A tip that too few travelers know about is the 24-hour free cancellation rule, a policy that exists with several airlines. It allows you to immediately book as soon as you see a flight that interests you, and to have a bit of time to think about it without any risk at all. Very useful!
There are different cancellation and change policy options offered when purchasing a plane ticket, and it makes sense: every traveler has different priorities (saving money or having flexibility). We have a very good overview of this in our ultimate guide on airplane ticket fare classes.
But several major airlines have this 24-hour free cancellation rule that is really very useful and that I use very often myself.
Here’s what you need to know about the 24-hour free cancellation rule for flights.
What is the 24-hour free cancellation rule?
Flytrippers is preparing a more detailed guide on airline cancellation and change policies. Spoiler alert:In over 500 flights, I’ve never paid extra for a more flexible ticket, and you probably shouldn’t either if you want to save money. Pay with a good credit card and you’ll get trip cancellation/interruption insurance for free if you have a good reason to cancel.
But we want to start right away with this tip that you should know. It allows you to do exactly what the name indicates: cancel a plane ticket for free in the first 24 hours, even when it’s not a fare class that is cancelable for free!
Here are the basics:
- Policy that allows you to cancel a flight for free
- Within 24 hours after booking
- Offered by several airlines
- But not all obviously
- List below
- Often excludes last-minute flights
- Specifically departures within the next 7 days
- May apply to flights paid in both cash and points
- Depending on the airline
- Applies only if you book directly on the airline’s website
- Which you should always do anyway
- Never book flights with third parties
- Unless the price is really lower (rare, but it happens)
- Cancellation is usually easily doable online
- Like bookings
- Like other cancellations after 24 hours
- The amount paid is refunded in full
- Directly to your credit card
Not all airlines apply this rule, but there are quite a few that do.
Why does the 24-hour free cancellation rule exist?
Since 2013, the law has made it mandatory to offer the 24-hour free cancellation rule for all flights that involve the United States AND that are booked at least 7 days in advance. But the rule is often offered for other destinations and sometimes for last-minute flights.
It’s simple; at a minimum, it applies to all airlines (U.S.-based or not) if a flight involves a U.S. airport.
A few Canadian airlines have nonetheless taken the initiative to offer an even more generous and less restrictive rule, as have a few U.S. airlines (and other foreign airlines too, but we won’t cover those as there are dozens of them).
The U.S. is not known as a leader in passenger protections, but for this, they are: the 24-hour free cancellation rule is a regulation from the U.S. DOT (Department of Transportation).
Which airlines offer the 24-hour free cancellation rule?
I give you the details by airline below, but I want to start with an overview.
Here’s the list of the most important airlines that offer 24-hour free cancellation:
- Air Canada
- All flights
- All U.S. airlines
- All flights
- All other Canadian airlines
- At least on flights between Canada and the U.S.
- All other airlines from other countries
- At least on flights between their country and the U.S.
Air Canada is by far the largest airline in Canada, so this is very useful. Other Canadian airlines also offer the rule even on domestic routes or non-U.S. international routes where they’re not obligated to, giving you more flexibility there. And U.S. airlines often have the best prices for all destinations on the entire Americas continent other than in Canada, so this can be useful for those who aren’t boycotting them.
(Scared about entering the U.S. with the current fear campaign? We’ll soon share some actual facts and data, along with our 4 experiences entering the country in recent weeks. In my case, for transits on free flights to Asia and tomorrow for a credit card convention booked last year, and in Flytrippers’ co-founder Kevin’s case, to visit his American girlfriend’s family. Sign up for our free newsletter!)
Why is the 24-hour free cancellation rule useful?
It’s extremely useful, both for travel pros who understand the importance of booking quickly and for everyone else (there are still far too many travelers who make mistakes such as misspelling their name or booking the wrong date)!
Here’s what the policy is for:
- Book a deal quickly
- Book an available seat with points quickly
- Correct mistakes made during booking
Book a deal quickly
If you know the basics of how to save money on plane tickets (guide to be updated and improved soon), you know that good deals don’t last long (sometimes just a few hours). That’s really the most basic thing about flight deals!
