A guide to canceling flights with U.S. airlines

05 Aug 2025 · 9 MIN READ

There are a number of reasons why business travelers may need to cancel their flights. Illnesses, rescheduled meetings, or disrupted transportation may cause plans to change at short notice.
But with many airlines and differing policies, it can be stressful to figure out what to do depending on who your flights were booked with. 
This guide explores the major U.S. airlines and their policies, with information on how travel managers can cancel or change flights for their team.

Can I cancel my flight and get a full refund?

If you want to cancel a flight for yourself or on behalf of those traveling, it will depend on the airline and how soon before the scheduled flight you cancel, and you might get charged a fee, which will be different for each company.
Generally, most U.S. airlines will allow you to cancel a flight, but different rules will apply. Luckily, though, most of these can usually be canceled conveniently online. 
Most airlines will also have a nonrefundable fare, which is commonly booked, and in this instance, travelers will likely receive a credit or voucher for a future flight instead of a full refund. 
Checking the cancellation policy for the airline you have booked is crucial for both the travelers and travel managers to know, but it is also worth utilizing a solution like FlexiTravel to get much more freedom to cancel. 
With FlexiTravel, you can cancel your plans up to two hours before flying, and still be eligible for an 80% refund.

Cancellation policies for the major U.S. airlines

We’ve compiled the policies for each major airline in the US and the potential fees incurred if you cancel a flight.
Airline
Free cancellation
+24h typical charges
Credit/Refund Policy
Alaska
Within 24 hours
No fee; Saver fares: 50% credit if ≥14 days before
Main/First: full credit; Saver: 50% if >14 days; No-show = no refund
Allegiant
Within 24 hours and 7 days before the flight
$25/person/segment; no credit if <7 days before
Voucher if ≥7 days before; no credit if <7 days
American
Within 24 hours and 2 days before the flight
No refund/change for nonrefundable fares after 24h
Unrestricted: full refund/change; others: credit only if canceled within the window
Delta
Within 24 hours
Fees $99–$400; no fee for Main Classic and above
eCredit minus fee; Basic Econ: $99–$199 fee
Frontier
Within 24 hours and 7 days before the flight
$99 cancel fee (unless higher fare); changes: $49–$99
Credit minus fees; Diamond Elite: free cancel up to 24h before
JetBlue
Not stated
Blue Basic: $100 (NA/CA/Caribbean), $200 (other)
Travel credit (minus fee) for Blue Basic; others have no fee
Southwest
Up to 10 minutes before your departure time
No fees for changes/cancellations
Refund for Anytime/Business; credit for others
United
Not stated
Free cancellation for many routes; Basic Econ: partial refund
Flight credit for most; partial refund for Basic Econ
Person with curly hair in orange shirt watches airplane flying in clear blue sky, with trees and buildings in the background.

Alaska Airlines

You can cancel or change an Alaska Airlines flight within 24 hours of buying your tickets for a full refund, with no fees. After this time, you are still able to cancel or change your flights with no fees, and all fare types are eligible for some sort of credit. 
For Main Cabin and First Class fares, you'll receive the full amount paid as a certificate towards future flights. For Saver fares, you'll only receive a 50% credit of the ticket value, and the flight must be canceled at least 14 days before the departure of the first flight on the ticket. 
All refunds are subject to the no-show policy, which states that if you do not cancel or change your flight before it leaves, you will get the flight (including return) automatically canceled, and on non-refundable flights, no credit or money back will be given. 
All credit given after canceling a flight is valid for 12 months from the issue date of your original ticket, or 30 days from the date of cancellation, whichever is greater.

Allegiant Airlines

If you cancel or change an Allegiant flight within 24 hours of booking and seven days before departure, you’ll be able to do so without any fees, and if you cancel, you will be able to get a full refund. 
If you are canceling after 24 hours, but still seven days before departure, you’ll get a credit voucher for future travel (valid for up to one year from the original booking date) and have to pay a fee. The fee also applies if you want to change your flight. If not within seven days, the airline won’t give you a credit voucher, and you’ll lose your money. 
The fee for canceling or changing a flight is $25 per person, per segment, which refers to one takeoff and one landing. 

American Airlines

For nonrefundable fares, American Airlines’ policy notes that travelers only have 24 hours from the time the flight ticket is purchased, and at least two days before departure, to make changes or cancel for a refund. 
To do this, travelers must either log in to their AAdvantage account or use the confirmation code received upon booking. There will be an option to ‘change trip’ or ‘cancel trip’, where you can follow the steps on the pages.
American Airlines also offers an ‘unrestricted fare’ which is fully refundable. You can also make any changes to these bookings with no fee.

