Most people think you can only get money back on refundable flights. However, you can actually save/get back money even on non-refundable flights- most major airlines in the United States allow this. 

What is a non-refundable flight?

It’s easier to answer this by asking “what is a refundable flight”? A refundable flight allows you to get your money back if you need to change/cancel your flight for whatever reason (see this post if you want a more in depth explanation).

Get sick? 

Feel like extending your vacation? 

With a refundable flight, you can change your flight and get refunded back to your credit card (or however you originally paid).

Non-refundable flights on the other hand make it harder to change/cancel- you won’t get refunded to your original form of payment. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t get money back on non-refundable flights though…

How to save money on non-refundable flights

As long as you avoid booking a basic economy ticket, there are several ways to save on non-refundable flights. For example, you can:

• Change/cancel your flight and receive any fare differences back as travel credits
• Save money when the price of your ticket drops after booking 

The credits you receive can be used to book future flights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are miles/points flights refundable?

Yes. If you booked a flight using miles/points and you need to change/cancel your flight, your miles/points go back into your airline account. 

For example, I was supposed to attend a wedding in Pennsylvania last Fall but woke up before my flight feeling sick. I logged into my United Airlines account, canceled my flight and received the full 31,000 miles back into my account.

When do travel credits expire?

Say you:

• Book a flight on 6/10/2025
• Upload your ticket to Sky Key
• On 7/4/2025, Sky Key automatically saves you $100 in the form of a flight credit

Here is what would happen if you booked your flight with:

• Alaska Airlines:
  • Book a new flight before 7/4/2026. 
  • It’s ok if the flight departs after that date (e.g., December 2026). You just have to book your flight within 1 year of the credit being issued.

• American Airlines:
  • Apply your $100 credit on a new flight that departs before 6/10/2026. Make sure that it doesn’t depart on 6/11. 
  • In other words, your next flight has to depart within 1 year of the original ticket date.

• United Airlines: similar to American, your flight has to depart before 6/10/2026. 

• Southwest Airlines: used to be very simple, but now there are more nuances.
  • If you received a flight credit on or before May 27, 2025:
    • It won’t expire. You can use it whenever you want.
  • If you received a travel credit after May 27, 2025 (like in our example), it depends on what cabin you flew in:
    • Anytime, Business Select, Wanna Get Away Plus: flight credits typically expire 12 months from the date you booked the reservation. You would have to apply the flight credit on a flight that departs on or before 6/10/2026. The flight can’t depart on 6/11/2026. 
    • Basic: Flight credits expire six months from the date you originally booked the reservation. In our example, you would need to apply this credit on a flight that departs on or before 12/10/2025.

• Delta Airlines:
  • Similar to Alaska.
  • You need to book a new flight before 7/4/2026. 
  • It’s ok if the flight departs after that date (e.g., December 2026). You just have to book your flight within 1 year of the credit being issued.

Can travel credits be used to pay for bags, wifi, etc?

Not usually. 

Sky Key Saves You Money On Refundable and Non-Refundable Flights 

When you book your ticket and the price of it drops tomorrow morning, what happens? Most of the time, you feel worse because you overpaid for your flight. Sky Key customers on the other hand LOVE when this happens. Why? Because Sky Key automatically gets them money/points/travel credits back when flight prices drop after booking all while keeping them on the same flight/same seat. Every Sky Key customer gets on their flight knowing they paid the lowest price. 

– Billy Bund. Co-Founder @ Sky Key