So the most basic (and simple) tip is to be ready by thinking about your dates and destinations BEFOREHAND.
Ideally. But even if you’ve done that, it’s super convenient to be able to book right away and have 24 hours to confirm that it works for you.
This allows you to book the minute you see a deal that might interest you, because there’s no risk. There’s no point in wasting even 10 minutes thinking about whether you really want the deal if it’s a flight eligible for free cancellation: book it and think about it within 24 hours.
Book an available seat with points quickly
Whether you want to travel in luxury easily in business class or want to travel more often or for fewer points in economy class, airline points that have fixed prices for flights (regardless of the price in cash) are by far the best reward currency.
If you understand the basics, their value is unlimited because prices are limited… and therefore available seats are limited. So you have to book available seats very quickly. And in the case of business class seats with points, you have to book even quicker than you would for a deal in cash because business class seats in points are literally the best deal in the entire travel industry!
So the ability to cancel for free within 24 hours is extremely useful.
I’ll say it as clearly as I can: if you see an available seat that might interest you in the slightest and 24-hour cancellation is free, book the seat immediately! Simple.
For example, with the best airline rewards program for Canadians, Aeroplan, you have 24 hours to cancel any booking made with points!
So like this morning, there’s a direct flight from Montreal to Munich in business class at the guaranteed fixed price of only 60,000 points on Lufthansa on May 28 (that happens to be the exact route I booked for my trip to Europe with my girlfriend for the end of May). BOOK IT right now if you have the slightest desire to go anywhere in Europe on May 28. You have 24 hours to think about it.
I’ll allow myself a brief sidenote to remind you how wonderful this is…
This particular flight is worth $8553!
Here are 5 quick comparisons I want to make so you can see how amazing points of the more lucrative type are… when you follow the simples tips we’ve been sharing for years so you redeem them well!
1: Those who sadly redeem their Aeroplan points on Air Canada instead of partner airlines get barely more than 1¢/pt in value. This flight gives you 14¢/pt!!! Okay, even on partner airlines, in economy class it’s going to be more like ≈ 1.5¢ to ≈ 2¢ in value (but that’s almost always better than the ≈ 1.1¢/pt on Air Canada).
2: Those who buy merchandise like toasters will get ≈ $390 with 60,000 Aeroplan points. When they could get a flight worth $8,553. That’s the extreme difference when you redeem your points right!
3: Those who have Amex points and redeem them so poorly at 1¢/pt would have to pay 855,300 points for this flight… when it costs 60,000 Aeroplan points (Amex points are transferable to Aeroplan at a 1-to-1 ratio).
4: Those who say “Aeroplan points don’t include taxes” would rather save $600 with 60,000 points… than save $8,433 ($8,553 minus $120 in taxes) with 60,000 points. That obviously makes no sense. Knowing how to count is one of the 6 most important things in the world of travel rewards!
5: Those who say “Aeroplan points are more complicated”… are obviously right. It’s more complicated. Of course! But instead of getting $600 in free travel, you get $8,443 in free travel and you can enjoy the ultra-luxurious experience in a lie-flat pod seat… that’s worth making a little effort, isn’t it?
Correct mistakes made during booking
Mistakes happen, of course, but I’m still amazed at how many people don’t triple-check their plane tickets before clicking “Book.” Plane tickets aren’t free to change (after 24 hours), so you need to be careful.
It’s not complicated: your name must be exactly as it appears on your passport. Then double-check your date of birth, your passport information if applicable (number and expiration date), and especially the flight details. It’s very simple, you just need to take a few seconds to do it before booking.
Otherwise, well, at least you have 24 hours to manage your booking and reconfirm everything if free cancellation is offered.
How can I use the 24-hour free cancellation rule?
