Expedia offers FREE cancellation on flight tickets within 24 hours of booking. If your plans change or if you find a better deal, you can simply cancel your flight tickets within 24 hours of booking and get a full refund. This 24-hour cancellation option is offered by all Expedia Group websites including Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, and Priceline.
In this article, you will how to book and cancel flight tickets with 24-hour free cancellation on Expedia.
Table of Contents
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Why book flight tickets with 24-hour FREE cancellation?
Expedia’s 24-hour flight cancellation is very convenient if you are on the lookout for a perfect flight deal. Or, you just want to book something in case the prices go up.
This 24-hour flight cancellation option is also the easiest and foolproof way for your onward or return flight proof.
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Expedia flight cancellation policy WITHIN 24 hours of booking
Expedia allows you to cancel a flight ticket and get a full refund within 24 hours of booking. The Expedia 24-hour flight cancellation policy is a US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulation, passed along to the customer by the airline through Expedia.
As per the US Department of Transportation (DOT), airlines must allow their customers to cancel their flight tickets within 24 hours of booking to get a full refund, provided the booking was made at least 7 days prior to the flight departure date.
This regulation applies to all US airlines and their international partners booked through any US-based airline’s website or an online travel agent’s website such as Expedia. This regulation DOES NOT apply to low-cost or budget airlines.
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Expedia flight refund policy WITHIN 24 hours of booking
When you book a flight on Expedia, your credit card will be charged by the airline and not by Expedia. Therefore, the refund also comes from the airline. Generally, the refund from the airline is issued on the same day of cancellation but it may take a few days to reflect in your credit card statement.
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Expedia flight cancellation policy AFTER 24 hours of booking
After the initial 24 hours, the airline’s cancellation policy will be enforced. If the airline allows you to cancel a flight ticket with a penalty, then Expedia will also allow you to cancel that ticket with a penalty. If it’s a non-refundable ticket, then you cannot cancel the ticket anymore.
That being said, it’s important to note that Expedia allows more than 24 hours to cancel for a full refund. This is because the ticket must be cancelled by 11.59 PM CST the next business day for a full refund.
If you navigate to the cancellation page of your booking on Expedia, you will see the days or hours by which you must cancel for a full refund. This is usually more than 24 hours. You must cancel your ticket within this time frame for a full refund otherwise you cannot cancel or get a full refund.
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Steps to book and cancel flight within 24 hours for a full refund on Expedia
Step 01. Browse to Expedia.com (not co.uk, not co.ph, etc)
- Go to Expedia’s US website expedia.com (see picture above)
- Click on the “Flights” tab
NOTE
Ensure the URL is Expedia’s US website (expedia.com) and not one of Expedia’s regional websites (such as expedia.co.uk, expedia.co.ph, etc.). The 24-hour FREE cancellation option is only available on Expedia’s US website and NOT on any of Expedia’s regional websites.
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Step 02. Search for flights
- Enter Leaving From, Going To, Departing, Travelers, etc.
- Click on the blue “Search” button
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Step 03. Choose your departing flight
- On this “Choose departing flight” page, you will see a list of flights
- Click on a flight that’s convenient and/or affordable for you
A pop-up will open on the right side of the page with more details
- On the pop-up, click on the blue “Select” button
You will be taken to the “Review your trip” page in a new tab.
NOTE
If you are booking a roundtrip ticket, choose your return flight on the same airline as the departing flight. You can choose a different airline but it can get a bit complicated.
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Step 04. Review your trip
- On this “Review your trip” page, you will see the details of the flight you have selected
- Make sure there is a note saying “Free cancellation – There is no fee to cancel within 24 hours of booking” right below the blue “Check out” button
- Click on the blue “Check out” button
You will be taken to the “Secure booking – only takes a few minutes” page.
IMPORTANT
If you don’t see this “Free cancellation within 24 hours” note below the “Check out” button, that means this flight is not eligible for 24-hour free cancellation. DO NOT continue further. Instead, close this tab and choose another flight from the previous list. Repeat this process till you find a flight that has this note.
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Step 05. Complete your flight booking
- On this “Secure booking – only takes a few minutes” page, you will see the form to fill in the passenger and payment details
- Make sure there is “Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking!” at the top of the page
- Scroll down and also make sure there is “Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking!” under the “Review and book your trip” section
- Fill in the passenger and payment details
- Click on the yellow “Complete Booking >” button
You will be taken to the “Thank you! Your trip is booked” page.
