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What happens under U.S. refund rules if I do not respond to an airline’s replacement-flight or credit offer?

Silence should not be treated as affirmative acceptance of a credit. But it is a poor way to manage travel you still need: different unanswered offers have different refund-triggering events. Tell the airline whether you want transportation or a refund, and keep the offer’s dates and terms.

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What this answer depends on

  • Air transportation to, from or within the United States covered by the cited US provision. Airport location, operating-carrier and itinerary conditions in the answer remain essential.
  • U.S. rules require affirmative acceptance of credit, voucher or other compensation offers; an unanswered replacement-flight offer has the separate refund treatment in 260.6.
  • For a qualifying disruption, 260.6 addresses refund triggers where an offered alternative flight departs without acceptance and where a compensation offer remains unanswered by the scheduled departure date of the canceled flight or the departure date of the significantly changed flight.
  • The refund amount and timing still follow the applicable unused-transportation and payment-method rules.

Important exceptions

  • A traveler may have accepted an alternative through another channel even if one email was unanswered. Check the full booking history before saying there was no consent. The automatic-airline framework should not be assumed to make an OTA’s workflow identical, and an airline’s customer-service page may describe a narrower operational process.

What to do next

  1. Save the offered flight’s departure date, the original canceled flight’s scheduled date and any date stated on the credit offer. An airline-set offer deadline is not a substitute for the regulatory trigger. Keep each alternative separate; an app can display several choices with different consequences.

  2. If you need to travel, contact the airline and request a confirmed workable itinerary. Do not interpret an automatic refund rule as a promise that a seat remains reserved while you decide.

  3. If you want a refund, say so explicitly and retain proof of the response. Ask the merchant to confirm the triggering event, unused portions and payment method rather than waiting for an uncertain app status.

  4. When money is missing after the applicable period, send the original offer and acceptance or rejection history. Ask the airline to explain any record claiming that you accepted a flight or credit.

  5. Keep all replacement and credit offers, their dates, your replies, account activity, ticket status and the statement merchant. Include any phone or agency interaction that could have changed the itinerary.

More booking questions

Should I stay silent to get a faster refund?

No. A clear recorded decision avoids uncertainty about your intended travel and the relevant refund trigger.

Checked against14 CFR 260.6 — Refunds for cancellations and significant changes14 CFR 260.7 — Affirmative acceptance of alternative compensationRefunds14 CFR 260.2 — Definitions

Can an airline call an unaccepted credit a completed refund?

Ask for the acceptance record and the basis for using that credit. A displayed credit alone does not answer the consent question.

Checked against14 CFR 260.6 — Refunds for cancellations and significant changes14 CFR 260.7 — Affirmative acceptance of alternative compensationRefunds14 CFR 260.2 — Definitions

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