When you get cash back
These are the situations where money goes back to your original payment, not a credit.
Cancel within 24 hours of purchase and you get a full refund to your original payment, no matter the fare, Saver included, as long as your travel is more than 24 hours after you booked.
If you decline the alternative Hawaiian offers, a refund to your original payment is generally available, and it includes paid extras from that reservation, not just the base fare.
Refundable fares return to your original payment on cancellation, without the Saver-style credit conversion described below.
When it's Saver credit instead, or nothing at all
Cancelling a Saver fare outside the 24-hour window means credit at best, and how close you are to departure decides how much of it survives.
DOT rules vs. Hawaiian's own refund policy
Two different things, and mixing them up is a common mistake we hear on the phone.
US DOT, the law
Ticket price only
- Refund of the ticket price if you decline after a significant change
- Verified thresholds: 3+ hrs domestic, 6+ hrs international, changed airport, added connections, downgrade
- Applies whether the cause is weather or Hawaiian
- Does not require hotels, meals or lost-time compensation
Hawaiian's own refund policy
Broader in places, stricter in others
- 24-hour window for a full refund on any fare, Saver included
- Saver fares convert to partial credit, then forfeit entirely, outside that window
- When Hawaiian itself causes the disruption, its own refund extends to paid extras too
- Offers a bereavement fare that DOT rules say nothing about
DOT refund rules are under active revision, and the 3-hour/6-hour thresholds are the federal minimum, not a ceiling, we confirm what's current when you call rather than quoting a rule that may have moved. Compare any airline's own commitments at flightrights.gov.
The bereavement fare, a real differentiator worth knowing about
Not every airline has one. Hawaiian does, and it is worth calling about while you are dealing with everything else.
Hawaiian offers a bereavement fare of 10 percent off the lowest available fare for travel within 7 days of the death of an immediate family member. It is not something you can book online. Hawaiian arranges it by phone on the shared Alaska reservations line, 1-800-252-7522, and it requires Atmos Rewards loyalty program membership along with documentation of the circumstances. It is not a blanket waiver or an automatic upgrade, it is a modest discount on the fare you would otherwise book, but at a moment when every detail feels heavier than usual, having a direct phone path instead of navigating a booking site is genuinely useful. If you need to travel on short notice because of a death in the family, call us and we will help set up the bereavement fare with Hawaiian, or walk you through the standard booking options if the bereavement fare's conditions do not fit your situation.
Saver fares, the 24-hour rule saves you, the cliff after it doesn't
Hawaiian's most restricted fare class, with a genuinely harsh outcome once the 24-hour window closes.
Saver style fares get the same 24-hour rule as every other Hawaiian fare while that window is open, cancel within 24 hours of booking and you get a full refund, Saver included, as long as your travel is more than 24 hours away. Outside that window, Saver turns into the least forgiving fare on Hawaiian's chart. Cancel 14 or more days before departure and only 50 percent of the fare's value comes back, and only as credit, not cash. Cancel inside 13 days of departure and the fare is forfeited entirely, no partial credit, nothing. That is a steep cliff compared to what higher fare classes generally allow, and it is exactly the kind of detail that gets missed until someone is trying to cancel a trip two weeks out and discovers half the money is simply gone. If your plans carry any real uncertainty, it is worth weighing that risk against Saver's lower upfront price before you book, and worth calling us the moment plans start to shift rather than waiting until you are inside that 13-day window.
A few more things that shape what you get back
Details that come up once the main refund question is settled.
Once Hawaiian approves a refund, expect it within 20 calendar days if it is going back as cash, or within 7 business days if it is returning to a credit card. Card refunds are consistently the faster of the two.
Your travel needs to be more than 24 hours after you booked for the rule to apply. Book a flight for later today or tomorrow morning and the window may not cover you the way it would for a trip booked further out.
When a refund is owed, whether from the 24-hour rule or from Hawaiian cancelling your flight, extras you paid for on that reservation are generally included, not left stranded on their own.
Fare rules vary, and what applies to a Saver fare will not match a more flexible one. Give us your confirmation number and we will tell you exactly what your ticket allows before you cancel anything.
Don't wait until you're inside the 13-day window to decide. If a Saver fare trip is looking shaky, the difference between cancelling at 14 days and cancelling at 12 days is the difference between getting half the value back and getting nothing. Not sure where you stand? That's a two-minute call.
Frequently asked
I cancelled within 24 hours, do I get a full refund even on a Saver fare?+
What happens if I cancel a Saver fare after the 24-hour window?+
Does Hawaiian offer a bereavement fare?+
Hawaiian cancelled or significantly changed my flight. What am I owed?+
How long does a Hawaiian refund take?+
Contact options
Reach Hawaiian directly, or let us file the refund.
Contact Hawaiian Airlines directly
The airline's own official channels, free.
More Hawaiian Airlines help
Related guides.