Coming out ahead when your ticket price drops

Knowing how far in advance to buy an airline ticket is always tricky. If the price goes up after you buy, you win. But what if it goes down?

Depending on the airline, you can still come out a winner. When it comes to nonrefundable tickets — the type most nonbusiness travelers buy — you won't get cash back in most cases, but you might be eligible for a credit good for future travel.

Policies vary, and, in some instances, service fees will wipe out any savings, but one rule applies across the board: It's up to you to find out if a fare drops and contact your airline to receive credit.

Other than advertising sales, airlines don't notify individuals when the price of their ticket falls.

"Some airlines will treat you more humanely than others if you discover that a nonrefundable fare has gone down before you travel," says George Hobica, creator of airfarewatchdog.com, a Web site that tracks fares.

"The first trick is to book with one of these airlines. The second trick is to monitor the fares."

Refund policies kick in only when fares drop for the exact same itinerary, flight, date and time, and meet any advance purchase requirements. Generally, they apply only on tickets purchased through the airline or a travel agent rather than a consolidator, but the savings can be substantial, as I found after I booked a ticket to India last summer on Northwest Airlines.

After buying my tickets on Northwest's Web site, I went back every few days and checked the fare. When I saw that it dropped by $118 three weeks later, I called. Northwest reissued my ticket and credited me with a $93 voucher, the amount the fare dropped, minus a $25 service fee. The fare dropped by another $118 a month before I was scheduled to leave. I applied for another credit and used the vouchers — $186 worth — to buy another ticket on Northwest in November.

Ticket prices can rise and fall frequently as airlines respond to each others' sales, or wait closer to departure time to drop fares on routes with unsold seats.

Buy a ticket too far in advance, and you may miss a sale. Mike Fridgen, vice president of Seattle-based Farecast.com, a Web site that predicts the rise and fall of domestic airfares, says the key time to monitor prices is in the 30- to 14-day window before travel.

"That's where we see a sweet spot in terms of price-drop opportunity, on average."

What the airlines offer

Airlines don't promote their refund policies with the kinds of flashy banner ads they use to promote mileage offers or vacation packages to Disneyland.

"They have the policies because they don't want to alienate customers, but on the other hand, they don't want to encourage customers to keep shopping," says Hobica.

A few, including JetBlue, United and US Airways, post the information in the "Help" or "Customer Service" areas of their Web sites; others bury the details in legal documents called "Contracts of Carriage."

Restrictions vary (some airlines exclude special Web-only fares), and policies can change, so it's best to call about specifics. If you're a good customer, Hobica advises asking your airline to waive any service fees.

Here's what the major airlines offer:

• Alaska Airlines/ Horizon Air: Travel voucher good for one year for the difference in fares, minus a $10 service charge.

• Northwest Airlines: Two options: Voucher good for one year, less a $25 service fee. Cash refund, minus a $100 fee.

• US Airways/America West Airlines: Voucher good for one year issued at no charge. Cash refund, minus a $100 fee. Certain promotional fares excluded.

• United Airlines: A United spokeswoman would not respond to phone and e-mail requests for clarification on the airline's policy.

Information on its Web site says that United will issue a voucher good for one year for domestic flights, and apply a (unspecified) fee on international tickets. Two reservations agents with whom I spoke said the airline would not charge a fee in either case.

• Continental Airlines: Voucher good for one year, minus the normal change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $100 on domestic flights and $200 on international). "However, we work with customers on a case-by-case basis if individual circumstances apply," said spokeswoman Susannah Thurston.

• Delta Airlines: Voucher good for one year, less change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $50 for domestic flights and $200 on international).

• American Airlines: Cash refund for the difference in fares, less change fees applicable to the original fare (usually $100 for domestic flights and $200 on international).

The airline's Conditions of Carriage agreement adds, "When reduced fares are for sale for a limited period of time, American reserves the right to decline to issue refunds."

• Southwest Airlines: Credit for future travel within one year; after that, a voucher good any time. No service fee.

• JetBlue Airways: Voucher good for one year. No fee. If a sale fare applies to a different itinerary or flight times, JetBlue allows customers to cancel the original booking with no penalty and rebook the new flight.

Carol Pucci's Travel Wise column runs the last Sunday of the month in the Travel section. Comments are welcome. Contact her at 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com