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Some U.S. airlines extend June 30 deadline to waive change fees

Stephanie Asymkos
·Reporter
·4 min read

For many U.S. airlines, June 30 signaled the end to policies that allowed customers to change their travel plans that were interrupted by COVID-19 for no charge.

Three airlines are extending those deadlines.

Alaska Airlines and Delta extended their purchase by windows to July 31, 2020, and American Airlines to Sept. 30, 2020.

Since the pandemic began, airlines have been allowing customers the luxury of rebooking their flights for future travel for up to two years from their original travel date and waiving the associated fee as a one-time consideration, depending on when flights were purchased.

But not all airlines are extending their deadlines and Tuesday may be your last chance to make a change for free. If your 2020 travel plans were interrupted by COVID-19, check with the airlines to see how you can rebook your ticket.

Passengers are welcomed on a Corendon plane departing from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to Bulgaria's Burgas airport, on June 26, 2020, on the first holiday flight by the travel company since the novel coronavirus in March. (Photo by Jeffrey GROENEWEG / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by JEFFREY GROENEWEG/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Passengers are welcomed on a Corendon plane departing from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to Bulgaria's Burgas airport, on June 26, 2020, on the first holiday flight by the travel company since the novel coronavirus in March. (Photo by JEFFREY GROENEWEG/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

Alaska Airlines

  • Tickets purchased Feb. 27 to July 31, 2020: Customers can cancel their trip without fee or penalty and deposit the funds into an Alaska Airlines account or receive a voucher for future travel one year from the original travel date.

American Airlines

  • Tickets purchased before June 30, 2020 for travel through Sept. 30, 2020: No change fees and travel must be completed by Dec. 31, 2021.

A flight attendant wears a face mask as employees of German flight operator Lufthansa demonstrate on June 24, 2020 in Berlin, in order to call on investors to back a bailout plan hammered out to rescue the airline hit by the coronavirus crisis. (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)
A flight attendant wears a face mask as employees of German flight operator Lufthansa demonstrate on June 24, 2020 in Berlin. (Photo by TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Delta

  • Tickets purchased March 1 to July 31, 2020: All change fees are waived and can be rebooked for up to a year from the original purchase date.

  • Trips departing March to Sept. 30, 2020: All change fees are waived.

Hawaiian Airlines

  • Tickets purchased March 1 to June 30, 2020: No change fees for any changes made within two years of the original purchase date, however a fare difference may apply.

  • Tickets purchased before March 1 with travel dates between March 1 and Sept. 30, 2020: No change fees for rebooked travel that begins on or before May 31, 2022, however a fare difference may apply.

A passenger covered with a plastic bag is seen at Luton Airport, following the outbreak of COVID-19, Luton, Britain, June 4, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Paul Childs)
A passenger covered with a plastic bag is seen at Luton Airport, following the outbreak of COVID-19, Luton, Britain, June 4, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Paul Childs)

JetBlue

  • Tickets purchased through June 30, 2020: Change and cancel fees are waived and customers can rebook on any flight although a fare difference may apply.

Southwest Air

The airline has operated with a long-standing policy of never charging cancellation or change fees, but has made its policy even more lenient to accommodate customers during the pandemic.

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  • Customers who have funds set to expire between March 1 and Sept. 7, 2020 will now expire Sept. 7, 2022 rather than Sept. 7, 2021.

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United Airlines

  • For changes: Customers are free to change to a flight of equal or lesser value for travel, but depends on the original travel date.

Tickets purchased March 3 to March 31, 2020: Up to 24 months from the original travel date.

Tickets purchased April 1 to June 30, 2020: Up to 12 months from the original travel date.

  • For cancellations: The purchase price value can be applied to a new ticket free of charge, but depends on when your ticket was purchased.

Tickets purchased before March 31, 2020: Up to 24 months from the original ticket issue date.

Tickets purchased through June 30, 2020: Up to 12 months from the original ticket issue date.

Stephanie is a reporter for Yahoo Money and Cashay, a new personal finance website. Follow her on Twitter @SJAsymkos.

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