Even with the pandemic in our rearview mirror, airlines are still giving travelers unprecedented flexibility to cancel almost any flight for a credit or voucher. But once you’ve got them, you’re stuck using them for the original passenger.
Those credits are tied to individual travelers, so you can’t use your own voucher to book a flight for someone else – or vice versa. Countless Americans ran into this problem after canceling trips during the pandemic, leading many travelers to let their credits expire and go to waste – exactly what the airlines want.
But there may be a workaround. Although they don’t really advertise it, a few of the nation’s largest airlines allow travelers to transfer travel credits between one another. That means you could potentially put your child’s or aunt’s travel credit from a canceled family trip (which would otherwise go unused) toward your own future travels.
There might be a few hoops to jump through, but it can be easily worth it. Check it out.
Read next: You Can Still Get Free Change & Cancellation on Flights (If You Pay For It…)
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines offers added flexibility to their customers who are willing to pay a little more for their tickets. Back in 2022, the airline began selling Wanna Get Away Plus fares, a step above the cheapest (and fan-favorite) Wanna Get Away fares, adding a few extra perks in the process.
For an extra $15 to $20 in each direction, Southwest sells these Wanna Get Away Plus fares with more flexibility than their lowest-priced siblings. If your plans change, you can cancel your flight and transfer your unused travel credit to any fellow traveler. Whether you’re flying a quick domestic nonstop, heading out to Hawaii, or making several connections on your way to Mexico or the Caribbean, that added cost could be well worth if for many travelers.
There are some strings attached: You can only transfer a travel credit once; both parties must have a Southwest Rapid Rewards account; and these travel credits still expire 12 months from the date the original ticket was booked.
Still, it’s a nice touch and it solves a major painpoint for travelers with credits set to expire before they can use them. Oftentimes family trips get scrapped, leaving each and every traveler with a credit they may not be able to use. But with these Wanna Get Away Plus fares, those unused credits can be transferred to someone with more immediate plans so that they don’t go to waste.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue likely offers the most flexible travel credits of all airlines. For canceled flights, you’ll be issued a credit to your JetBlue Travel Bank that you can use to book a new flight for yourself or any other passenger.
You can use your Travel Bank funds for the cost of airfare and any associated taxes and fees. Unfortunately, add-ons like checked bag fees, seat upgrades, and same-day change fees are off limits for these credits.
Regardless of these minor limitations, the flexibility JetBlue provides is reason enough to pick them if your plans are fluid or you’re just an occasionally poor planner … like me.
Delta Air Lines
Officially, Delta doesn’t allow travelers to transfer eCredits from one person to another, or even allow them to be used to book travel for someone else. But after a recent cancelled flight, I found out that rule isn’t quite as strict as it might seem.
I recently purchased a Delta Air Lines ticket for another person who ended up needing to cancel. This was incredibly frustrating as I knew the cancelled flight would result in an eCredit that only that passenger could redeem. It looked like I was going to be out $500 … or so I thought.
After wallowing in self pity, I did the logical thing and began researching my situation on Reddit. I soon discovered that eCredits issued through Delta can be transferred if you are the purchaser and can prove that you made the payment. Bingo!
With a glimmer of hope, I fired up the chat function on the airline’s website to try my luck getting a Delta customer service representative to transfer the credit to my name.
Since I hadn’t yet cancelled the ticket in the other passenger’s name, I first asked about transferring it to myself with the intent to cancel and have the eCredit issued in my name from the get-go.
That wasn’t possible, but since I was able to prove I was the one who booked and paid for the ticket, the Delta rep was able to cancel the ticket and transfer the credit to my name.
You’ll have to fill out some secure forms, confirming the passenger details of the original ticket, in addition to credit card details and address.
As soon as this was done, the representative proceeded with canceling the flight, issuing an eCredit, and confirming that it was now under my name.
The only caveat here is that you cannot take that eCredit number and book a flight on your own. When you’re ready to use it, you will have to book through Delta’s chat function or contact them directly by phone. This is a minor hurdle and well worth if for the added flexibility with this loophole!
Other Airlines
As far as other airlines go, you’re likely out of luck.
Airlines like American, Hawaiian, Spirit, Sun Country, and Allegiant all seem to be pretty strict on their credits being non-transferrable. Some data points suggest Frontier will allow you to use a credit for someone else at the check-in counter, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Additionally, some travelers have reported having luck using travel credits on other travelers with United Airlines and Alaska Airlines after canceling their flights. But again, we don’t have experience with this ourselves and it’s far from a sure thing.
If you need added flexibility, I’d only count on getting it from Southwest, JetBlue … and to some extent, Delta.
Bottom Line
If your upended travel plans have left you stuck with a travel credit you can’t use, there might be a way to get it to someone else. With Southwest and JetBlue, it’s relatively easy to transfer a travel credit to someone else – or use it to book their flights. With Delta, you can move that credit to your name if you’re the person that paid for it.
If your travel plans are uncertain, booking with one of these airlines is a good idea.