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Step 06. Make a note of the date/time by which you must cancel your flight booking
- On this “Thank you! Your trip is booked” page, click on the yellow “View My Itinerary” button
- You will be taken to the “Your booking” page for the flight you just booked
- On this “Your booking” page, you will see the flight you have just booked. Click on it.
- You will be taken to the “Flight to <city>” page with your flight booking details
- On this “Flight to <city>” page, click on the blue “Change or cancel booking” button
- You will be taken to the “Manage Booking” page
- On this “Manage Booking” page, click on the “Cancel reservation” button
- You will be taken to the “Cancel your flight” page
- Check the days and hours displayed within the “Additional information” section. It would be something like “To receive a full refund for your flight, you must cancel in 1 day 21 hours and 24 minutes or less.“
- You must cancel your flight booking within this time frame to get a full refund
- If you do not see the days and/or hours yet, do not panic. Wait a few minutes and refresh the page.
IMPORTANT
There were incidents where the “days or hours” by which you must cancel the flight booking was less than 24 hours. Therefore, as soon as you complete your booking, check the time frame by which you must cancel your booking. Make sure you cancel your flight booking within this time frame. If you fail to cancel within this time frame, you CANNOT cancel anymore and CANNOT get a refund.
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Step 07. Check and retain your fight confirmation email
- Check your email inbox for Expedia flight purchase confirmation
- Retain this email till you cancel your flight booking
- This email also serves as a way to get to your booking cancelation page later
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Step 08. Cancel your flight booking within 24 hours
If you like to cancel your flight ticket within 24 hours of booking, you can do so from your email or from “Trips” on expedia.com
From Email
- Go to your Expedia flight purchase confirmation email
- Click on the blue “View your trip” button
- You will be taken to the “My trip” page on expedia.com for that flight booking
From “Trips” on expedia.com
- Go to Expedia’s US site expedia.com
- Click on the “Trips” link at the top of the page
- You will be taken to the “Trips” page.
- On the “Trips” page, within “Upcoming“, you should see your flight booking. Click on it.
- You will be taken to the “My trip” page
- Under “Your booking“, you will see the flight that you want to cancel. Click on it.
- You will be taken to the “Flight to <city>” page with your flight booking details
- On this “Flight to <city>” page, click on the blue “Change or cancel booking” button
- You will be taken to the “Manage Booking” page
- On this “Manage Booking” page, click on the “Cancel reservation” button
- You will be taken to the “Cancel your flight” page
- On this “Cancel your flight” page, first make sure the original flight cost and refund amounts are correct and accurate
- Then click on the yellow “Cancel my flight” button
You will be shown a popup to confirm that you really want to cancel your flight.
- On this popup (“Are you sure you want to cancel your flight?”), click on the yellow “Yes, cancel flight” button.
You will be taken to the “Your booking has been cancelled” page.
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Step 09. Verify if the flight booking has been cancelled
- On the “Your booking has been cancelled” page, click on the yellow “Go to itinerary” button.
- You will be taken to the booking page that you just cancelled
- On this page, you should see your cancelled booking under “Your canceled items”
- If your booking has a “Canceled” note in red, then your booking has been cancelled successfully.
- Check your email inbox for the flight booking cancellation confirmation
- Verify that the email says “Your flight has been cancelled“
- Retain this email until you receive your refund
If for some reason, you cannot cancel your booking, contact Expedia customer service using the following options.
Chat
You can find a small sticky “Help” button on the right bottom of your screen. You can click on that button and start chatting with an agent.
If you can’t find the help or chat button, go to Expedia service page and you can find the “Chat Now” button on the top of the page.
Phone
If you prefer to call, you can call Expedia US customer service at the following numbers.
Expedia phone number: +1 (404) 728-8787
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Step 10. Receive a full refund in a few days
- In most cases, the airline name will be shown in your credit/debit card transactions instead of Expedia or expedia.com
- After the flight booking has been cancelled, keep an eye on your credit/debit card transactions
- You should receive a full refund of the flight booking in a few days
NOTE
Most often a hold on the funds is placed on your credit card at the time of booking. It takes about 24-48 hours for the hold to turn into a confirmed transaction. If you cancel your booking within 24 hours, the hold is usually dropped and you will not see any transactions from Expedia on your credit card as if you have never made a payment on Expedia.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does expedia have a 24 hour cancellation policy?
Yes. Expedia has a 24-hour cancellation policy. As mandated by the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Expedia offers a full refund on flights if cancelled within 24 hours of booking.
Is expedia free cancellation really free?
Yes. If the fight tickets booked on Expedia are cancelled within 24 hours of booking, you will get a full refund of the amount you have paid for. There are no catches, gotchas or gimmicks.