It’s very simple:
- Check whether the airline offers free cancellation
- In some cases, this also depends on the exact destination
- Book the flight online as usual
- Directly on the airline’s website
- Decide whether you want to keep it
- You have 24 hours
- Cancel the flight easily online in a few clicks
- If you decide not to keep it
- You will receive a full refund
- Directly to your credit card
By the way, if you didn’t know yet that you should never book a flight anywhere other than directly on the airline’s website, you’re really not the only traveler who isn’t aware of this basic tip.
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Technically, the U.S. regulation also applies if you book through a third-party site. But in these cases, it’s much more complicated to get a refund because everything is always more complicated when you have to deal with a third party.
How does the 24-hour free cancellation work for each airline?
Here are the basics for the most important Canadian and U.S. airlines.
Air Canada 🇨🇦
24-hour free cancellation rule at Air Canada:
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Any date
- Even within the next 7 days
- Any payment method
- In cash or in Aeroplan points*
- Easy to cancel online
*If you know the basics of Aeroplan points, you know that booking with partner airlines (NOT Air Canada) gives you the best value. Bookings with partners are also free to cancel within 24 hours!
Porter 🇨🇦
24-hour free cancellation rule at Porter:
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Only flights booked more than 24 hours before departure
- More generous than the 7-day minimum rule
- Any payment method
- In cash or in VIPorter points
- Archaically cancellable by phone only (in cash)*
- Via 1-888-619-8622
- You can cancel online and get a credit
- Easy to cancel online (in points)
*It’s frankly a terrible policy that none of the other airlines here have, so you’ll have to see if that eliminates the benefit of the free cancellation for you. You might be able to cancel for a credit and then call later to change it to a full refund, which at least gives you more time to call; the website isn’t clear and Flytrippers has reached out to confirm.
WestJet 🇨🇦
24-hour free cancellation rule at WestJet:
- Only between Canada and the United States
- Not all destinations
- Only flights booked more than 7 days before
- Not all dates
- But you can get a credit if your flight is 1-7 days out
- No credit if you book less than 24 hours before departure
- Any payment method
- In cash or in WestJet points
- Easy to cancel online
Flair 🇨🇦
24-hour free cancellation rule at Flair:
- Only international flights (non-U.S. included)
- Not Canadian domestic flights
- Only flights booked more than 7 days before
- Not all dates
- Only flights paid in cash
- They don’t have points
- Like most ULCCs
- Easy to cancel online
Air Transat 🇨🇦
24-hour free cancellation rule at Air Transat:
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Only flights booked more than 7 days before
- Not all dates
- Only flights paid in cash
- They don’t have points
- Hence their 6 years of financial losses
- Relatively easy to cancel online
- Via a special form
Delta 🇺🇸
24-hour free cancellation rule at Air Canada:
- More than 24 hours actually
- Until the end of the day on the day after you booked
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Any date
- Even within the next 7 days
- Any payment method
- In cash or in Delta SkyMiles
- Easy to cancel online
American 🇺🇸
24-hour free cancellation rule at American:
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Only flights booked more than 2 days before departure
- More generous than the 7-day minimum rule
- Any payment method
- In cash or in AAdvantage miles
- Easy to cancel online
Southwest 🇺🇸
24-hour free cancellation rule at Southwest:
- Any destination
- They don’t fly to Canada though
- Any date
- Even within the next 7 days
- Any payment method
- In cash or in points
- Easy to cancel online
Other U.S. airlines 🇺🇸
24-hour free cancellation rule at airlines that apply the law with no modifications (United, Alaska, jetBlue, Sun Country, Spirit, Frontier, Breeze, Avelo, etc.):
- Any destination
- Not just between Canada and the United States
- Only flights booked more than 7 days before
- Not all dates
- Any payment method
- In cash or in points
- Easy to cancel online
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Summary
The 24-hour free cancellation rule is a tip that allows you to book flights risk-free, so you can think about it. Air Canada and all U.S. airlines allow this on all flights, which sometimes makes them a better option at an equal price. Other Canadian (and international) airlines usually offer it only on flights involving an U.S. airport.
What would you like to know about the 24-hour free cancellation rule for flights? Tell us in the comments below.
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