--- title: "After You Book: Changes, Refunds and Schedule Changes" description: "Change or cancel a trip, follow a refund, handle an airline schedule change, check names and documents, or ask for seats and assistance after you book." canonical_url: https://buybusinessclass.com/after-you-book last_updated: 2026-11-02 --- # After you book Source: https://buybusinessclass.com/after-you-book How changes, cancellations, refunds, airline schedule changes, documents and special requests work, and what to send us. Customer service answers at +1 (855) 955-2040, 24/7. [Call customer service](tel:+18559552040) [WhatsApp about a booking](https://wa.me/12243469633?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20help%20with%20a%20booking.) ## When the airline changes your flight Airlines can change schedules, aircraft and flight numbers after you book. If the change is significant under US Department of Transportation (DOT) rules and you decline the new flight, you are owed a refund. Contact us before accepting a change you do not want. 1. Read the airline's schedule change notice and compare the new times, airports, connections and cabin with the itinerary you booked. 2. Check whether it is significant: leaving 3 or more hours earlier or arriving 3 or more hours later domestically, or 6 or more hours internationally, counts. 3. A different departure or arrival airport, more connections than you booked, or a move to a lower class of service, such as business to premium economy, also counts. 4. Contact us before you accept. You can accept the change, ask about other flights the airline offers, or, for a significant change, decline and ask for a refund. - These DOT refund rights apply to flights to, from or within the US. Accepting the new flight, or a voucher or credit, ends the right to that refund. - Travelers with a disability have two more cases: different connecting airports, or a substitute aircraft missing an accessibility feature they need. Ask about this ## Changing dates, flights or travelers Whether you can change a ticket, and what it costs, depends on the airline's fare rules for the fare you bought. Ask before departure. If we charge a service fee for handling the change, your agent tells you the amount before you agree. 1. Send us your booking reference or e-ticket number and the new dates, flights or cabin you want, using the form below or by phone. 2. Your agent checks the fare rules and current availability, then tells you what the airline allows and the total cost of the change. 3. Once you agree, check the updated itinerary and e-ticket details as soon as you receive them, and tell us right away if anything is wrong. - Airline tickets cannot be transferred to another person. Correcting a name after ticketing may not be possible, or may cost a fee or a new fare under the airline's rules. - Change before departure. If you miss a flight without changing it first, the airline may cancel the rest of your itinerary. [Fees and promises: what you pay and when](https://buybusinessclass.com/fees) Ask about this ## Canceling a trip you booked If you need to cancel, the airline's fare rules decide whether you get a refund, a credit for future travel or nothing back. Tell us before departure, and your agent explains the options and any service fee first. 1. Contact us before your first flight departs, with your booking reference or e-ticket number and the travelers who are canceling. 2. Your agent reads the fare rules and tells you what the airline allows: a refund, a credit for future travel, or neither, and any penalty. 3. If we charge a service fee for handling the cancellation, your agent tells you the amount before you agree to it. 4. Once you confirm, keep the cancellation confirmation and the e-ticket number; they help you follow a refund or use a credit later. - Do not simply skip a flight. If you don't take a flight without changing or canceling it first, the airline may cancel the rest of your itinerary, and the unused ticket may have no value. - If the airline cancels your flight instead, your rights are different: see the refund and schedule change sections below. Ask about this ## Following a refund Refunds follow the airline's fare rules and its processing, and go back to the original form of payment unless the law or the airline's rules say otherwise. A refund the US Department of Transportation (DOT) requires has its own deadlines. 1. Send us your booking reference or e-ticket number and the date you asked for the refund, using the form below, so we can check its status. 2. If the airline canceled or significantly changed your flight, say whether you declined the new flight and any voucher or credit; accepting either ends the right to a refund. 3. Watch the statement of the card or account you paid with, since refunds go back to the original form of payment. - Under the DOT rule, a required refund must be made within 7 business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for other payments, counted from when it is due. - That rule covers flights to, from or within the US. It includes nonrefundable tickets, taxes, and fees for extras you paid for but did not get, such as seats or bags. Ask about this ## Names, passports and visas Each traveler's name on the ticket must match their passport exactly, and each traveler is responsible for a valid passport, any visas or travel authorizations, and the entry and health rules of every country on the trip. 1. Before you pay, check that every traveler's name is spelled exactly as in the passport they will travel with. 2. Check each passport's expiry date and the entry rules of every country on the trip, including countries where you only connect. 3. Use official sources: travel.state.gov for US citizens, and the embassy or consulate of each country you will visit or pass through. 4. If you find a mistake in a name or date after ticketing, tell us right away; a correction may not be possible, or may cost a fee. - Requirements change often, so check again shortly before you travel. Airlines can refuse boarding to a traveler without the right documents. Ask about this ## Seats, meals and assistance Seat, meal and assistance requests are made with the airline through your booking. Ask your agent to add them, then confirm them with the airline before you fly, since each airline sets its own rules for seats and bags. 1. Tell your agent which seats, special meals or assistance each traveler needs, ideally when you book or as soon as you know. 2. For wheelchair or boarding help, ask for it on every flight of the trip, so each airline and airport is ready for you. 3. After the request is added, check the airline's app or website, or call the airline, to confirm it shows on your booking. - Under the US Air Carrier Access Act, airlines must help passengers with a disability with boarding, getting off the plane and connecting, on US airlines and on foreign airlines' flights to or from the US. - Seat assignments and checked bags follow each airline's rules, and some airlines charge separately for certain seats or extra bags. Ask about this Sources: [14 CFR Part 260: Refunds for airline fare and ancillary service fees](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-260) · [International Travel, Travel.State.Gov (US Department of State)](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel.html) · [About the Air Carrier Access Act, US Department of Transportation](https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/passengers-disabilities) · [My Flight Was Cancelled: Am I Owed a Refund?](https://buybusinessclass.com/blog/flight-cancelled-refund-rights) · [Terms of use](https://buybusinessclass.com/legal#terms-of-use) · [Business class for seniors](https://buybusinessclass.com/business-class-for-seniors) ## Send a request about your booking Choose a topic, add your booking reference if you have one, and say what you need.