Delta Airlines

With Delta, you can cancel your flight and get a full refund if you do so within 24 hours of booking. 
After this, if you have booked a non-refundable Delta flight , you can cancel your ticket before your flight for an eCredit, minus any applicable fees, and this will expire after one year from the purchase date. 
The fee for changing or canceling your flight depends on the origin and destination of the flight, as well as the fare type, and can range from no cost to $400. 
Some ticket types that don’t have cancellation fees include the Delta Main Classic, Delta One, Delta First, Delta Premium Select, and Delta Comfort for flights originating in the US and Canada to anywhere in the world. Delta Main Basic (economy) is excluded from this. 
When canceling a Delta Main Basic fare for travel originating in the U.S. or Canada to the Caribbean, Central America, or Mexico, the fee is $99. For all other routes, the cancellation fee is $199. Unfortunately, basic economy flights originating in Mexico cannot be canceled.

Frontier Airlines

Unless you have purchased an economy, premium, or business fare from Frontier Airlines , you will be charged a $99 fee per direction for canceling a flight. 
When canceling a flight, you'll receive a credit for the price paid minus the fee, and you'll need to use this credit within 90 days of receiving it. This means you need to book it within 90 days, but you can travel past the expiration date. 
If you want to cancel your flight 24 hours after booking (and the flight is more than seven days away), you may qualify for a full refund. And, Diamond Elite members can cancel up to 24 hours before departure for a refund.
If you want to change your flight for another Frontier flight, you won’t be charged a fee, as long as it is 60 days or more before your flight. After this, you will be charged $49 per direction if changed 59 to seven days prior, and $99 for flights changed six days or less. 

JetBlue Airways

Except for JetBlue’s Blue Basic fare, there are no change or cancellation fees, which includes Blue, Blue Plus, Blue Extra, and Mint fares. 
For Blue Basic, you'll receive the entire amount paid back as a JetBlue Travel Bank credit, which expires 12 months from the original booking date. These credits are nontransferable, but you can use a credit to book for another passenger from within your JetBlue account.
The cancellation fee for these fares is either $100 or $200, depending on the route. For routes in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, the fee is $100 per person. For all other routes, the fee is $200 per person. You'll still receive a travel credit (minus the fee) for these reservations.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest offers a generous cancellation policy , with the ability to cancel or change your flight and get either a full refund or credit for a future flight, which can be done as late as 10 minutes before your departure time. 
Anytime and Business Select fares are fully refundable, so if you need to cancel one of these fares, you'll receive a full refund.
For non-refundable fares, you’ll receive either a flight credit or a transferable flight credit, which has specified expiration dates if you booked or voluntarily changed your flight on or after May 28, 2025.
Trip credits issued for canceled basic economy fares will now expire after six months. Other trip credits will expire after one year.

United Airlines

For United flights that are not economy fare, you can cancel for free if you are traveling within the US (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Mexico, or on any international flight that starts in the US. 
With these flights, you’ll receive a flight credit for the value of the price paid when you cancel, which expires one year from the date the credit was issued. 
If you travel with basic economy tickets and your plans change, you can cancel and get a partial refund.

How cancellations affect business bookings

Flying for business can be stressful enough without adding an unexpected cancellation .  
There might be a meeting that’s no longer happening, an employee might be sick, or the trip might simply not be needed. Whatever the reason, employees or travel managers can both benefit from flexible business travel.
Our guide to adapting to unexpected travel disruptions details some useful tips that businesses can use to ensure their travelers have peace of mind if a trip needs to be canceled. Some of these are listed below:

How to avoid business flight cancellations

Checking the cancellation policies

Choosing an airline that offers the best cancellation policies is a great place to start when booking business travel, and here at Perk, we make it easy to find and book with airlines that offer the best flexible terms. 
And for extra reassurance, you can use FlexiTravel to get much more freedom to cancel. With this, you are able to cancel your plans up to two hours before flying, and every aspect of your travel booking (flight, train, car, hotel) is eligible for an 80% refund.

Use a flexible booking tool

Employees and travel managers are busy people, so if a business trip needs to be changed or canceled, the last thing they want is to deal with customer support at various companies when they have a busy workload.
You can use Perk to easily and quickly change flights or accommodation in our app , online, or on mobile. 

Get travel insurance

This sounds like an obvious one, but insisting on having travel insurance will create a more stress-free travel experience.
We’ve created a helpful guide on what to include in travel policies , which details why including travel insurance is beneficial to both the employees and the business. 

Be prepared for business travel

When arranging for employees to travel for business, it is important that both the travel manager and employee are knowledgeable about their chosen airline’s cancellation policies. 
And we know that these policies can be confusing, and that planning business travel can be stressful, so opting for a single travel management platform like Perk can help anyone traveling for work feel at ease in case they need to cancel or change plans. 
To learn more about how Perk can help with business travel, book a demo to see the platform in action.

Written by

Nick Roberts
Nick Roberts

Growth Marketing Director

Nick Roberts is Growth Marketing Director at Perk, where he brings deep experience from high-growth tech to the world of business travel. With a sharp commercial lens, he’s focused on helping modern companies travel better.
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