On a voluntary change, Frontier keeps most of the power. When Frontier is the one who cancels or badly delays your flight, the balance shifts, and federal rules decide what you are owed.
The refund rule in one paragraph
Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to a refund to your original form of payment if your flight is canceled or significantly changed and you choose not to travel. A significant change includes a departure or arrival 3 or more hours off schedule on a domestic flight, or 6 or more hours internationally, as well as a change of airport or added connections. Refunds must be issued within 7 business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for other payment methods. Paid extras you could not use, like bags and seats, are refunded too.
Cash or credit: you choose
When a flight is canceled, the app or agent may offer a rebooking or a travel credit first. You are not required to accept a credit. If you are not going to fly, ask for the refund to your original payment. If you do take the rebooking and fly, the refund right goes away for that segment.
What to do, in order
- Look for the next Frontier flight yourself. Before you queue, find which Frontier flights to your destination still have seats today and tomorrow. Our Frontier route pages show every nonstop and its usual schedule, and the WildFares search shows the whole network at once.
- Rebook in the app if it offers a flight that works. App rebookings are often faster than the counter line.
- If nothing works, request the refund rather than accepting a credit you may not use.
- Keep receipts for meals, hotels and ground transport, and write down what agents tell you.
- Check your credit card. Many travel cards include trip delay coverage that pays for hotels and meals after a delay of 6 to 12 hours, whatever the airline offers.
Delays that do not reach 3 hours
A delay under the significant change threshold does not create a refund right, and U.S. law does not require cash compensation for delays the way European rules do. What Frontier offers for delays it controls (meals, hotels) is published on the DOT's Airline Customer Service Dashboard, which lists each airline's commitments.
GoWild Pass bookings
Pass fares are real tickets, so these rules apply to the taxes and any extras you paid. Pass bookings have a few extra wrinkles, like rebooking onto flights without pass availability, which we cover in what to do when a GoWild flight is delayed or canceled.
Quick answers
Does Frontier refund canceled flights?
Yes. If Frontier cancels your flight and you choose not to travel, you are entitled to a refund to your original payment under DOT rules, not only a travel credit.
How long does a Frontier delay have to be for a refund?
3 hours or more on a domestic flight, or 6 hours or more on an international flight, if you choose not to travel.
How fast does Frontier have to refund me?
Within 7 business days for credit card purchases and within 20 calendar days for other payment methods.
See every GoWild! seat before Frontier loads.
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