Delta Extends Change Waiver Fees On Select Booking Through 2022!

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Delta has just announced that, following a review of its current fee waiver policies, it has decided to extend the change fee waiver period for select bookings through to May 2022. That’s a date that’s well over two years away and when you see which bookings get this exemption you’ll also see that this isn’t a cash reservation exercise by Delta – this appears to be a genuinely nice move.

Delta’s New Change Fee Waiver Policy

Under normal circumstances, tickets expire one year after purchase, but for select bookings, Delta is waiving change fees and offering greater flexibility to travel through 31 May 2022.

If you have…

• A booking made by 3 April 2020 for travel in April or May 2020 or
• Existing eCredits from flights in March, April or May 2020

…you can take advantage of this new change fee waiver policy.

Bookings made between 1 March and 31 May 2020, can be changed without a change fee for up to a year from the date of purchase.

These rules apply to international and domestic routes and cover all fares (including Basic Economy fares).

What This Means

If you booked your fare before today (3 April 2020) for travel in April or May 2020 and Delta has cancelled your trip, you are entitled to a cash refund and should pursue the airline for that refund. You also have the option to turn down the cash refund in exchange for a voucher for future travel (valid through 31 May 2022) but I strongly advise against this course of action.

If you booked your fare before today (3 April 2020) for travel in April or May 2020 and Delta has not yet cancelled your trip, you are not entitled to a cash refund but you may voluntarily cancel your trip in exchange for a travel voucher that will be valid for travel through 31 May 2022 (I suggest hanging on as long as possible to see if Delta cancels your trip so that you can claim a cash refund before going down this route).

If you have already received a voucher from Delta as a result of a cancelled trip that was due to take place in March, April or May 2020, your eCredit voucher should now have an improved expiration date of 31 May 2022.

Vouchers may be used to travel on the original routing booked or for any other route that Delta will sell you a ticket for but any increase in fare cost will have to be borne by the customer.

Bottom Line

When the airlines first started offering waivers for change fees on new bookings they were doing so under the guise of being customer-friendly while the real reason for the waivers was to encourage customers to book future travel and swell their cash reserves for the lean months ahead.

This move by Delta doesn’t appear to be so self-serving as the extended change fee waiver period (through 31 May 2022) doesn’t cover new bookings – just bookings made before today for travel in March, April and May 2020…so this may actually just be a nice move.

Are you affected by this alteration to Delta’s change fee waiver policy?