February 3, 2020

Airline "Bereavement" Fares

So-called bereavement fares are a thing of the past. Almost always one can get a better fare by searching various airlines online rather than calling and asking for a low fare to attend a family funeral. Alaska Airlines is an exception, offering 10% discount of whatever the lowest fare is within 7 days of travel according to The Wall Street Journal, 1/9/20. The discount is available to immediate family (which includes grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews). You must call the airline to book tickets and adults must be members of Alaska's frequent flier program (free to join).

Delta offers a bereavement policy which is simply whatever is the lowest fare at the time of booking. Because one often has to fly on very short notice, don't expect low fares. But the advantage is the bereavement fare offers more flexibility than regular fares such as being able to change the return without paying a service fee. But you still have to pay the difference in fare.

So what is one to do? Use frequent flyer miles for funerals. You get a better deal for the miles on last-minutes arrangements.

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