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You Can Now Resell Your Plane Tickets — on Air France
JT Genter
Contributor
JT is a location-independent digital nomad traveling 250,000+ miles each year with his wife Katie.
Oct. 25, 2018
•
3 min read
You Can Now Resell Your Plane Tickets — on Air France
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Even before the advent of no-refund basic economy tickets, most flight were effectively nonrefundable due to steep airline change fees. If you have a change of plans after booking your flights, you're likely to lose most, if not all, of the ticket's cost.
Sure, there are services like SpareFare that let you sell your ticket to another passenger, transferring the ticket by utilizing airline name change fee policies. However, these services aren't endorsed by airlines, and passengers could risk blowback if the airline finds out about the transaction.
But now, there's an airline-approved ticket transfer service: Air France, and its subsidiary Joon, just partnered with Flexfly to let passengers sell their Air France/Joon tickets to those interested in buying them. Here's how they explain the new service:
Air France presents FlexFly, the platform for reselling and buying airline tickets in complete safety. On FlexFly, you can post an ad to resell your ticket. If your ticket is of interest to a buyer, FlexFly pays you a reward up to 50% of the price of the airline ticket (the remaining 50% is used to pay FlexFly and the airlines, but above all to provide a discount for the potential buyer).
From further digging, I was able to find out that the passenger listing the trip gets 50% of the original purchase price back, not 50% of the discounted price when it's sold to another traveler. The ticket is then discounted from its original price and listed. After paying the original passenger half of the original price, the remaining purchase price is split between the airline and FlexFly.
As expected from a service that's just launched and is trying to broker peer-to-peer transfers, there aren't many offers currently available. When I checked Wednesday morning, there were just three flight options, all departing from Paris, only for one passenger and occurring in January-February 2019:
While that short list isn't very useful for passengers now, particularly in the US, hopefully the idea will catch on with other airlines and the program will expand. After all, it makes a lot of sense for airlines to take advantage of this service. Not only do they get to capture the full original price of the ticket, but they also earn a portion of the second sale as well. Passengers stuck with a nonrefundable ticket will obviously be happy to get half of the purchase price back, and travelers with flexible schedules can potentially pick up a nice deal.
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If you're in a situation where you aren't able to make a trip, first check to see what credit card you used to book the trip. Hopefully, if you've been following TPG's advice, you booked the flight with a credit card that offers trip cancellation / interruption insurance. If the cause of your trip cancellation is covered, you'll not only get a refund of the airfare but you'll also be able to recover any other nonrefundable trip expenses.
H/T: FlyerTalk
Featured image by Getty Images/PhotoAlto
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Apply for American Express® Gold Card
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Best for dining at restaurants
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Intro Offer
You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.As High As 100,000 points. Find Out Your Offer.Annual Fee
$325Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.Excellent to Good
Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.