Refunds and cancellations

This notice was last reviewed on 1 August 2026.

What you can recover depends on the fare you bought and on why the trip is not happening. This page sets out both, and what we do at each stage.

Holds versus charges

Submitting a booking places an authorisation hold on your card for the booking total — it reserves the amount, it does not take it. You are charged only when your ticket is issued. If we cannot ticket, we release the hold and nothing is taken; your issuer decides how quickly the pending item clears, usually within a few business days.

This matters for refunds: if you cancel before your ticket is issued, there is no payment to refund because none was taken. We release the hold instead. Once a ticket has been issued, the fare rules below apply.

The 24-hour window

For most bookings to, from or within the United States made at least seven days before departure, US DOT rules allow cancellation within 24 hours of purchase for a full refund to the original payment method. Contact the desk as soon as you decide — we cannot extend the window once it has closed.

Fares that are refundable

Fully refundable and flexible fares can be cancelled for a refund, sometimes less an airline penalty. The refund goes to the card used to pay, not to a different card and not as cash.

Fares that are not

Most discounted economy fares are non-refundable if you simply change your mind. Depending on the fare, cancelling may leave you with a travel credit under the airline’s conditions, or with nothing beyond recoverable taxes. Some carrier-imposed charges are refundable even when the base fare is not, and we will claim those where they exist.

When the airline cancels or changes significantly

This is a different situation entirely and the fare’s own refund rules do not govern it. If the airline cancels, or makes a significant change you do not accept, you are generally entitled to a refund to your original payment method regardless of how the fare was described. You do not have to accept a voucher. Our disruptions guide covers what counts as significant.

How to request one

1. Call (855) 820-3470 or write to [email protected] with your AFS reference.
2. Tell us whether you want a refund, a credit, or a rebooking — it changes what we file with the airline.
3. We read the fare rules, file the request, and confirm what the airline has authorised.
4. Once authorised, the refund is returned to the original payment method.

Timelines

We aim to file a complete request with the airline within one business day. Airline authorisation is typically a few business days but can be considerably longer during disruption. Once authorised, card refunds usually appear within one to two billing cycles. We will tell you which stage yours is at whenever you ask.

Service fees

Where an AirFlightSearch service fee was charged, it covers work already performed and is generally not refundable. If we have not yet started that work, or if the failure to travel is our fault, we refund it. Airline penalties are set by the airline and passed through unchanged.

Tickets issued elsewhere

We can only refund what we issued. If your reference does not begin AFS, see booked somewhere else.