Airfare doesn’t stop moving just because you’ve already paid for your ticket. Now more than ever, fares are fluctuating constantly, sometimes by $50 or $100 or more in the weeks and months after you book.
On most tickets, the airline will refund the difference – not as cash back but as a credit you toward a future flight. The catch? You have to notice … and almost nobody does. Or they forget.
So we built something to do all the work for you: FareTracker, a free new tool from Thrifty Traveler. FareTracker checks the price of your flights every day after you’ve booked and logged it with us. If your fare drops by $20 or more, we’ll email you to let you know along with step-by-step instructions for rebooking with your airline so you can claim the savings.
It’s already paying off. In the few weeks since we quietly opened FareTracker to early users, travelers have logged in and tracked over 1,000 flights. Travelers have claimed at least $5,500 total in airline credits – with an average savings of nearly $192!
- It’s completely free: Unlike other similar services, we don’t charge a subscription or take a cut on what you save. This is absolutely free to use, no hidden fees or charges
- No personal information: FareTracker never asks for your name, date of birth, phone number, confirmation number, frequent flyer account numbers, or any sensitive information, period
- No inbox access: You enter your flights yourself after you book – we’ll never have access to your email
- Only get alerts for price drops on your flights: Unlike Google Flights Price alerts, we zero in on exactly the flight you booked – and only let you know when there are savings available compared to what you paid.
- Built around what you actually paid: You only hear from us when there’s real money on the table
Start tracking your flights and saving … for free!
Why Your Booked Flight Is Still Worth Watching
Since the major U.S. airlines scrapped change fees on most tickets (excluding basic economy fares) during the pandemic, you can “change” or cancel any Main Cabin economy ticket (or higher) to the exact same flight at a lower price and keep the difference. You don’t pay a fee, and you don’t lose your seat on the plane. The airline gives you the savings as a travel credit that’s generally good for up to 12 months before it expires.
Say you booked a $387 Main Cabin ticket from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Los Angeles (LAX) on Delta … but a few weeks later, that same flight drops to $312. Cancel your original ticket, and Delta gives you the full $387 back as an eCredit. Use that credit to rebook the exact same flight at the lower price, and you’re left with a $75 Delta eCredit for your next trip.
So why doesn’t everyone do this? Because it only works if you’re watching.
Few people check the price of a flight they’ve already booked once, let alone every day until departure. A Google Flights Price Alert won’t help much either: It can tell you a route’s price moved, but it doesn’t know what you paid. FareTracker compares the current fare against your actual price and stays quiet until you can actually claim something.
How much can you claim? It depends on the route, the cabin, and how far out you booked. Domestic roundtrip fares commonly drop by $30 to $100 or more. International flights cost more to begin with, so their price swings tend to be even larger. Early FareTracker users have averaged nearly $192 per rebooking. That’s a lot of credit for five minutes of clicking.
How FareTracker Works
Setup takes about five minutes, and it works for both one-way and roundtrip flights, domestic or international.
- Add your flight: Enter your airline, flight numbers, route, dates, cabin, and the price you paid per person. Roundtrip tickets are tracked as one price, just like you booked them
- We watch the price: FareTracker checks your fare every day against what you paid. If it falls by $20 or more, you get an instant email from us
- You rebook and save: Follow the steps for your airline. It takes five minutes or less, and the airline issues the difference as a travel credit
It doesn’t stop after one drop. Once you’ve rebooked, tap “I rebooked this flight” in your dashboard. FareTracker logs your savings, resets tracking to your new lower price, and alerts you again if the fare falls further.
One more tip: If your fare drops within the first day after you book, you may not need a travel credit at all. Under the 24-hour rule, you can cancel most flights booked directly with the airline at least a week before departure and get a full refund back to your card. Then just book again at the lower price.
What a Price Drop Alert Looks Like
When your fare drops, you’ll get an email that puts the savings front and center. It includes:
- Your flight details: route, airline, flight number, cabin, and date
- What you paid next to the current price
- Rebooking instructions for your specific airline, with a button that takes you straight to the airline’s website
- A “Good to know” tip on that airline’s change rules
What You Can (and Can’t) Track
At launch, FareTracker works with flights on Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, and United – only when booked directly with the airline.
It also has to be a fare you’re allowed to change. That means Main Cabin economy and up: Premium Economy, Business, and First Class all work. Basic Economy and similar bare-bones fares generally don’t, because most airlines won’t let you change those tickets at all (unless you pay a hefty fee). The exception is Southwest, where Basic fares can be canceled for a travel credit, so those are fair game.
Award tickets booked with points or miles aren’t supported yet … but it’s something we’re working to add in the future. Same goes for other airlines.
FareTracker is free for everyone, with one limit: free accounts can track up to five flights at a time. Our Thrifty Traveler Premium members can track up to 10.
Your savings will come back as an airline credit, not cash. Those credits are typically good for a year (just six months on Southwest Basic fares) and only work with that airline. If you fly Delta out of MSP a few times a year, an $75 eCredit is as good as money. If you rarely fly Alaska, a $40 Alaska credit is worth less than it sounds. Either way, you’re not out anything. You’re getting something back on a trip you were already taking.
Why We Built It … & Why It’s Free
We were tired of overpaying for flights we’d already booked. Google Flights Price Alerts are powerful but imperfect. And the tools that already exist to fix that charge a fee, want your personal information, ask for access to your inbox … or all three.
So we built the one we actually wanted to use. FareTracker comes from the same team that’s been helping travelers find cheap flights since 2015. It’s built on the same thinking as our free Credit Card Benefits Tracker: it’s useful, it doesn’t ask for anything sensitive, and it doesn’t cost you a cent.
FareTracker also doesn’t book or change anything for you. It tells you when there’s money to claim and how to claim it. Whether and when you rebook is up to you.
And if you’d like help finding a cheap flight to begin with, that’s what Thrifty Traveler Premium has done since 2017. Our team finds the best flight deals and sends them straight to your inbox with everything you need to know to get them booked.
Premium helps you find the deal, and FareTracker makes sure you’re not overpaying after you’ve booked it.
How to Get Started
Head to FareTracker and sign in. Already a Thrifty Traveler Premium member or free flight deal subscriber? You’re all set. Just use the same login you use today.
Not a member yet? Creating a free account takes less than a minute. Then add a flight you’ve already booked, and you’re done.
Already have a trip on the calendar? That’s the best place to start.
Start tracking your flights for free!
Bottom Line
Airlines will never tell you that the flight you booked just got cheaper. They’re happy to keep the difference. That’s why we built FareTracker.
Early users have already claimed at least $5,500 in credits, and we’re just getting started. If you’ve got a flight booked on any of the five biggest U.S. airlines, there’s no good reason not to let it watch the price for you.
Have feedback to help us improve FareTracker? Email us at help@thriftytraveler(dot)com.
