Q. If an airfare goes down in price after I buy it but before I fly it, will the airline give me a refund for the price difference? 

A. No airline will actually give you money back, but currently three will give you a credit toward a future flight, without penalty and in full, when a fare drops, as long as you don’t change flights or travel dates. In other words, the new lower fare has to be available on the flights you originally booked. Those airlines are Alaska, JetBlue, and Southwest. Most, but not all, other airlines will refund a price drop difference, but they’ll deduct a service fee of up to $150 on a domestic fare, and $250 or more on an international one. Some foreign-based airlines will not issue a refund at all. You buy it, you fly it.