How To Change Your Flight Date Without Paying More

Key takeaways

• Flight changes can work in your favor. When an airline changes your flight, you’re often eligible for a free rebooking or refund, especially if the schedule change is significant (3 hours for domestic, 6 hours for international flights).
• You can use a schedule change to switch to a more convenient time, a better flight, or even change your departure airport, all without extra fees.
• If a schedule change occurs, search for a better flight and call the airline to request the change. You can often get the switch for free, and if initially denied, try calling again.
• With Going membership plans, you can get real-time alerts as soon as prices drop for domestic and international flights. That way, you know you're getting some of the cheapest flights every time.
• With Price Drop, we watch your fare after you book, tell you when it falls, and give you the tools to pocket the savings. That way you don't have to keep checking the price yourself.

If there’s an email subject line that makes my heart flutter, it’s this: “Your flight has been changed.”

If you’re surprised, you’re not alone. Most people would be annoyed to see that email. But not me, and if this advice is convincing, neither should you. In fact when the airline changes your flight, it’s perhaps the single best opportunity you’ll have to get a better flight—better dates, better times, better routing, or if you no longer want the flight, a refund.

And the best part? It’s free.

Here’s what you need to know.

How you can use a flight change to change your flight or get a refund

Airline schedules sometimes change. And when they do, that presents an opportunity.

Under federal law, if an airline cancels or significantly changes your flight itinerary, you’re eligible for a full cash refund.

For many years, what constituted a “significant schedule change” varied by airline. In 2024, the Department of Transportation issued a ruling, establishing that a change is considered "significant" when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights. The ruling went into effect in October 2024. 

Changes in your departure or arrival airport, or switching you from a nonstop to a connecting flight, would also count.

Airlines would generally prefer you don’t ask for a refund, which is why they’re usually willing to re-accommodate you on a different flight (even if they don’t mention that explicitly in the email).

But you’ll have to be proactive and ask, like I did with a previous flight to Spain.

How I changed my Spain flight three times—for free

In August 2020, I booked some cheap flights from New York City to Madrid for February 2021, hoping the pandemic would be improved enough by then to allow Europe travel again.

By October 2020, it was clear that February wasn’t going to happen. So when I got an email that my flight times had been pushed back 90 minutes, I scrolled down and saw the airline would let me change my dates free of charge.

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We pushed our flights back to April 2021. Not only was there no change penalty, I didn’t even have to cover any fare difference.

By February 2021, it was clear that an April trip wasn’t going to happen. Luckily, I got an email that my new flights were changed by three hours, and I repeated the same process to push the trip back to June 2021.

In March 2021, my in-laws who we were set to travel with announced they were moving up to Boston next month. Our flights out of NYC were, all of a sudden, decidedly inconvenient. You can imagine my delight when, a few weeks ago, I got an email that our flights had been pushed back 30 minutes. I called up the airline, and minutes later, got the departure airport switched to BOS. Free.

All in all, I’ve taken advantage of three schedule changes to twice change the trip dates and once change the departure airport.

Normally, making two date changes and one airport change for four tickets would have totaled at least $1,800 in fees. But thanks to the airline’s three schedule changes, I was able to make it all happen for free.

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Using a flight change to get a better flight

Even if you don’t have a specific change in mind, schedule changes are still a valuable opportunity to improve your flight. 

If you originally bought a 6am flight because it was cheapest, you could switch to a more convenient time. If you got a less expensive Saturday flight, but all things equal you’d prefer to fly on Friday, well now you’ve got a Friday flight, partner. If you had a connecting flight, see about switching to a nonstop.

And if it’s a trip you no longer want to take, schedule changes let you get a full cash refund, rather than having to pay an odious “refund fee.”

In my case, I had a flight I specifically wanted to change, so I set an internal deadline a few weeks before the trip. If I got an email about a schedule change before then, I’d use the opportunity to change my flights for free. If no schedule change came, only then would I be willing to pay a change fee.

The key to remember is that, when an airline makes a schedule change, they’ll generally ignore any fare difference and let you switch to a different flight entirely free.

When the airline notifies you about a schedule change, here’s what to do:

• Step 1: Search flights on Google Flights and find an alternate flight on the same airline that you prefer (remember to ignore the price, you’ll likely be able to switch for free)
• Step 2: Call up the airline, tell them that their schedule change won’t work for you (you don’t really need a reason), and ask to be switched to your preferred flight
• Step 3 (if necessary): Hang up, call again. Airlines have thousands of call center agents and each has discretion. Countless times I’ve been told no on the first two calls, only to be told yes on the third call.
   

All in all, schedule changes aren’t so much a pain in the butt as one of the best opportunities to lemon-to-lemonade your flights, free of charge.

A schedule change isn't the only way to come out ahead after you've booked. Fares sometimes drop after your trip is locked in, which opens up another great opportunity to save money on your existing booking.

How Price Drop helps you save when flight prices fall

Our research shows that many travelers are worried their fare will drop after they book, but many of them won’t check back in to confirm and reclaim the savings. That's what Going's Price Drop does for you: Add your booked flight, and Going's flight experts track the fare until departure. If it falls enough to matter, you get an alert with the steps to rebook and pocket the difference. Members save $150 per flight on average.

Your flight, seats, and departure time stay the same—you just claim the savings with the airline. 

Add a booked flight to Price Drop, and let Going help you save even more.

→ Read about how to get a refund if the airline hasn't canceled or changed your flight, or sign up for the Going newsletter for more tips like this.