Someone on your side: what to do when a booking breaks

Since October 28, 2024, a cancelled US flight means a refund

The DOT automatic-refund rule covers flights to, from and within the US on any airline. It kicks in when your flight is cancelled or significantly changed. That means departure or arrival moved 3+ hours on a domestic flight or 6+ hours on an international one, a different airport, added connections, a downgrade, or a less accessible aircraft for a disabled passenger.

If you don't accept the alternative they offer, the refund goes back to your original form of payment. It covers the unused ticket and any paid extras you didn't get, like bag fees, seats and Wi-Fi. The airline can offer a voucher, but it can't force one on you.

As far as we know, this is how the rule reads. It's information, not legal advice, so confirm the details with your airline. A delayed bag counts too: you can ask for the bag fee back when the bag isn't delivered within 12 hours of arrival on a domestic flight, or within 15 to 30 hours on an international one.

The order that works when a booking site stalls

Refund complaints are the top complaint about online travel agencies in the US. A common story from public forum posts goes like this: a ticket bought through Expedia, a flight that falls apart, and no one picking up.

Start with a written request on the booking site and save the chat transcript. Then contact the airline or hotel directly. They often refund the booking site, which then owes the money to you, and having that on record helps. If that goes nowhere, use your card issuer's dispute process, usually within 60 to 120 days of the charge. After that, file a BBB complaint if the company is in the US, contact your state attorney general's consumer office, and for airline tickets, use DOT's complaint form.

I spent $400 through Expedia for a Vegas trip end of this month for spirit. I can’t get a hold of them

When the agent stops answering, go to the supplier

A middleman who goes quiet doesn't end your claim. The airline or hotel still has your reservation and its own record of what was paid and what was flown. Ask the supplier in writing, on its site or app, to confirm the cancellation or change and to say who holds the money right now.

That written answer matters later. If the airline says it already refunded the agent, you have a paper trail showing the agent owes you. If it says the flight ran as planned, you know your claim is about the fare rules, not the refund rule.

The travel agent is no longer returning our calls or emails.

The card dispute is the backstop, not the first move

A chargeback is for a service you paid for and didn't get. We can't promise one will succeed. What makes it strong is a clear set of facts: you paid, the service wasn't delivered, a refund rule applies, and you have a written refusal or silence you can document.

File it inside your issuer's window, usually 60 to 120 days from the charge, so it's better not to wait on a booking site that keeps saying next week. Attach the original confirmation, the cancellation or schedule-change notice, your written request, and the transcript of every reply.

Hotels and packages follow their own terms

"Free cancellation until" a date means exactly that, and "non-refundable" means the whole amount. Prepaid booking-site rates are the hard ones: Expedia, Booking.com "pay now", Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire. Read those terms before you pay for, say, an Orlando week with the whole family or a Cancún getaway for the two of you.

Packages follow the seller's terms, and cancellation penalties grow as the date gets closer. Cruises follow the cruise line's schedule of penalties, and airfare bought through the line follows the line's rules. Travel insurance with "cancel for any reason" is the only real flexibility there, and it costs 10 to 12% of the trip.

For flights, a ticket bought directly from a US airline can be cancelled for a full refund within 24 hours of booking if the flight is at least 7 days away. The same goes for a ticket bought through a US-based agent for a flight to or from the US. After that, the fare rules decide. Basic Economy is usually non-refundable, and standard economy usually gives a credit, not cash.

What it looks like on a real long weekend

On Oct 15, 2026, we found a Las Vegas weekend from Los Angeles for Oct 30–Nov 1, 2026 at $697 for two, all-in. That was $440 for two in flights plus $230 for two nights at Harrah's Las Vegas, A Caesars Destination. It's a good example of a trip with two separate refund paths.

If the airline cancels, the DOT rule covers the flight part, whoever sold it. The hotel part follows its own rate terms. If you bought a prepaid booking-site rate, the hotel may point you back to the booking site. That's why keeping the flight and hotel paperwork separate, with every confirmation number, saves you hours if something breaks. It works the same way for a trip out of New York.

[...] not going to be there for you on the phone with suppliers if something goes wrong.

Delays and weather: what is owed and what isn't

The US has nothing like the EU's cash compensation for delays. What you do have are each airline's commitments on the DOT customer-service dashboard, which cover meals, hotels and rebooking for delays the airline controls and differ by airline, plus the airline's contract of carriage.

Weather and air-traffic delays count as uncontrollable. Most US airlines owe no hotel or meals for them, but they'll rebook you at no cost, and if the trip ends up cancelled, the refund rule still applies. Flights leaving the EU or UK, or arriving there on an EU or UK carrier, fall under EU261 or UK261. That means fixed compensation of 250 to 600 euros for cancellations and 3h+ delays, unless there were extraordinary circumstances.