Travel News

Ask Peter: When to Book a Flight, Checking Bags & Avoiding Fees

Locations in this article:  Houston, TX Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA Paris, France San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA

Jennifer asked: How do I change my flight without a fee?

Peter said: Airlines made $32 billion last year on auxiliary fees. It’s not easy to completely change a flight, but you can find some flexibility in the system. If you want to change the time of day you fly, you can usually fly standby. With some airlines, you can actually confirm standby for $25 or $50 which is less than your change fee.

Now if you want to change the date, you might want to plan ahead and invest in trip cancellation and interruption insurance. Opting for insurance depends how much you’re paying on your ticket. Don’t buy the insurance for an inexpensive ticket. If the ticket costs $700 or $800, it’s about 7 or 12 percent the premium of the cost of the ticket.

To avoid additional fees, follow up with Peter’s Tip on Unexpected Airline Fees.

Bridget in Houston Texas asked: On April 19, I bought a round trip ticket from Houston to Paris on Air France for October 3 to the 19. I paid $876. Yesterday I noticed that the fare is now $776 for the same flight. Am I entitled to a refund for the difference?

Peter replied: Yes, you’re entitled to a refund, minus the change fee. Change fees are usually $150. If the difference in fees is more than $150, you’ll get some money back. In this case the fare difference is not enough to cover the change fee, so you should not do anything.

The mistake you made is to buy a ticket in April for a flight in October. You should be buying that ticket in August.

If you buy more than 45 days out, the airlines computers are not set up to give you a big discount. Unless you are planning travel for high-traffic days, like Christmas or July 4, you stand the best chance for the lowest possible fare 45 days out.

For the lowest fares, follow Peter’s Plan for the Best Time to Book Flights Online.

By Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg Worldwide