How can I avoid airline ticket fees?

I asked aviation and travel experts, and here's what they advised.
  1. Understand your carrier and airfare class first. ...
  2. Fly with an airline that doesn't charge certain fees. ...
  3. Consider using an airline credit card. ...
  4. Use the travel benefits of your credit card. ...
  5. If you're enrolled in a frequent flyer program, check your perks.




People Also Ask

The primary way to avoid paying a change fee on an airplane ticket is to change or cancel the ticket within a day of booking your trip.

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Timing plays an important part. Specifically, plane tickets usually don't get cheaper closer to the departure date. Instead, flights tend to be the most inexpensive when you book between four months and three weeks before your departure date.

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Many airlines have removed change fees however there are still many airlines that charge you to make any adjustments to your flight. This can range between $30 to $100+. In most cases, you'll also need to pay the fare difference between your original flight and your new flight.

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Canceling a nonrefundable fare will result in an eCredit for the full amount paid (minus any cancellation fees, depending on fare type and route). However, if you cancel a refundable ticket, you'll get the amount paid refunded back to your original form of payment.

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Period of Validity for Flight Tickets The airplane ticket you have reserved and its price are valid only for the flight you have reserved. An unreserved airplane ticket and its price are, as a rule, valid for 1 year as calculated from the day after the ticket is issued, as well as the day it is issued.

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An unused airline ticket is usually a non-refundable ticket that the traveler who purchased it is not able to use due to a change in plans. In most cases, “unused” doesn't mean “lost cause”; you can generally get a flight credit or even a refund, depending on the scenario.

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Why do airlines charge those fees? For starters, having an initial lower headline price makes air travel look cheaper, Keyes said. Airfares are taxed differently than fees. Plane tickets – and anything the ticket includes – are subject to a 7.5% excise tax, Keyes said, but that tax excludes optional fees.

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If you know you can't make a scheduled flight, it's better to cancel your flight rather than be a no-show. If you cancel, you might receive a partial or whole credit for the fare purchased, to be applied to a future flight.

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Every major U.S. airline (except Southwest Airlines) typically charges penalty fees to change or cancel an economy fare flight. The fees, however, can vary from as low as $75 on a domestic flight to more than $400 on an international flight.

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Average domestic airfare price by day
  • Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the cheapest days to fly domestically.
  • Saturday and Monday flights can help you avoid the Sunday rush.
  • Wednesdays and Thursdays are the cheapest day to fly internationally.
  • Book one to three months in advance.
  • Set a price alert.


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Airline tickets are at some of the highest prices the industry has seen in a while, but $66,000 for a single plane ticket? That's the price of the world's most expensive commercial airplane ticket, a one-way flight on Etihad Airways from New York City/JFK to Abu Dhabi.

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