb172mo ago

and the worst part is they probably bank on people forgetting about that 24 hour window. I mean, that's literally their business model with those cheap fares, right? I had a similar thing happen with a trip to Seattle last year, booked it on a Friday night after a few beers (bad idea, I know) and woke up Saturday morning realizing I had the wrong dates. Called them at like 9:30 AM and they said sorry, you booked at 10:15 PM on Friday so you're technically 45 minutes past the window. It's such a dumb technicality because nobody checks the exact minute they booked, they just think "oh I did it last night." Ended up eating a $50 change fee just to fix the dates, which totally killed any savings from the original cheap ticket.

lopez.karen1mo ago

I dunno, is it really that serious? Ive booked plenty of cheap fares and never had an issue with the 24 hour thing. But maybe I just check my confirmation email right away. Seems like a lot of people book stuff half asleep or drunk and then blame the airline. Most companies will give you a one time courtesy fix if you call and ask nicely. And $50 to change dates on a cheap ticket isnt the end of the world. A lot of full fare tickets have change fees way worse than that.

iris5742mo ago

Ugh, that's the worst. I fell for the same thing with a flight to Chicago, booked it late one night and realized the next afternoon I had the wrong airport. By the time I called, the 24 hours were up by like an hour and I had to pay a $75 fee. It's such a scam because you think you have all day but really it's down to the minute.