Jetstar - Booking Change Fees and Minutiae

CrankyCarrot on 13/02/2018 - 17:24

I booked a Jetstar Starter international fare that I want to change to a different date.

From what I can see, they let you do that for $75 and appear to allow changes up to airport check in (3hrs before takeoff!)

Besides the change fee, you pay the fare difference if the new flight is more expensive, but what I want to clarify is:

If I booked a starter fare for $500 (including checked baggage fee), and I change to a day where the Starter Fare is $90 or $160 below that, ie $410 or $340, can I upgrade to the Plus ($90) or Max ($160) without paying anything beyond the $75 change fee, or do they only let you use your previous fare credit on the exact same type of fare?

Thanks in advance,

CC

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Comments

  • PissLUR on 13/02/2018 - 17:39

    ask jetstar. live chat is an option.

  • Seraphin7 on 13/02/2018 - 17:40

    I don't know, but I reckon these guys would … Jetstar

  • CrankyCarrot on 13/02/2018 - 18:01

    This is true, and I did (while posting here). The agent said no, but seemed vague on the details and I'm not 100% sure she understood the question or knew what she was talking about.

  • chickenchipsgravy on 13/02/2018 - 18:23

    my understanding is you forfeit the fare, there is no bonus if the fare is lesser amount or opportunity to upgrade as you put it. you're unable to modify the fare terms (class) you purchased with the exception being changing departure date for a fee.

  • capslock on 13/02/2018 - 18:33

    If you change to a lower fare you forfeit the fare difference. I think it appears on your invoice as a spoilage fee. You have to pay extra if you want the plus or max bundle.

  • CrankyCarrot on 13/02/2018 - 18:51

    My original fare includes $39 worth of checked baggage though - so that would simply evaporate if I change the date?

    • altomic on 13/02/2018 - 18:59

      what did Jetstar say when you asked them?

    • capslock on 13/02/2018 - 19:38

      Baggage is a paid extra. You usually keep those.

  • JoyVee on 13/02/2018 - 19:06
    +1

    look at abc.net.au iview. Go to series 6, episode 2 of thecheckout which goes through all the stories told by Jerstar staff and compares this with actual legal situation . Most enlightening. Ask staff where their statement is confirmed under Australian Consumer Law. Watch The Checkout, great facts and most fun.

    • CrankyCarrot on 13/02/2018 - 19:37

      Ah, last segment on last week's episode, it looks like. Pretty entertaining as usual, cheers.

    • gimli on 13/02/2018 - 21:32

      checkout The Checkout

      • [Deactivated] on 13/02/2018 - 23:25
        -1

        checkout The Checkout chick.

  • Drew Peaballs on 13/02/2018 - 22:14

    What they will do is if you want to change your flight, you have to pay a difference no matter what; you pay a difference in the fare and taxes as long as it's the same destination. If you change destination (ie Mel - Syd to Mel to Bne) then they make you pay the 'max' fare. The reason why flights are so cheap is they lock you in with so many restrictions.

  • CrankyCarrot on 15/02/2018 - 16:51

    In hindsight, unless you're 100% certain of the flight date and you're taking checked baggage, the ol' Plus Bundle seems like the way to go.

    It includes 20kgs (normally $39 on top of the base fare) and the ability to change the date as much as you want right up 'til airport checkin, so like 2-3 hours before the flight leaves. They also give you a $25 Jetstar voucher, but not until 1 week after you're journey so you can't use it on the same flight to buy ten dollar meat pies or whatever.

    So assuming you wanted that checked baggage (I did) and you're likely to fly Jetstar again (I am, although I think you have to use the voucher within 6 months), then it's more like paying $90 - $39 - $25 = $26 for the ability to have a flexible leave date. This of course doesn't include fare differen, which applies in addition if the new fare is higher.

    And the difference, if the new flight is less, cannot be applied to upgrade fares. So there.

    The house always wins when you gamble with LCC airlines like Jetstar, I guess. If you book in things with total certainty then the price typically can't be beat with them and as always, you get really do what you pay for.

  • CrankyCarrot on 25/04/2018 - 18:51

    Apologies for typos in above post. For some reason there's no way to edit it now. Maybe mistakes are cast in stone after a month or two OzB?

    Anyway, I wanted to add that it seems you can't change the date as much as you want up 'til 3 hours before flying. It turns out you can change it exactly one time maybe, and if you want to do it again it's $40 a pop. I know this won't affect most people, but it might have been nice to have had it clarified ANYWHERE in the terms of service. If it is in there, it's buried and vague.

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