Does booking.com have a 24 hour airfare free cancellation policy?
Posted by Ok-Mark-1239@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 15 comments
The DOT requires airlines to provide a 24 hour airfare free cancellation policy. I couldn't find any such policy on booking.com though I think they're more legit than other 3rd party websites.
For this particular airfare, they're about $120 cheaper than booking via the airline
Ok-Feed-357@reddit
Yeahh i mean you can cancel it in 24hrs but it's illegal to do it
Kiyogurt-Yotaka@reddit
Booking com is on eof the worst agencies out there
realestateingurgaon@reddit
here i cancel my reservation with website
harishdigital@reddit
airfare is real
ht_shan@reddit
Booking.com is really very bad in this area. I read what others already replied. Some said it was OK. Some said booking.com is indeed bad. Let me share my experience.
I asked to cancel an air ticket which was 4 months later and was booked 22 hours ago. Booking did not offer a full refund at the website/APP. I chatted with them and they told me to check with the airline to confirm the policy. (They even said their tickets could be issued from an office outside the US such as Singapore and they did not follow the DoT rules). I called the airline and the airline representatives told me it was OK. When I chatted with Booking again, this time they just kept refusing my request by just saying there was no such policy from the airline. They were not aware of and did not see such airline policy. Asking me to get airline written approval when the cancellation window was only half an hour.
So please, any one who read my comments, make your choice wisely. Cheaper price Vs crappy customer service.
HejBjarne@reddit
Booking com is one of the worst agencies for flight tickets. Best would be Expedia, they also honor the 24hr rule
Ok-Mark-1239@reddit (OP)
What's your experience with booking?
HejBjarne@reddit
They are charging fees for changes, cancellations etc on top of the airline fees.
And they are not easily reachable by phone or chat for flight bookings. With Expedia, I had an agent within 3 minutes every time. Expedia also does not charge extra fees
inspire21@reddit
They just told me I couldn't cancel a flight from SEA -> Tokyo even though it's been less than 24 hours. I pointed out it was illegal, but I was just going to rebook to save $100 on the lower price anyways so it's not a hill worth dying on (this time). I'll still avoid booking.com for flight reservations in the future, though.
HejBjarne@reddit
It's not illegal. The 24 hour rule does not apply for travel agents. Some agents like Expedia do honor it, but most will not.
Ok-Mark-1239@reddit (OP)
Ah I see. Evenn within 24 hours of booking there's cancellation fees?
Ditto on the unreachable experience. I'm trying to contact them to inquire about the cancellation poilicy prior to booking and evidently it's not an option wtf
jumbocards@reddit
No, within 24 hours it’s free and a total refund.
savehoward@reddit
Some travel agencies such as booking.com would not make liable promises because those agencies also sell non-US to non-US flights outside of any USDOT rules. But yes booking.com will refund a flight within 24hours if the flight touches the USDOT.
Ok-Mark-1239@reddit (OP)
Got it, thanks. By "touch USDOT" you mean, if it goes through any US city right? In my case, the airline is Turkish airlines, departing from a US city for Europe
savehoward@reddit
Correct. You’ll be fine for the 24 hour refund for any travel agency on a US-Istanbul flight.