Everything You Need to Know About the 24-Hour Rule
Buying a plane ticket can be stressful. A simple mistake, like getting the dates wrong, misspelling your name, or realizing you haven't secured vacation approval, can lead to costly fixes—unless you've booked a fully flexible fare. But did you know that you have a secret weapon against costly airline booking mistakes, known as the 24-hour rule?
This regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) requires all airlines operating flights to, from, or within the United States to provide a full refund if passengers cancel their flight within 24 hours of booking. This applies even to non-flexible fares that normally don't allow changes or cancellations.
Under the rule, airlines must refund the full fare to the original form of payment (not via a travel voucher or flight credit) if a ticket is canceled within 24 hours of purchase, even for non-refundable fares.
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How Can This Rule Save You Money?
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Important Exceptions to the Rule
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How Do You Cancel Under the 24 Hour Rule?
Imagine you bought a plane ticket, and then the next day, the airline has a big flight sale and the price for your itinerary is now lower than what you paid. If it’s been less than 24 hours since you purchased your ticket, you can simply rebook at the lower price and then cancel your original ticket without worrying about change or cancellation fees.
We recommend checking the price of your ticket several times throughout the 24-hour period after booking to see if fares decrease—this strategy often pays off, and you’ll be able to rebook and save.
Knowing about the 24-hour rule can also give you peace of mind if you come across an incredibly low fare that you want to take advantage of. Rather than waiting on approval from your manager for time off or for your travel companion to get back to you (and potentially missing out on that cheap flight), you can simply book the ticket, and if it doesn’t work out, cancel it within 24 hours for no penalty.
If you booked a ticket quickly, you can also take advantage of the 24-hour period to double-check the information on your reservation (like making sure you didn’t misspell a passenger’s name)—something that airlines could charge you to correct. If you made an error, you can cancel and rebook with the correct information.
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There are three important exceptions you should know before taking advantage of the 24-hour rule.
1. This rule only applies if you’re booking directly with the airline. If you book through an online travel agency like Expedia, you’ll have to abide by the company’s refund policy (which is usually not as lenient).
2. The DOT's 24-hour rule requires airlines to offer one of two options: allow a customer to hold a reservation at the quoted fare for 24 hours without payment, or allow a customer to cancel a purchased ticket within 24 hours for a full refund. An airline is not required to offer both, so it is essential to check the specific airline's policy before purchasing.
3. The 24-hour rule only applies to flights booked at least seven days before departure, so know that you may not be able to get a refund if you book a ticket less than a week before your flight.
You don’t need to do anything special to get your full refund when canceling a flight reservation within 24 hours. Simply cancel your booking as you normally would, and the airline should promptly refund your original form of payment.