Major U.S. Airlines Have Dropped Their Change Fees. But Not All Policies Are the Same.

Recently, major U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, and more, dropped their change fees to accommodate the unpredictable effects that COVID-19 has had on travel. However, each airline has slightly different policies that passengers should be aware of. In August, United Airlines took the plunge, eliminating change fees on most economy and premium tickets for travel within the U.S. and a few neighboring countries. The carrier, which used to charge $200 to change domestic travel and $75 to fly standby, also said it would allow all passengers to fly same-day standby for free on both domestic and international routes starting Jan. 1. Shortly after, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines followed suit, coming up with their own policies to waive change fees for certain routes or allowing customers to fly standby for free, depending on the carrier.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Southwest never charged change fees, instead only charging the difference in fares if someone changed their flight. While passengers can always cancel a flight they booked within 24 hours of purchasing it (due to a handy policy by the Department of Transportation), airlines set their own rules when it comes to changing at the last minute. And even those committing to permanently waiving change fees have some notable exceptions. Read more