There’s a very simple tip for plane tickets, but it’s another one that’s too little-known: never cancel a flight in advance! Even if you’re 100% sure you want to cancel it, there’s no benefit to canceling in advance. And there’s a big benefit to waiting: the tip allows you to try to avoid cancellation or change fees.
We’re obviously talking about plane tickets that aren’t cancelable or changeable for free. Don’t forget that plenty of credit cards offer free cancellation insurance (detailed guide coming) and that plenty of flights can be refunded for free within 24 hours of booking!
If you’ve read our guide on plane ticket fare classes, you know that it almost never makes sense to pay for a ticket that’s cancelable or changeable for free. At least not if you want to save money (it’s way too expensive).
Here’s the waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip.
Overview of the waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip
Unfortunately, we often see people canceling flights in advance, and it’s just not logical when you know the pro tips (regardless of the planned travel date).
Here’s why you should never cancel in advance:
- If you wait, your flight could be changed
- By the airline
- You’d be entitled to a full refund for free
- Because there was an involuntary change
- It would save you from paying cancellation fees
- Which usually don’t change based on the cancellation date anyway
- Schedule changes are very frequent
- Especially if you booked far in advance
- Especially if you’re able to wait until the very last minute to cancel
I’ll be very clear: of course, there’s a good chance you’ll have to pay the cancellation or change fee anyway! But at least you’ll have a chance of not paying it.
Because if you cancel right away, it’s guaranteed that you’ll pay the fee, and therefore it’s not a good idea. Wait!
There are a few details, of course:
- Check the change or refund policy
- Some rare airlines charge more to cancel at the last minute
- Make sure the cancellation can be done online
- This is the case for almost all airlines (it’s 2025)
- Set an alarm so you don’t miss the deadline
- The longer you wait, the more chances you have to avoid the fee
- Manage your ticket reservation to make sure your email address is there
- To receive schedule changes (ALWAYS do this)
- Always book directly with airlines
- Unless it’s really cheaper (it happens)
- All third parties complicate everything, including cancellations
- Forget the tip if you have so little cash that you need the money right away
- Ideally, if you’re traveling, it shouldn’t be that tight
The lack of awareness of this tip certainly comes from the fact that so few people know their rights and recourses when there are situations like schedule changes made by airlines, flight delays, etc.
In short, as soon as there’s a “significant” schedule change, you’re legally entitled to a complete refund! Not a terrible travel credit. The airline is obligated to return the full amount to your credit card!
“Significant” depends on each airline, but to give you an example, I once got a full refund for this schedule change that made me arrive 5 minutes late, which I very seriously described to them as the end of the world when I called them! It costs nothing to try!
How to concretely use the waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip
Let’s say you buy a plane ticket and you need to cancel it (and the reason for cancellation isn’t one of those included in the free cancellation insurance coverage of your credit card, obviously).
For my example, we’ll take my Madrid-Santander flight at the whopping price of $42.
In my case, I never intended to take the flight.
Long story, but it was an incredible promotion that gave 90,000 Avios points, a value of ≈ $982 (CAD 1350) to UNLIMITED. To share just one example, my 12-hour flight in the world’s best business class that was worth $2806 (CAD 3856) cost me 70,000 Avios points and $117 (CAD 161).
We just had to book 10 Iberia flights, without having to take them (very rare). So I booked 10 for about $364, but it ended up costing me under $73 to get 90,000 amazing points thanks to this tip!
The cancellation fee was higher than the ticket price, but even if that hadn’t been the case, I obviously still wouldn’t have canceled it right away! What would be the point of canceling early rather than waiting? There is none!
I would have waited as long as possible.
Voilà, as often happens, I received a schedule change notice.
I called the airline and explained that it no longer worked at all with my plans and that, since the change is involuntary, they owe me a complete refund.
I got the complete refund!
Simple as that.
Each airline is different, but if the change is the least somewhat major, they certainly have to refund you. And many airlines can be convinced that anything is major…
And that refund wasn’t an anomaly. I even got 9 complete refunds for this somewhat particular “trip”!
How can 9 of the 10 flights I had to book for this promo get a schedule change? Is Iberia unreliable?
No… I was just a savvy traveler. I used the same idea behind the flight booking tip below: I booked the flights on the furthest dates possible, as that obviously increases the chances of getting minor schedule changes and therefore getting free refunds!
Link with a flight booking tip
As indicated in our teaser on how to save on plane tickets, you just need to take the time to try the 31 tips one by one. Some will work for some flights.
The waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip affects one booking tip in particular: tip #26, the throwaway ticket tip!
This involves buying a roundtrip even when you only need a one-way… if the roundtrip is cheaper (which really isn’t always the case, as recently explained in the article on the 2 separate one-ways instead of 1 roundtrip).
Well, if you do that, make sure to choose the return as far in the future as possible!
The further it is, the more chances you have that there will be a schedule change by the airline and that you can get a refund that will greatly lower the cost of your ticket!
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Summary
The waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip is simple: if the airline changes your flight schedule, it will legally owe you a complete refund! If you don’t wait, you’re sure to have to pay the cancellation or change fee!
What would you like to know about the waiting before canceling a plane ticket tip? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Santander, Spain (photo credit: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos)
