Delta Fare went down. Can I get a refund?

[Ron G.]

I just booked a July trip a few days ago and the fare dropped $70 today.

Looking at their website, it looks like there's a $250 change fee on international, non-refundable tickets. I just wanted to verify here that I can't "buy down" my ticket if the fare decreases.

(Don't get me wrong, I'm still happy to be booked. Just trying to learn the ropes.)

By the way, this is one reason I love Southwest. No change fees!

Ron

 

[judydivescoz]

You can call and beg but most likely you will pay what you paid unless you are willing to pay the change fee. Sounds like you got a pretty good deal on your fare even with the change in price. Two years ago I booked a R/T flight to visit my husband in South Africa (he was there on business)thru his companys travel department.
the fare dropped over $600 in a matter of a few days (it was Delta) and the travel department was able to get me the new fare with no penalty. I was extremely lucky, I do not think that me alone could have gotten that done without paying the fee but it proves it can be done.

 

[njones259]

Probably not much luck Ron,but is always worth a try.Really luck of the draw just can't let it eat at you.If you booked at Orbitz I always find them difficult to deal with and they will tell you to contact the airline directly.My wife just booked an award on US Air for July to Coz and it was 40,000 miles for coach or 30,000 miles for first.Guess which one she picked.Just relax and go have fun there will always be a good fare,they are just getting harder to find.Remember to check Flyertalk at least 2 or 3 times a day and always go straight to Miles and Points forum.

 

[Ron G.]

njones,

Geez, I have so much to learn....

Don't worry, I'm not fretting about it. I haven't been on a dive trip since last December, and when I booked the July trip last weekend, my general mood immediately rose. I love having a great trip to look forward to.

What should I be checking flyertalk daily? I see it's an airline-oriented forum. Are you saying that others often spot great deals and post them there?

Finally, I have several hundred thousand miles with US Air, but have never taken a trip with them using the miles. I considered booking one of my Coz trips using miles.....the off-peak miles to Coz is 25,000, they were gonna charge me 80,000! Maybe flyertalk will have pointers on using US Air miles, too.

Thanks for your help.

Ron

 

[njones259]

Flyertalk is a site geared towards us wierd people that do milage runs for frequent flyer miles.We usually try to stay at around 2 to 3 cents per mile to call it a milage run.If you are interested read all sticky's and alot of it is coded so not really user friendly.Where I sent you to Miles and Points and then click milage runs will list airports and deals to other airports.
When you really get into milage runs you will learn how to drop many fuel surcharges to make European and Asian runs cheaper.The site is not the friendliest in the world to ask questions,you must take the time to read posts and do research.

 

[Mossman]

You can also glean information from FlyerTalk on how best to use your US Air miles. I can't help you since my miles are with Continental, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to book the flights to destinations you want, it's just a matter of how many miles you're willing to spend and how you want to get there. I notice that US Air has four tiers on their mileage chart, while CO just has two: EasyPass and SaverPass. For CZM, I'm guess you were looking at the Caribbean chart which lists an "Off Peak" coach fare of 25,000 miles. However, I bet US Air considers CZM to be in Mexico and there is no Off Peak rate for Mexico. The 80,000 they quoted you was the High rate. The trick is to get something better than the High rate so you could at least knock the fare down to 60,000 (Medium) or 35,000 (Low).

On CO, if I'm willing to pay the Easy rate (60,000 miles, corresponding to US Air's Medium), I can fly when and how I want. On the other hand, finding flights using the Saver rate (35,000 miles, corresponding to US Air's Low) can be more difficult if not impossible. For instance, getting a Saver rate on first class tix with several months notice (60,000 on CO), caused me to book three legs from ONT to CZM, the first two on US Air. The only way I could find any seats on the more direct flights (1 stop in IAH) would be to use the Easy rate and I make a personal point to never use the Easy rate unless, I suppose, it were a matter of life and death. By maneuvering my schedule to accommodate the Saver rate, I'm basically flying first-class for what it would normally cost me to fly in coach on the Easy Rate. On the other hand, if adding a second stop en-route causes me to miss a connection, I'm screwed, so it's not only a PITA to "save" miles but it adds risk as well.

Check FlyerTalk's US Air board for tips on how to get the lower tier rates, though it will take a lot of reading and searching if you're new to the game - it really is a game of chance since airline fares, both paid and mileage, are so unpredictable. IMO, the best use of several hundred thousand miles would be to book first/business-class seats to Asia for a mind-blowing dive (and cultural) trip. Since the flights are so long and so expensive, you really get your "miles worth" versus short domestic flights.

 

[jrwalsh20]

one thing i have learned (the hard way) is after i book a flight never ever look at what the price is after the fact unless you know you booked rock bottom prices. I had to fly to NJ a few weeks ago (trip was planned for months) was planning on driving until i just happen to look about 8 days before the trip. Airfare had been 500-600 for months for this one day it was 180, i obviously booked it, next day 560. The flip side to that coin is last summer wen to Europe paid 1400 per person, 2 weeks later it was only 1000 for the same dates. After i book i never look anymore.

Enjoy your trip to Coz, you will have a great time.

 

[k374]

fares are always fluctuating and no you cannot get the reduced fare, but it's pointless fretting about it since it could've gone UP instead of down as well, no way to predict it.