Cancel refundable airfare and rebook at base rate?

We are booking airfare for a trip in March but need to book refundable because of some variables that might come up in the next couple months. It is $150 more per person to book it refundable, we are a family of four.

Presuming the rate stays relatively the same over the next couple months - is there anything that stops us from canceling our refundable ticket and then re-booking it at the base rate?

No. That’s the exact benefit of buying a refundable fare. However, it’s unlikely that a non-refundable ticket will stay the same price as you get closer to your date.

Book an American Airlines economy ticket (not basic economy). If the flight gets cheaper cancel the original flight with American (you ALWAYS get a travel credit refund if you purchase an economy ticket or better) and rebook. To avoid any problems I would suggest first booking the new cheaper fare and placing it in a free 24 hold AND THEN cancel your old ticket, call American Airlines and purchase the ticket you have on hold with your newly acquired travel credit. I do this quite frequently. Rarely if ever do I see refundable tickets being cheaper EVER.

Simple answer - NO, that’s why it’s refundable.

Nothing wrong with doing that at all. On an overseas trip last year I think I rebooked my stuff twice for credits, and my friends did once and received credits and better seats.

Also just priced an itinerary and it dropped by 15%. Received an e credit there as well.

@Corin
Did you have some kind of alert set up or did you just continue to check once a week or so?

Zev said:
@Corin
Did you have some kind of alert set up or did you just continue to check once a week or so?

This time I checked because the aircraft had changed so the seat layout was different.

Last year I checked, just because.

Some airlines allow you to cancel nonrefundable fares for credit like Alaska and Delta. I never fly American, but if you know you’ll use it in the future it could be worth the chance that you have to cancel.

Sure. I do it all the time (and on economy fares because as a million-miler, my airline makes everything fully refundable for me).

Also, I’ll sometimes “bookmark” a flight for family or friends with my miles which are also 100% refundable. Then if their travel plans firm up and the purchase is reasonable, they pay cash for a new itinerary, and I cancel the award itinerary.

@Blake
What is bookmarking a flight? (I have a lot to learn)

Zev said:
@Blake
What is bookmarking a flight? (I have a lot to learn)

That’s not an industry term, just mine. I make a regular reservation using dollars or miles, but in my mind, it’s a just-in-case reservation. Maybe plans fall through, maybe a lower fare comes up. But that mindset (and refundable fares and refundable miles) let me reserve a seat at some known dollar/miles price so I’m protected from rising prices or a sold-out flight.

@Blake
I see. Yes, true refundability (as opposed to just time-limited e-credit) makes doing something like that so much easier.

Zev said:
@Blake
I see. Yes, true refundability (as opposed to just time-limited e-credit) makes doing something like that so much easier.

YMMV, but at the rate I fly, funds don’t sit in my wallet for more than a few weeks. And there’s no time limit on those funds.

I would guess you could get travel insurance for less than $600.

Hollis said:
I would guess you could get travel insurance for less than $600.

Hmm. I should look into that.

When it comes to using travel insurance to cancel a flight what type of “proof” of cause is generally required?

@Zev
You would need to check the policies but generally yes you will need some documentation. Broke my arm a few weeks ago and have gotten refunds on 2 trips for both myself and wife with a doctor’s note.