Are Non-Refundable Airline Tickets Refundable?

We are planning to purchase non-refundable airline tickets. Expedia told us the tickets are refundable - we would lose only the handling fee (around $200) but keep the face value and we must use it in next year. Does that mean if we cancel our trip for a covered reason, we might not get full refund of our air ticket? Mimi

Hi Mimi, this is a common question since there’s so much mis-information about what part of the airline ticket is non-refundable.

Even though Expedia told you the tickets are refundable, the truth is they are non-refundable. Otherwise, why would they force you to pay a change fee instead of refunding your money? In reality, you will never get you your money back if you can’t travel.

Therefore, if you cancel your trip for a covered reason, any of our plans will reimburse you based on what you actually paid out of pocket for your tickets (assuming you insured the trip’s prepaid non-refundable trip cost), not the just change fee.

Click here to find out what else should be included in the Trip Cost.