Remember back when airlines would happily adjust your fare, giving you a refund if the price on the previously purchased ticket dropped? I sure do, spending many an hour on the phone over the years calling agents and bugging them to check if the fares had dropped on our family trips. I’m sure that even then I wasn’t their favorite customer. Most airlines have dropped that benefit over the years. One, however, has actually made it easier to use. JetBlue will issue an online credit for any fare drop on the same exact flights. Even better, the entire process can be handled online in about 2 minutes.
I’m scheduled to go back to Florida in three weeks to visit family and booked on JetBlue. We got a decent enough fare – $250 each – on the dates and times we wanted. Still, every time JetBlue announces a sale (pretty much every Tuesday and occasionally other days, too) I log back in and check the rates on those same flights, hoping to get a credit back. I was rewarded this morning with the good news that the fares dropped $44 per ticket on the flights.
Logging in to my TrueBlue account I pulled up the existing reservation and chose the option to change flights. Choosing the exact same flight – albeit with the new, lower price – in the search interface I got to the end and instead of being presented with charges due on the new flights I got this:
So, for just a couple minutes worth of work I got back $88 in credit. Sure, I can only use it on a future JetBlue flight, but I get a full year from today to book using those credits and I’m flying enough that I don’t expect them to go to waste. Yeah, I like this benefit. A lot.
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Cool.
Some other airlines have that, but you have to call and ask 🙂
Kerwin.
There are very few other carriers offering the benefit for free these days, Kerwin. None of the majors do as a matter of policy.
Great to know.
I think the majors force you to pay a change fee in order to get a price adjustment
I regularly do the same thing online with Soithwest, but can only rebook for the same name. Call AirTran regularly to get an account credit which can. E used for anybody. Does JetBlue have any limitations on WHO the credit can be used on?
Alaksa airline does the same: http://www.alaskaair.com/content/deals/special-offers/price-guarantee.aspx
Nice to know you can now take care of it online, I’ve used this in the past over the phone and it was still very easy and very worth the $70 per ticket I saved…got my wife a free trip to Disneyland since the voucher can be used for anyone traveling.
At least when I used it the credits went to my TravelBank account, I applied travelbank voucher numbers to the ticket.
I’ve had to change my flight in the past and was always charged a fee i.e. $50 if original flight was under $100, and $100 if the original flight was over $100, and i would have to pay the difference if the change was more than the original, or get a refund if it was less. Has that policy been changed I wonder.
If you are changing flights, Helen, it doesn’t work. It only applies if it is the exact same flight.
Not sure why you were seeing a fee, Alexandra. Call in and they should be able to reprice it for free. Do note that if you originally book online and then call in to change you might not get the 3x bonus points for online booking. Calling in after they post generally fixes that.
I just tried to this on an existing flight I have cause the prices have changed and it doesn’t let me do the change to get a credit, it says that no changes have been made cause I’m choosing the same flight.
I tried to do this today (May 2013) and got an error message. Previously I wasn’t aware you could do this online; I thought you had to call. I don’t know if the error message was a deliberate, permanent change; a temporary change; or if it’s due to me having gotten a credit on the same itinerary already (it dropped two days in a row).
Also, you can use Yapta to get notified if the price drops. It’s only really useful on airlines that will give you a credit without a fee.
Another note, to those who encountered a change fee: JetBlue will charge a fee if you get cash back. If you get a credit towards future travel (use within one year) there is no change fee.
I’m seeing the same thing as Steve and Alexandra. I’ve done this online in the past and successfully received the credit exactly as you detail, but a flight I am booked on had a price drop and I just tried to change the seats and when I do it pops up an error message saying there was no change to your itinerary.