Check Your Airline’s Transfer Policy
While most airlines do not allow you to transfer your ticket to someone else, some do have more lenient cancellation policies than others, enabling you to change your trip satisfactorily. So be sure to access your airline’s website, specifically the “Reservations” or “Tickets” page, to see their cancellation and transfer rules. It’s possible that you may be able to pay a cancellation fee and then have a ticket reissued in another person’s name, get a refund for an unused ticket, or transfer your ticket to another flight.
How the Top U.S. Airlines Handle Ticket Transfer and Other Change Requests
American Airlines
The largest airline in the U.S., American does not allow passengers to transfer a ticket to another person. However, the airline will let most passengers transfer their tickets to another flight prior to the departure time of their original flight. Depending on several factors such as the type of ticket—economy class, business class or first class—or the customer’s specific needs, there may be restrictions and fees applied to your transferred ticket. Generally, American Airlines will charge you some type of fee to change your ticket in any way.
Delta Air Lines
The second largest U.S. airline, Delta does not allow passengers to transfer a ticket to another person. However, there are situations where you can qualify for a refund of the unused ticket. You can receive a refund for most eTickets purchased directly through Delta. Once you’ve bought a qualifying eTicket, you have a day to cancel it for any reason and receive a full refund—including any prepaid fees and Direct Ticketing Charges—with no cancelation fee. Delta’s ticket change fees range from a high of $500 on the return portion of an international itinerary for Delta-marketed flights to a low of $200 on fares within the 50 United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Delta-marketed flights.
Southwest Airlines
The third largest U.S. airline, Southwest has a passenger-friendly change and cancelation policy. Although the airline doesn’t allow ticket transfers, you are allowed to cancel or change your reservation within 24 hours of making it without paying a ticket change fee. Or you can change your reservation any time before flight time and receive a credit for the full amount of your fare, applicable to future travel within a year of the original reservation. Southwest does not charge a ticket change fee, as their website says, “If you need to change an upcoming flight itinerary, you’ll only pay the cost in the fare difference and will never incur separate change fee. We don’t charge you for changing your mind, your plans, or otherwise.”
United Airlines
The fourth largest U.S. airline, United does not allow passengers to transfer a ticket to another person. Under United’s 24-hour flexible booking policy, if your ticket was purchased through United in the last 24 hours and you completed your purchase one week or more before the original scheduled departure flight, it may qualify for waiver of change or cancellation fees. Basic Economy tickets are not eligible for changes but are eligible for a full refund inside 24 hours of booking as long as you completed your purchase one week or more before the original scheduled departure flight.
Buyer Beware!
In the excitement of booking a flight for your vacation, honeymoon, or business trip, you could easily overlook airlines’ transfer and cancellation policies. Be sure to visit your airline’s website and carefully read about their policies before you buy a ticket. If you’ve purchased your ticket, look for the words “non-refundable and “non-transferable” on it. If you see them, it doesn’t matter how valid your reason is for wanting to change your ticket or request a refund, accept the fact that most airlines will apply all penalties, fees, and increased fares. With rare exceptions, that’s the way airlines work.