Is expedia customer service 24 hours?
Yes. The Expedia customer service is available 24 hours to help you with your flight cancellation. You can chat with them or call them at their phone number +1 (404) 728-8787.
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Conclusion
That’s it! Those are the steps to book flight tickets with 24-hour FREE cancellation on Expedia. The steps are exactly the same on all Expedia Group websites including Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline.
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Dave says
Hi Thirumal, I replied to another comment below, but I figured I would just make a post as it might help other people. I’m looking at a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Bogota, Colombia, but I don’t see any flights that have the text “Free cancel w/in 24 hrs” as you’ve shown in Step 3. However, I do see “Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking!” in Step 4/5. Does that mean these flights are refundable within 24 hours or not? Thanks for your help!
Thirumal Motati says
Hi Dave! That’s correct! Expedia changed the UI a bit. I’m yet to update this post. So, if it says “Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking” in step 4/5, that means yes, the flight is refundable within 24 hours. Sorry for the confusion.
Nelson says
Everything in this post is very accurate. Just before countries shut down their borders, I had to book two flights as proof of onward travel. Herewith is how it went for me.
Booking 1: Payment was posted to my credit card statement and was reversed a few days after. There was a Cancel button in the confirmation e-mail sent to me.
Booking 2: Payment was never posted to my credit card statement at all. There was no Cancel button in the confirmation e-mail sent to me! When I checked Expedia, however, the option to cancel was sitting happily there waiting to be clicked.
If you’ve read the entirety of this blog post, you’d know that both booking scenarios were discussed. It is also important to note that when you’re using a card that has a different currency than what you paid for, you might still end up paying some amount due to the obvious fluctuation of the currency exchange by the time your payment is reversed.
The trick here, as highlighted over and over again in the post, is to look out for the Free cancellation within 24 hours of booking! message all the way to the very end. I’m betting my balls that those who commented saying that they were unable to cancel their booking was oblivious of this message. Cancellation is possible until around midnight of the following day.
If, after all these, you’re still in doubt, you can also do what I did. Prior to paying for the booking, I checked the policies in the websites of the airlines involved in the booking if indeed they offer free cancellation within 24 hours. Such airlines are usually those which are not low-cost airlines.
Lastly, thanks a ton for this post, man!
Thirumal says
Hi Nelson! I’m glad this post has helped you with your bookings. Thanks for stressing on looking out for the “Free cancellation within 24 hours” message all the way to the very end. This is super important and as you mentioned, many overlook this very important step and later wonder how come they couldn’t cancel. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! I hope you made it to where you want to be before the border/flight shutdowns. Stay safe, man!
Elliott says
You stated, “you might still end up paying some amount due to the obvious fluctuation of the currency exchange by the time your payment is reversed”. In fact, even if you cancel 2 seconds after booking, and the currency exchange rate is still identical, you will lose between 2%-8%, which represents the “spread”, or the credit card’s “buy” vs. their “sell” rate for foreign currency transactions. Beware!
Thirumal says
Thanks Elliott! That’s definitely something to be aware of if using a credit card that has a different currency than USD.
Andre Marais says
I requested that they change my flights. I am still waiting as the Kazakhstan government shut the borders for us. I need to reschedule the flights. Please send me a mail address and contact person name. Please advise.
Thirumal says
Hi Andre! You will have to contact Expedia customer service for that. Please follow the below steps to contact Expedia.
– Go to Expedia Customer Service Portal
– Click on “Contact US” button
– A popup will appear
– In the “Choose a topic” dropdown, select “Flights”
– In the “What can we help you with?” dropdown, select “Change & Cancel”
– You will see the phone numbers at the bottom of the popup
Johanna says
Update from January 2020! I just successfully got reimbursed, and all went easily and very well. ^-^
I booked a VietJet Air flight from Japan to South Korea, with a European Mastercard while being myself still in Europe. I cancelled the flight within the 24h with the Expedia app, which was super convenient, and the money was back on my card 2 days after (there was the little ~2euro fee though, apparently the currency conversion?).
I just wanted to let everyone know who might be hesitating whether this still works, as I was a few weeks ago.
Thirumal says
Hi Johanna! Thanks for sharing your experience. It will definitely help our readers. Thanks again for updating all of us!
Chez Saez says
Hi, I’m so confused with (within 24 hrs cancellation). I’m based in NY and have 3 hrs difference from PDT it says that free until 11:59p PDT. My question is, do I need to complete the 24 hrs before I canceled it or I can cancel it may be tomorrow morning?
