Delta Flight Change and Cancellation Policies
Policies for changing or canceling your Delta flight, If you’re planning to fly Delta, here’s what you need to know about changing and canceling your flight, as well as their Delta 24-hour cancellation policy.
Delta doesn’t have a blanket policy on changing or canceling your flight—it can vary based on the type of ticket you’ve purchased:
As per Delta Cancellation Policy, If you bought a refundable ticket, Delta allows certain changes and cancellations without penalty up to 24 hours after you purchase your ticket, as long as your flight is at least seven days away. The change fee would then be waived for any subsequent changes or cancellations.
If the ticket is non-refundable but you’ve bought travel insurance or the Ticket Protection Plan through Delta, some changes are allowed for a fee (usually $200) and may also require you to pay any difference in fare between your old and new flights.
If none of the above applies, you’re usually out of luck since no changes are allowed with a nonrefundable ticket. You can apply for an exception, however, if there has been a death in the family or if you or someone traveling with you has been seriously injured; this will require proof of death or injury and an explanation of how it affects your ability to travel according to the original plans.
Delta will let you change or cancel your flight for free, with a few exceptions. Here are the details:
- You’re allowed to make changes or cancellations for any reason (in other words, there’s no specific list of circumstances that qualify you for a fee waiver)
- The only time you’ll have to pay a fee is if you purchased a cheap Basic Economy ticket. In that case, you’d have to pay Delta’s “Flight Change Fee” which is up to $200 per ticket plus any difference in fare amount (if there is one).
- Your free cancellation/change can be done online, over the phone, at an airport kiosk, or at the Delta ticket counter. You can also use their mobile app.
Delta flight change and cancellation Fees
You can cancel or make changes to your flight without penalty if you do so within 24 hours of booking. After 24 hours, you’ll be charged a fee of $200. If the ticket is non-refundable, the $200 fee will be deducted from the overall amount refunded.
Any changes made after 24 hours will incur additional fees. To give an example, if you are flying one way in a seat with the basic economy fare on domestic flights, it will cost $200 to change your flight after 24 hours. For flights with regular economy seating, it will cost $200 to make any changes within 60 days or less than 7 days of departure, or $500 for all other times.
If you’re flying internationally and have basic economy seating, there are no refunds for cancelling your flight after 24 hours of booking. For international flights with regular economy seating, fees range from $500 to $750 for cancelling up to 7 days prior to departure and up to 2 hours prior to departure respectively.
Any ticket during the 24-hour risk-free cancellation period
- Delta change fees: No change fee. Basic Economy tickets cannot be changed. Cancel and book a new flight instead.
- Delta cancellation fees: No cancellation fee — includes Basic Economy. Receive a full refund to your original payment method.
Refundable ticket
- Delta change fees: No change fee
- Delta cancellation fees: No cancellation fee. Receive a full refund to your original payment method.
Basic Economy
- Delta change fees: No changes allowed
- Delta cancellation fees: Fees of $99 to $199, the remainder of the ticked refund issued as eCredit.
Nonrefundable ticket
- Delta change fees: None for flights within the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For travel outside these areas, fees are $0 to $500, depending on origin and fare type.
- Delta cancellation fees: No cancellation fee for flights originating in North America to anywhere in the world.
Award ticket
- Delta change fees: None
- Delta cancellation fees: None for the main cabin and above. Basic Economy award cancellation fees are 9,900 to 19,900 miles.
Delta’s 24-hour risk-free cancellation
To make changes or make cancellations to your reservation, please call the following number: 1-800-DELTA-AIR.
If you booked your reservation online, you can also make changes to your ticket by logging into your Delta account.
Changes and cancellations are permitted within 24 hours of making a reservation, as long as the flight is at least three days away. If you make changes or cancel within 24 hours of booking, you will receive a refund for the full amount of the ticket.
Your refund will be applied to the original form of payment used to purchase the ticket. Please note that if you purchased Basic Economy fares, we are unable to change or cancel these reservations through our Customer Care team.
If you wish to change your travel itinerary after the 24-hour period has passed, standard change and cancellation fees may apply.
Standard change and cancellation fees will vary based on a number of factors including (but not limited to) fare type purchased, when changes are made in relation to departure date, and the route is flown. Please visit the delta fees page for a full list of fees associated with changes and cancellations on Delta Air Lines flights.
Delta Airlines Refundable ticket change and cancellation policy
If you purchased a refundable ticket, you may make changes or cancel your trip up to one day before departure. You will not pay a change fee (up to $200 per round-trip ticket) but may have to pay a fare difference if the reassigned ticket is more expensive than your original ticket.
