The rule in one paragraph
If an airline cancels your flight — for any reason, including weather — and you choose not to travel on the alternative it offers, you are entitled to a refund of the ticket price. Not a voucher. Not a credit. Money back to the card you paid with. This applies to non-refundable tickets, basic economy and everything else.
The word that matters is "choose". The refund right exists only if you decline what the airline offers. Accept the rebooking, and you have taken the alternative — the refund right is gone. That is why the order of operations below matters.
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You do not have to ask
Under current Department of Transportation rules, refunds are automatic when you bought directly from the airline. If you reject the offered alternative, or simply do not respond and do not fly, the airline must issue the refund without you filing anything.
| You paid with | Refund due within |
|---|---|
| Credit card | 7 business days |
| Cash, cheque or other | 20 days |
The clock starts when the airline knows you are not taking the alternative — either because you told them, or because the flight departed without you.
"Significant change" counts too
The refund right is not limited to outright cancellation. A significant schedule change triggers the same entitlement if you decide not to travel:
- departure moved 3 or more hours earlier on a domestic itinerary, or 6 or more on international;
- arrival moved 3 or more hours later domestic, 6 or more international;
- your origin or destination airport changed;
- the new itinerary has more connections than the one you bought;
- you were involuntarily downgraded to a lower cabin.
That fourth one catches people out. An airline that turns your nonstop into a one-stop has significantly changed your itinerary, whatever the arrival time says.
Vouchers: what to check before you accept
Airlines will usually offer a travel credit first, often with a bonus attached. Sometimes that is genuinely the better deal — if you fly that carrier regularly, a $400 ticket turning into a $500 credit is real value. Two rules protect you if you take it:
- credits and vouchers must be valid for at least five years;
- the airline must disclose every material restriction up front, and must tell you that a refund was available instead.
What you cannot do is take the voucher and change your mind later. Accepting it closes the refund door.
The order of operations that protects you
- Do not tap "accept" in the app yetThe rebooking screen is designed for speed. Once you confirm, you have accepted the alternative.
- Check what the alternative actually isA flight 26 hours later through two connections is not equivalent to what you bought.
- Decide: travel or moneyIf you still need to get there, take the best routing available — and ask about partner carriers, not just this airline's own flights. If the trip is now pointless, decline everything and the refund is automatic.
- Keep the cancellation noticeScreenshot the email or app notification. It is your proof of the cancellation and its timing.
If you booked through an agent
When a ticket was bought through a travel agent or an online travel agency, the refund is handled by whoever is the merchant of record — the entity that appears on your card statement. If that is the agency, the agency owes you the refund. If it is the airline, the airline does.
One exception worth knowing: fees for optional services like seats or checked bags are always claimed from the airline, never from the agent, even when the agent took the payment.
We do not process refund claims. AirCallCenter is a booking and rebooking service. If your situation is a refund case, the claim goes to the airline or to whoever sold you the ticket — we will tell you which, at no charge. What we do well is the other half: finding and booking the fastest way to still get you where you were going.
Not sure whether to rebook or take the refund? Tell us the route and we will lay out both.
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Frequently asked questions
No. This is the most persistent myth in air travel. The refund entitlement applies when the airline cancels the flight regardless of the reason, weather included. What weather does affect is compensation and amenities — meals and hotels are generally only provided when the disruption was within the airline's control.
No. Airlines may offer credits or vouchers, but they must also tell you that a refund is available, and the choice is yours. Any voucher you accept must be valid for at least five years with all material restrictions disclosed.
Seven business days for credit card purchases, twenty days for other payment methods, counted from when the airline knows you are not taking the alternative. If it has been longer, the DOT complaint form is the escalation route.
Then you took the alternative, and the automatic refund right no longer applies. If the replacement flight is later significantly changed or cancelled in turn, a fresh entitlement is created at that point.
We can search what is available across carriers and book what your ticket and the fare rules allow. Whether a specific airline accepts an interline rebooking is always that airline's decision — but the option exists more often than passengers realise, and it is rarely offered unless someone asks.