AirTran: Is Credit given if fare drops? (newbie Q)

[mcsele]

We have never flown AirTran before but are considering it for an upcoming trip as they have the best times (We're usually SWA people).

If the fare drops after booking, can you get a credit (if so, how does this work: do you call them ?). If you have such a credit, can this be applied to "after" fees such as baggage?

Thanks!

 

[TaraPA]

Yes, yes, and yes!

You have to make the call if you see the fare drop. They will apply the difference as an account credit (you cannot get a cash refund unless you've booked a "refundable type fare" which most seats are not). You can apply that credit towards baggage fees, seat selection fees (if you haven't already paid for them) or towards future flights.

 

[Hook326]

Wow, great info as I would like to do airtran, too! How long do you have to use the credits if the airfare does drop? Thanks!

 

[TaraPA]

I'm pretty sure it's 1 year from the date you get the credit. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I've gotten lots of credits from AT for fare drops but I've always used them within a year.

 

[goodferry]

What can you use the credits for? Can you use them for baggage fees or to upgrade to business class?

 

[jennyjinx3]

I'm pretty sure it's 1 year from the date you get the credit. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I've gotten lots of credits from AT for fare drops but I've always used them within a year.

I have gotten a few credits from them lately and they told me the credits are good for 1 year from your original booking date.

 

[sixkristy6]

Yes, yes, and yes!

You have to make the call if you see the fare drop. They will apply the difference as an account credit (you cannot get a cash refund unless you've booked a "refundable type fare" which most seats are not). You can apply that credit towards baggage fees, seat selection fees (if you haven't already paid for them) or towards future flights.

So I can just call customer service and they can take care of it? Great!!



Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[thumperjr9]

Wow I didn't know AirTran does that, I feel so foolish since I'm a AirTran veteran. So let me confirm....if I book a flight today and in a few weeks see that the fare goes down I can just call them and they will give me the difference in credit that I would be able to use towards the cost of our check-in bags.

 

[TaraPA]

So I can just call customer service and they can take care of it? Great!!



Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

Wow I didn't know AirTran does that, I feel so foolish since I'm a AirTran veteran. So let me confirm....if I book a flight today and in a few weeks see that the fare goes down I can just call them and they will give me the difference in credit that I would be able to use towards the cost of our check-in bags.

Yes you just call them & they put the credit on your account for bags, seat selection, future flights, etc. You just have to be diligent about watching your fares every day, sometimes twice a day to catch it when it drops!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Yes, yes, and yes!

You have to make the call if you see the fare drop. They will apply the difference as an account credit (you cannot get a cash refund unless you've booked a "refundable type fare" which most seats are not). You can apply that credit towards baggage fees, seat selection fees (if you haven't already paid for them) or towards future flights.

THANK YOU for this info I did not know this and we always use Airtran, although we don't fly often. I thought a nonrefundable tix equated to can't change a dang thing without fees, then I read your post, checked on line and saw that our return flight was almost $40 cheaper per person (in contrast our flight down was a $100 more per person ) from when we booked last winter.

Called airtran, agent said as long as he could find the same fare then yes he could issue a credit, less a $15 change fee. Sure enough, he had a lower price and issued a credit $100! That's enough for us to check 2 bags to and from!

YEAH! Thank you again for the info! I'm so tickled to save baggage fees This is what I love about the DISboards

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

What if just one of your ways drops in price, can you call for a credit for just hte one direction or do they have to do both ways? The flight going out is $22 more expensive, but the flight coming home is $17 more. Can I just call them for credit for the flight home, there are 5 of us and that totals $85, even if there is a $15 change fee, that's still a savings of $70. We can choose are seats or use it towards baggage I suppose.

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

One more question the $15 change fee, is that per person or per reservation. Our reservation is for 5 people.

 

[CaptainEO71]

I've never been charged the $15 change fee for credits for fare drops with AT - I wonder if this is something new since the SW merger? I haven't requested a credit in over a year, so it could be. Or I just got lucky last time I requested credit.

For the person that asked, yes it can be done if only one way drops in price. You can even call back more than once on the same leg - we paid $119 & I got the credit when it dropped to $104, and then again when it dropped to $87!

 

[scootch]

I usually book both of my legs separate, just to make it easier. I used our last credit for bags.

 

[DisneyDreamer04]

My flight had changed from 135 to 78!!! so I got 216 credit(that's for four people)
Just wanted to say it can either coming or going, and I never have gotten a change fee.

 

[TaraPA]

I've requested my most recent credit in March, and I was never charged a change fee of $15 - I also wonder if that's something new with the SW merge - or if it's just always been at the discretion of the rep you talk to. Anyone know?

 

[keishashadow]

Yes you just call them & they put the credit on your account for bags, seat selection, future flights, etc. You just have to be diligent about watching your fares every day, sometimes twice a day to catch it when it drops!

I've run into the credit not being associated with my account but tied into 'whatever' reservation # when checking luggage, most recently in May. Not sure if they're not training their people correctly but had to get supervisors to sort it out and find the appropriate credits at checkin.

Have never been charged the $15 change fee to request a credit but I do use the A+ rewards phone number vs the general one.

re price drops, AT did cease the 'courtesy' for a few months during the summer a couple of years ago, sure was glad to see it reinstated. It's an accommodation, but since they're in process of merging with SWA doubtful they'd dump it at this point.

 

[Disney DayDreamer]

I did call the 1-800 # yesterday and I was able to get an $85 credit to my A+ account. I made reservations for 5 of us, and the fight home went from $138 down to $121, so that was the credit of $85. she never said anything about a $15 fee. She said if I added it to my A+ account I could make changes on-line, like make seat selections, pay for baggage etc. She just said it would take up to 24 hours for the credit to post to my A+ account. I haven't done anything witht he credit yet. I am still trying to decide the best way to use it, to reserve our seats or towards baggage fees. I also don't know how this all works using the Disney Magic Express, and how we get our bags paid for on the way home. We've never flown anything but southwest before, so we never had these kinds of things to worry about before.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Sorry for creating change fee confusion, I was basing this on what the agent said to me, that there would be a $15 change fee

I went back to check my original info, we paid $112.80 including tax for our return flight per person, the price dropped on-line to $73 = $40ish X 3 people s/h/b $120 credit but I was given a $99 credit, I don't know why the $21 difference because it doesn't work out to the $15 change fee he said it would be.

On my original reservation, I originally paid $6/person for 3 seats both ways for an extra $36 - the agent verified our assigned seats to but not from so he said he was going to reassign my seats coming home (at no charge) to make sure we were still seated together but 1 row back. If he inadvertently charged me for the 3 seats, that would've been $18

So credit difference of $21 - change fee $15 or recharge on seats $18 - I really don't know why the difference, but the way I'm looking at it is that I have a $99 credit I can use for baggage fees.

I don't really know if I was charged a $15 change fee other than the agent said I was charged a change fee - since I didn't expect a credit in the first place, I'm just going to be happy about it

BTW, our flight down is $100 MORE per person & nothing was said or even discussed about having to make any adjustment, he simply issued a credit for our flight home based on the price his system showed, according to him he gave me the credit less the fee

Anyway, thanks again poster for sharing the info

 

[NancyIL]

AirTran's change fee is $75 per ticket. The $15 fee is a phone fee. I have been credited for price drops in the past - minus the phone fee that started at $5. Then the fee increased to $10, and now it's $15. I wasn't charged that fee in May when the fare went down $40 pp on the outbound flight of our roundtrip reservation for July.