Is it ever worth buying refundable airline tickets? –Submitted by Marie
The great airline debate: get the cheap ticket and adhere to your dates or spend a little more and have the flexibility? The answer to this question lies in your personal circumstances and budget. Here are some factors to consider when making your decision:
- Do you have firm travel dates or do you want to have flexibility? If you have firm commitments on the back end of your trip, say going back to work or school, you probably won’t have the option to extend your trip so a refundable ticket may not be useful. But, if you think you may want to stay longer, you will be able to make changes without a penalty fee.
- Is there a possible reason why you wouldn’t travel? You book a flight months in advance not having an idea what your life holds them. Most of the time, it will be the same but, if you do have circumstances that could impact travel, such as a sick relative, you may consider a refundable ticket and travel insurance to help with last minute changes.
- What’s your budget? Refundable tickets are more expensive. The range varies greatly. Some airlines, like Southwest, which use a pretty simple formula for calculating airfare, make it easy for you to quickly compare the bargain-basement fare to the full fare and restrictions are clearly laid out. But, more often, you will have to craftily navigate the airline’s site to find the difference between deeply-discounted and full-fare. When you do your search, select both fare classes in separate searches to do a side-by-side comparison.
The benefits to booking refundable? Not only can you make changes as needed without penalty but you sometimes earn more frequent flyer miles and/or have a better chance of getting upgraded since they often rank elite members by fare class, in addition to status.
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