How To Get Notified When Flight Prices Drop (Even After You Book)

You can get notified when flight prices drop by setting up price alerts on tracking tools before booking, as well as by using Going's Price Drop to keep watching the fare after you've already booked. Whether you're planning a dream vacation or a quick weekend getaway, tracking flight deals shouldn't feel like a full-time job. With just a few simple steps, you can sit back, relax, and let automated alerts do all the heavy lifting for you.

Key takeaways

• Pre-booking price alerts notify you when fares drop before you buy, but they often stop tracking the moment you purchase a ticket.
• If a flight price drops within 24 hours of booking, the US Department of Transportation's 24-hour rule allows you to cancel or change your ticket for free on flights to, from, or within the US.
• After 24 hours, whether you can get a credit or cash refund depends on the airline and fare class. Basic economy fares are usually nonrefundable and non-changeable.
• Post-booking monitoring tools like Going's Price Drop fill the gap by watching your booked fare and alerting you if it drops enough to make rebooking worthwhile.
• Price alerts tell you when a fare moves, but they can’t predict future drops, so pairing them with post-booking monitoring gives you full coverage.

How to set up flight price alerts before you book

Setting up price alerts before purchasing a ticket is the best way to monitor airfare trends and catch low prices. You can toggle price tracking on tools like search engine price trackers or generic meta-search engines to receive email or push notifications when a fare changes. 

→ To learn more about setting these up, check out our guides on How To Set Up Flight Price Alerts and Never Miss a Low Fare and Google Flights Alerts: How They Work and Where They Fall Short.

What price alerts can (and can't) do before booking

Pre-booking price alerts notify you when fares fluctuate, but they cannot predict future drops or tell you with certainty whether you're getting the lowest price before departure. Most importantly, virtually all pre-booking price trackers stop monitoring your itinerary the moment you purchase your ticket.

The gap nobody talks about: what happens after you book

Once you buy a ticket, standard flight search engines and tracking tools stop watching your fare. If the price drops after your purchase, you are typically on your own to notice the change and request a credit or refund.

Can you get a refund if the price drops after booking?

It depends on when the price drops. If you catch it within 24 hours of booking, the US Department of Transportation's 24-hour rule requires airlines to let you cancel for a full refund on any flight that starts or ends in the US, as long as you booked at least seven days before departure. Rebook at the lower fare first, then cancel the original so you're never left without a seat. 

After that window, it comes down to your airline and fare type. Most standard economy fares or higher let you rebook at the lower price and take the difference as a travel credit, while basic economy fares usually can't be changed at all. 

Basically, if you spot a drop within a day of booking, book the new, lower fare and cancel the original within the 24-hour window. The common mistake is assuming you're stuck with what you paid and never checking.

If you've already booked your flight, Going's Price Drop can keep watching the fare for you. Set it up in just a few clicks to monitor your itinerary to ensure you never miss out on post-purchase savings. 

Comparing your options: pre-booking tools vs. post-booking monitoring

Here's how the two halves of price tracking compare.

The two work at different stages, and most travelers only use the first half.

How Going's Price Drop watches your fare after you book

Stop postponing your purchase just because you're afraid the price might drop. Instead, keep receiving alerts after you book so you don't miss any savings. Price Drop watches the fare on a flight you've already booked and pings you only when it falls enough to make rebooking worth it. Here's how it works:

1. Add your booked flight, and Price Drop starts tracking the itinerary.
2. We watch the fare for you, so you don't have to check every day.
3. If it drops enough to matter, you get an alert with the new price and the steps to rebook and claim the difference.