Delta: Full Fare refundable ticket question

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Sorry, it isn't Disney, but business related.

What is the deal with Delta's change policy on a full fare refundable.

My hubby was on business and came home early and the corporate travel agent said that changes for the same day (instead of 3 days ahead of time) involve a $50 fee.

Additionally--the ninnyheads actually bought him a nearly $400 one way ticket.

What's the point of a Full Fare refundable if they are just going to charge you through the eyeballs anyway?

Can someone enlighten me--Delta's website wasn't very helpful and all the changes seemed to involve non-refundables where you get charged the fee AND the cost difference for the new flight.

Grrrrr......

 

[safetymom]

You might want to ask this on www.flyertalk.com go to miles and points, then the Delta forum. They will give you lots of great information.

 

[Brian Noble]

How much was the ticket, and for what route? Are you sure it was full-fare? If the fare designator doesn't start with a Y (usually) it isn't actually fully refundable.

$800 round trip sounds about right for a same-time-zone round-trip Y-class fare (and might actually be a bit on the inexpensive side). So, if you think $400 is way too high, then he probably didn't have a full-fare ticket in the first place. For example, the full-fare price between DTW and DCA (normally a heavily-discounted route: I never have to pay more than $200 for this roundtrip, even without a saturday night stay) is almost $1000 on NWA.

 

[CarolA]

If he paid the fee he wasn't on a full fare refundable. I fly on those a lot and I never get charged for a change.

It sounds like he had a three day advance purchase fare, which is why he got stuck on the fare. Full are tickets bought now cost around $499 each way. The other thing is that his company may have a negioated "discount" with DL that causes these fees. My company has a good discount with DL.