If the reassigned ticket is cheaper than your original, you will be refunded the difference in price.
If you’re unable to make your trip, you can request a refund of your unused tickets up to one day before departure. You will receive a full refund less any applicable fees.
If you’re planning on cancelling your trip with less than one day until departure time, the refund policy depends on whether the flight was booked directly through Delta Airlines—in which case it would be subject to our standard refund policy—or if it was booked through a third-party service provider—in which case, cancellation fees vary by provider and are typically nonrefundable.
Delta Basic Economy change and cancellation policy
Basic Economy fares offer a lower price but do not allow changes or refunds.
If you are ticketed on a Basic Economy fare, you may cancel your itinerary within 24 hours of booking without penalty. After 24 hours, all Basic Economy tickets are non-refundable and no changes can be made to your itinerary. For international itineraries including travel to/from Canada, the cancellation period is 4 days for Basic Economy tickets.
Within 24 hours of booking (or 4 days for international itineraries including travel to/from Canada), if you don’t cancel your itinerary, no fare difference will be collected if you change your itinerary before departure. After this period, you will be responsible for any difference in fare between the original fare paid and the current fare plus any applicable fees collected by Delta and/or third-party vendors.
Exception: If the original ticket was purchased at delta.com or the Fly Delta app, then an exception to this policy will be granted for cancellations and changes to your itinerary within 12 hours of ticketing as long as all travel is at least 7 days away from the date of purchase.
- The change fee for Delta Basic Economy is $200 per ticket.
- The cancellation fee for Delta Basic Economy is $200 per ticket, with a minimum of $200.
- Delta Basic Economy passengers may cancel their tickets at no charge up to 24 hours before departure and receive a full refund if the ticket was purchased at least seven days in advance.
Delta non-refundable ticket change and cancellation policy
Non-refundable tickets are the cheapest tickets available at the time of purchase. They make sense for those who are sure they will travel on the dates and times they have purchased.
If you purchase a non-refundable ticket, you can still change or cancel it as long as you do so within 24 hours of booking. If this is the case, you’ll be refunded in full to your original form of payment. Otherwise, non-refundable tickets cannot be refunded or cancelled after that point.
You may still choose to change your flight with the standard change fee if any, plus the difference in fare if necessary. You can do this from your account page on Delta’s website.
Delta award ticket change and cancellation policy
Change your award ticket
If you need to change your Delta award travel, you can make one change without paying a fee if you do it at least 72 hours before your flight. If you’re changing your trip within 72 hours of departure, or after your flight has departed, you’ll have to pay $150 (or 10,000 SkyMiles) per person per direction.
Cancel your award ticket
If you cancel an award ticket online at least 72 hours before departure, you’ll be refunded the full value of your ticket. If the reservation was made more than 72 hours before departure and you want to cancel it in person or over the phone with a customer representative, there will be no fee for cancellation.
If you’re canceling an award ticket less than 72 hours before departure, there will be a $150 (or 10,000 SkyMiles) cancellation fee per person per direction.
Delta award ticket change and cancellation policy are as follows:
- If you want to cancel a non-refundable ticket, you will be charged a $150 fee. However, if you want to cancel an economy-class ticket, which normally costs 20,000 miles, the fee is only $50.
- If you change or cancel your award ticket within 72 hours of booking it and if your flight is at least 7 days away, then the cancellation fee will be waived.
- If you have a Delta SkyMiles credit card, then there is no same-day change fee on any type of ticket.
- When changing an award ticket, any difference in mileage between the original ticket and the new one will be collected in miles.
- You can make changes online or over the phone by calling Delta reservations at 1-800-221-1212.
How to change or cancel your Delta flight
If you want to change or cancel your Delta flight, it’s not as easy as it is with other airlines. Here’s how to do it.
Delta Air Lines offers two types of changes and cancellations:
Changes — changing your flight information before you book a trip through Delta’s website or mobile app. This includes changing departure dates, times, airports, and destinations while still purchasing the same ticket type and fare class. Changes are free if done at least 24 hours before departure, but there may be fees if made after that time.
Cancellations — Canceling flights within 24 hours of booking or purchasing tickets through the airline’s website or mobile app; cancelling tickets purchased through an airline partner (like Expedia) or outside travel agencies; and cancelling tickets purchased via a third-party travel agent. The cost varies based on when you make the cancellation request, but generally costs more than $100 per ticket to cancel in advance of departure.