The Best Way to Get a Refund When Your Airline’s Wi-Fi Is Terrible

When an airline sells you a service, you should be able to receive a refund if it doesn’t deliver. But when is it not worth your time to even bother asking for one?

I asked this question last week when I had serious trouble connecting to Wi-Fi during an American Airlines flight. The carrier charged $17 for the privilege. I figured that the nuisance of getting the money back would cost more than $17 of time and aggravation.

Turns out I was wrong, according to over 100 readers who set me straight after I asked for advice in our weekly Your Money newsletter.

Nearly everyone who asked for a refund when the Wi-Fi didn’t work properly got the money back. Many had even cracked the code on how to make the request in under 60 seconds.

This week, I distilled their wisdom and talked to the major airlines and credit-card companies that were willing to answer my many detailed questions.

First, some guidance from the airlines on the fastest path to a refund request:

Alaska Airlines

Go to care.inflightinternet.com. You can chat with a representative on that page about a refund or contact the airline via the email address or phone number provided there.