Get A Refund If Prices Drop After You Book!

It’s the question that pains every traveler when booking flights: “Sure, I could book at this price now … but what if fares drop afterward?” Google Flights might have the solution: Cutting you a refund if prices drop after you book!

The web giant calls it Google Flights Price Guarantee. Google has been “piloting” this feature for a few years, and while you still won’t see it on every flight – in fact, it’s still fairly rare and only available on a select few airlines – it could help you save some money on flights no matter when you book.

“On Google Flights, you can already see whether current prices are low, typical, or high compared to historical averages. Now, we’re going a step further with a new pilot program for price protection in the U.S.,” the company said when officially unveiling it a few years back. “We’ll monitor the price every day until departure, and if it does go down, we’ll send you back the difference via Google Pay.”

You won’t see this option on every single fare on Google Flights. It’s only available on select flights departing from the U.S. For now, you’re most likely to see it on flights with Alaska Airlines, Hawaiian, and especially Spirit.

Not using Google Flights? Read our complete guide on how it works – and why it’s the best tool for finding cheap flights!

It could be revolutionary for budget-conscious travelers … but Google isn’t exactly breaking new ground here.

Google itself tried this out briefly in 2019 before the pandemic brought that to a halt. And Capital One has made price drop protection a signature perk of booking flights through its revamped Capital One Travel Portal.

In this case, Google isn’t acting as an online travel agency such as Expedia or Skyscanner – you’re still booking directly with the airline, which is critical. You’ll just need to watch for the “Price Guarantee” badge on select fares, then click through Google to the carrier’s site and book.

By booking one of these Price Guarantee flights, Google automatically sets up a price alert to continue monitoring prices after you book. If and when prices drop, just prove to Google that prices on your flight dropped and they’ll cut you a payout. Google’s terms and conditions for this program show prices must drop by at least $5 to get a refund, and those payments are capped at $500 total per calendar year.

It’s all paid out by Google Pay, the web giant’s digital payment platform similar to Apple Pay with a Venmo-like twist – users can send and receive money and also transfer balances to a bank account. And that underscores Google’s motivation for offering this refund feature on flights: As travel demand surges back and more and more travelers turn toward Google Flights in their quest for cheap flights, pushing more users toward their app for payouts when prices drop is a clever way to drum up more interest.

This price drop guarantee is clearly still a work in progress, so many travelers may not see it pop up when using Google Flights just yet. As of early 2025, flights with Spirit are the most likely candidates for this “refund if prices drop after you book” feature – and sometimes Alaska and Hawaiian, too. And even then, you’ll probably only see it on fairly cheap fares within the next few months – situations where Google can be reasonably certain that prices won’t drop any further.

For example, the odds of roundtrip flights between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX) in a month below $195 on Spirit are fairly low. But if you book it and prices do, in fact, drop, you’ll get an email with the option to pocket the difference via Google Pay.

Both one-way flights and roundtrip bookings qualify. You’ll need to be signed in via Gmail to see it – and have a Google Pay account set up to get paid out.

Bottom Line

Google Flights is already the best search engine for airfare, and it’s not even close. Yet the platform just keeps getting better and better.

You may not see this price guarantee feature just yet – and even if you do, it won’t show up on many flights. But this price protection feature has become a staple of Google Flights. Here’s hoping it expands to more and more airlines.