How Alaska, American, Delta, and United no-change-fee policies compare

Following United’s news that it’s eliminating most domestic change fees, Alaska Airlines, American and Delta also made similar announcements 24 hours later.

Even though other airlines have now joined the no-change-fee party, there are still some significant differences in each carrier’s policy. Let’s take a look at how the policies stack up against each other.

	Alaska Airlines	American Airlines	Delta	United
Which tickets are included?	All, except basic economy	All, except basic economy	All, except basic economy	All, except basic economy
Which destinations are included?	All	All domestic destinations (including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean	All domestic destinations, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands	All domestic destinations, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Are award tickets included?	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
What if you switch to a cheaper flight?	Lose the value	Issued credit with the price difference	No decision made yet	Lose the value
What if you switch to a more expensive flight?	You owe the fare difference	You owe the fare difference	You owe the fare difference	You owe the fare difference
Can you get a refund if you cancel?	No	No	No	No
Can you convert credits to points?	No	No	No	No