{"id":74071,"date":"2020-09-02T10:45:10","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T14:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/?p=74071"},"modified":"2020-09-02T11:22:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T15:22:34","slug":"delta-united-american-airlines-and-alaska-airlines-are-dropping-flight-change-fees-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/?p=74071","title":{"rendered":"Delta, United, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines Are Eliminating Flight Change Fees for Good!"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><a class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/31\/united-airlines-eliminates-change-fees-forever-in-efforts-to-win-customers\/#7da760a4dad8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/31\/united-airlines-eliminates-change-fees-forever-in-efforts-to-win-customers\/#7da760a4dad8\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/31\/united-airlines-eliminates-change-fees-forever-in-efforts-to-win-customers\/#7da760a4dad8\" aria-label=\"United Airlines delivered a disruptive message\">United Airlines delivered a disruptive message<\/a> that it would no longer collect change fees from passengers that wish to change their tickets. This shook the industry, and put the other legacy carriers under pressure to match United\u2019s offer. Sure enough, other carriers have now followed suit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">On Aug. 31, Delta Airlines and American Airlines announced they would eliminate change fees, effective immediately. On Sept. 1, Alaska Airlines did the same.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">While change fees have been eliminated by United, Delta, American and Alaska Airlines, note that the difference in fare between the old ticket and the new ticket will still apply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Here\u2019s what you need to know and how these changes may affect how you fly.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Delta Airlines:<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Delta Airlines has followed United Airlines\u2019 lead by eliminating change fees.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Details Of Delta\u2019s New Change Fee Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This new policy applies to domestic flights, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">For flights booked through the end of the year, you\u2019ll receive a voucher for the difference in cost if you change to a cheaper flight. This applies to flights in 2020 only. Details for flights in 2021 have not yet been announced.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This policy does not apply to award flights booked with Delta SkyMiles. Change fees to award tickets cost $150 but are waived for Delta Platinum and Diamond Medallion members.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">American Airlines:<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">American Airlines said it is eliminating the fees for those flying in first class, business or main economy. However, their changes are a bit more robust than Delta\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Details Of American Airlines\u2019 New Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Basic economy fares will still be subject to change fees after Dec. 31.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">The new policy applies to all domestic flights, and select short-haul international destinations, including between the U.S. and Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Basic economy fares and other international flights are excluded from the new policy.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If you change flights and your new flight is cheaper, you will be given a credit for future use.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">This new policy applies to award tickets that are purchased on or before Dec. 31, 2020. The policy for award tickets purchased after this date has not yet been announced. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Alaska Eliminates Change Fees<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Alaska Airlines announced on Tuesday they are following the pack by eliminating change fees, effective immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Details Of Alaska\u2019s New Policy<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">All Alaska Airlines routes are eligible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">All ticket fares, except basic economy (called Saver), are eligible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">You can change award tickets with no fees. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">How Consumers Will Benefit (And Suffer) From Eliminating Change Fees<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Airlines earned billions of dollars in revenue through these fees, but now that airlines are on the brink of bankruptcy due to the pandemic, they are pulling out all stops to ensure solvency by giving customers more reasons to fly, rather than fewer. On the front, it sounds like a great deal for consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Many customers are, rightfully so, worried about planning travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. These consumer-friendly policies should provide more confidence when it comes to booking upcoming travel. Potential travelers can now book a trip that they hope to take without having to worry whether or not <a class=\"color-link\" title=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/13\/master-list-of-all-major-international-airline-coronavirus-change-and-cancellation-policies\/#6581173c6f11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/13\/master-list-of-all-major-international-airline-coronavirus-change-and-cancellation-policies\/#6581173c6f11\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"InternalLink:https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/08\/13\/master-list-of-all-major-international-airline-coronavirus-change-and-cancellation-policies\/#6581173c6f11\" aria-label=\"COVID-specific change fee waivers\">COVID-specific change fee waivers<\/a> are in place. Keep in mind any change in price between the fares.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Overall, this is a great shift in the industry for travelers. No one enjoys paying extra fees, and certainly not a $200 fee to change dates of travel.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">These 4 airlines now join Southwest who for years have been the only airline not to charge change fees.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Here&#8217;s an excellent breakdown by <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/airline-no-change-fee-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">The Points Guy<\/span><\/a> to illustrate what is and isn&#8217;t included with the changes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-74074\" src=\"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-10.50.29-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"634\" height=\"705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-10.50.29-AM.png 634w, https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Screen-Shot-2020-09-02-at-10.50.29-AM-159x177.png 159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bts.gov\/content\/reservation-cancellationchange-fees-airline-2020\">Bureau of Transportation Statistics<\/a> this is how much each airline collected in fees for changes and cancellations in 2019:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">JetBlue $195 million<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">United $625 million<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Delta $830 million<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">American $818 million <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Alaska $191 million<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">[Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/advisor\/2020\/09\/01\/american-delta-and-alaska-airlines-all-slashing-change-fees\/#615455363d27\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">Forbes<\/span><\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/thepointsguy.com\/guide\/airline-no-change-fee-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;\">Points Guy<\/span><\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>United Airlines delivered a disruptive message that it would no longer collect change fees from passengers that wish to change <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/?p=74071\" title=\"Delta, United, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines Are Eliminating Flight Change Fees for Good!\">&#8230;.. Get This Deal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,124],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-travel","8":"category-tjb-blog"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74071"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74077,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74071\/revisions\/74077"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tjbdeals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}