If changing flight dates is a possibility, is it cheaper to buy refundable tickets?

[Qacer]

This question is especially geared towards the frequent fliers. If a departure date has the possibility of changing, is it cheaper to buy a refundable ticket or would it be cheaper to buy a non-refundable ticket and just pay the service fee?

I'm looking through some airlines and the refundable tickets are about 90% more than non-refundable ones. I've also checked the fare conditions for these types of tickets and it is possible to change the ticket dates on non-refundable ones, but there is a service charge of, on average, $150 for the change. The ticket prices that I've seen for specific airports range from $400 to $600 (one way) for non-refundable. The refundable tickets are about twice as much.

Tentatively, the departure date will be set on the return ticket for an estimated date. There is a possibility that the actual departure date will be known at the earliest 2 weeks or the latest 1 day before the initial return ticket departure date. I'm also not sure if refundable and non-refundable tickets have the same guarantee in terms of seat availability for a particular flight.

 

[poncherelli2]

Get the refundable. If you end up changing the day before the flight, it's likely the only fare classes left will be refundable (B or Y) and you'll have to eat the change fee as well. If you are set on the outbound flight, buy that one-way non-refundable and get the return flight as B fare

 

[MixMasterTang]

I think it really depends on the route. I always book non-refundable tickets and have even found last minute one-way fares for cheaper than paying the change fee, but again it's all dependent on availability and route loads.

 

[gooseman]

It could also depend on the airline. If I'm not mistaken, Southwest has recently been advertising "no fee" for changing flights. If they are a possibility for where ever you are flying, go to their website and look into it.

 

[GoSharks]

It could also depend on the airline. If I'm not mistaken, Southwest has recently been advertising "no fee" for changing flights. If they are a possibility for where ever you are flying, go to their website and look into it.

Southwest tickets have always been "refundable" via credit applicable to a different itinerary within 12 months of your original purchase date.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Airline matters.

You might be better purchasing the trip insurance (find out the guidelines) rather than the refundable tickets.

Refundable tickets are usually 30-50 more.