Published by Flight HelpPage revision published

How do I count the refund deadline after declining a canceled or significantly changed flight?

Count from the applicable refund-triggering event, not automatically from the original booking date or the first delay alert. U.S. rules distinguish payment methods and define business days. Keep the date you declined the alternative and ask the responsible merchant to identify the trigger it is using.

Traveler organizing trip records and next steps after a flight disruption

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.
  • A prompt covered refund generally means within 7 business days for credit-card purchases and within 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
  • Business days under these provisions exclude Saturdays, Sundays and U.S. federal holidays.
  • The regulations distinguish events such as rejection of an alternative and expiration of an unanswered offer; the applicable event determines when the refund obligation is triggered.

Important exceptions

  • A bank’s posting process is different from an airline’s obligation to issue a timely refund; do not use an unexplained posting estimate to erase the merchant’s duty. Agent-handled transactions must be assessed under the agent rule. This page does not calculate a date without the payment type and triggering facts.

What to do next

  1. Write down the payment method and the date the airline or merchant received your decision. Save the email, form confirmation or chat transcript rather than relying only on a recollection of a call.

  2. Ask the merchant to confirm whether the request was accepted as an involuntary disruption refund, what amount is owed and the triggering date. A case marked “received” is not an itemized refund confirmation.

  3. Calculate business days only for the credit-card branch; use calendar days for the other-payment branch. Keep a small timeline showing the trigger and the date you expect the period to end.

  4. If the deadline passes, follow up with that timeline and request the refund transaction reference. Check whether the merchant has actually issued payment, as distinct from whether your bank has displayed it.

  5. The original payment receipt, merchant name, cancellation or significant-change notice, rejection timestamp, refund acknowledgment and any payment reference make a delay complaint easier to review.

More booking questions

Are weekends counted?

They are counted in a calendar-day period, but not in the defined business-day period.

Checked againstRefunds14 CFR 260.2 — Definitions14 CFR 399.80 — Unfair and deceptive practices of ticket agents14 CFR 260.6 — Refunds for cancellations and significant changes

Does a new case number restart the clock?

Do not assume an administrative reopening changes the legal trigger. Ask the merchant to explain any claimed new start date.

Checked againstRefunds14 CFR 260.2 — Definitions14 CFR 399.80 — Unfair and deceptive practices of ticket agents14 CFR 260.6 — Refunds for cancellations and significant changes

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