Last updated: November 2026
The short version
A refund is your ticket price, minus the airline's cancellation charge for the fare you bought, minus our service fee. Whether anything is left depends almost entirely on the fare rules — which are shown on the fare before you pay, and repeated on your confirmation.
Cancelling within 24 hours
If you booked a flight to, from or within the United States at least 7 days before departure, US Department of Transportation rules let you cancel within 24 hours of booking without penalty. Contact us inside that window and we will cancel with the airline and refund you in full — no airline charge and no service fee from us.
Cancelling your booking
Cancel by calling +1 587-315-9019 or emailing care@thetravelohome.com with your booking reference. Cancel with us rather than directly with the airline — if the airline cancels a ticket we issued, we may not be able to process your refund and you will have to pursue it with the airline yourself.
Cancellation takes effect when we confirm it in writing, not when you send the request. Charges are calculated on the time we action the cancellation with the airline, so a request sent close to departure may fall into a higher charge band.
What gets deducted
- The airline's cancellation charge. Set by the fare rules of your ticket. Promotional and basic economy fares are frequently non-refundable except for some government taxes.
- Our service fee. Our fee for booking and for processing the cancellation. It is shown to you before you pay and is non-refundable once a ticket has been issued.
- Payment gateway charges, where the gateway does not return them to us on a refund.
On a non-refundable fare you are usually still entitled to a refund of government taxes and charges the airline did not incur because you did not fly — for example the September 11th Security Fee, passenger facility charges and international departure taxes on an unused flight. We will claim these for you.
Travel credits
On some fares, particularly with US domestic and low-cost carriers, cancelling gives you a travel credit with the airline rather than a cash refund. A credit is held by the airline, not by us, and its value, expiry date and conditions are set by the airline. We will tell you before you cancel whether your fare gives a refund or a credit, and help you use a credit when you rebook.
If the airline cancels or reschedules
Where an airline cancels your flight, or changes the schedule so materially that it no longer works for you, you are generally entitled to a full refund of the fare or to re-accommodation. For flights to, from or within the United States, US Department of Transportation rules entitle you to a refund — including on a non-refundable ticket — if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight (for example, a departure or arrival moved by 3 hours or more on a domestic flight, or 6 hours or more on an international one, or a change of airport) and you do not accept the alternative or travel credit offered. Some airlines also offer meals, hotels or compensation under their own customer service commitments, which you claim from the airline — we will help you do it. In this case we do not charge our cancellation service fee.
How long refunds take
We raise the refund with the airline as soon as the cancellation is confirmed. The money reaches you in two stages, and only the first is within our control:
- Airline to us: typically a few weeks for US carriers, and up to 90 days for some international airlines. Some airlines are considerably slower and we cannot accelerate them.
- Us to you: we release the refund to your original payment method within 7 business days of receiving it, after which your bank's own processing time applies — usually 3 to 7 business days.
Refunds always go back to the original payment method. We cannot redirect a refund to a different card, account or person.
No-shows and partly used tickets
If you do not travel and did not cancel beforehand, most fares retain no refundable value beyond some government taxes. On a partly used return ticket, the refund is the difference between the fare paid and the applicable one-way fare for the sector flown — which is often nil.
Tracking a refund
Use My Booking with your booking reference and email to see the current status, or contact us and we will tell you exactly where it sits with the airline.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how a refund has been handled, write to care@thetravelohome.com. We acknowledge complaints within 2 business days and aim to resolve them within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection, or file a refund complaint with the US Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Full detail is in our terms and conditions.