Thirumal says
Hi Chez! You MUST cancel your booking by 11.59 PM PDT. So Yes, cancel it tomorrow morning and don’t wait till 11.59 pm PDT. If you wait till 11.59 PM PDT and cancel after that, you CANNOT get a refund. So you must cancel your booking before 11.59 PM PDT.
Chez Saez says
Thank you so much for the tips. So now I’m waiting for my full refund after 7-10 business days.
Thirumal says
You’re welcome! The refund can be pretty quick, but sometimes it can take longer.
Richard says
Hey there Thirumal! I booked a flight with American Airlines on November 26th 2019, and I had to cancel it within 30 minutes after paying it because of an error on the passenger’s surname. It’s November 29th at the time of writing this and I still haven’t gotten my refund.
Some important points here: I used a debit Visa card to make the payment. The flight was Peru-USA. If I’m not wrong, yesterday was a non-business day (Thanksgiving in the US) so technically it’s been only 1 business day yet.
The flight also appears as cancelled on my Expedia account and the final amount says $0.00 as you mentioned, but I can’t see my refund yet. Should I call Expedia again?
Thirumal says
Hi Richard! Refunds usually take a little longer, a few days to a week. As long as your flight is canceled and you have received a confirmation that your flight has been canceled, you will receive your refund. And yes, weekends and holidays affect refunds. Give them a call on Monday just to make sure.
vikram says
Expedia told me that the 24 hours mean the end of the day. So at 12.00 AM the day ends and so does their “24 hours” offer. It does not mean 24 hours from the time you did the booking. So even if you book at 22.00 you need to cancel before that day ends at 23.59 hours. Is this true?
Thirumal says
Hi Vikram! As far as my knowledge and experience go, it’s the end of the “next” business day. You will be given until 11.59 CST next business day to cancel your flight to get a full refund. I have booked several flights from Expedia over the last few years that is what I have observed. The date and time by which you have to cancel to get a full refund will be clearly mentioned in the “Manage Reservation” section.
Teza says
I just tried doing it. They are making it very difficult to cancel. It won’t go to the cancelation page. Freedom taking such time and energy is kinda ironic. Will have to call them. Hope that works.
Thirumal says
Hi Teza! Sorry to hear that you had to call them to cancel. I guess people are exploiting the 24-hour cancellation policy and they have to be more strict about it.
Sunil says
Great informative article. I want to travel from a small airport in India to Dubai in the month of Nov 19. And none of the airlines have a 100% refund policy for international flights from there. Just wondering if I’ll still be able to get 100% refund on cancellation within 24 Hours of the flight booking?
Thirumal says
Hi Sunil! If the flight you are booking indicates “Free Cancel w/in 24hrs” (as shown in step 03), then you will be able to get a full refund if canceled within 24 hours of booking. If it doesn’t indicate so, then you cannot get a refund.
Josh says
I’m sorry to say this but this is no longer true. We attempted to cancel our flight 30 minutes after booking it and were told that as it was a low-cost airline (Air Asia) than no refund would be provided despite their being “free cancellation within 24 hours” next to the flight. I would really recommend that you change this post as I booked the flight based on the information in this post. Josh
Thirumal says
Hi Josh! Sorry to hear that. But I have never seen “free cancel w/in 24 hrs” for any AirAsia flights (and/or with any low-cost airlines in general) on Expedia. I did a quick search on Expedia for Bangkok (BKK)-Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and I still don’t see “fee cancel w/in 24 hrs” next to any of the AirAsia flights in the list. Could you please provide your route, dates and any screenshots if you have? I would like to verify myself before I warn others.
Ramprasath Ramamurthi says
Hi Thirumal,
Thanks for sharing about this feature on the Expedia US website.
I am planning to book a ticket on Expedia US website for Singapore to Chennai flight with the option of 24 hours free cancellation. How will it affect the refund process for booking the flight outside US boundary? Please advise.
Thirumal says
Hi Ramprasath! As far as I know, Expedia US website offers 24-hour free cancellation option irrespective of user’s location. I have heard one complaint that Expedia did not honor the 24-hour free cancellation. Other than that, all my readers (from every location) were able to get a full refund after cancellation.
hüsnü says
Hello there! The same cancellation right for our hotel + flight reservations? because the payment page says that the hotel fee cannot be canceled.
Thirumal says
Hi Hüsnü! I don’t know how a hotel plus flight package cancellations work on Expedia. If you have booked the hotel and flight individually, then you can cancel them separately and get a refund (if your bookings qualify for a refund).