Cancelling within 24 hours of booking

Written by Owen (SI), Director, Booking Operations · Updated 2026-10-05

If you cancel within 24 hours of booking, your deposit is refunded in full to the card you paid with, automatically. You don't need to give a reason, and there's nothing to request.

This is our policy on every Defera plan, so changing your mind soon after booking is completely fine. It's a refund to your card, not Defera Credit.

How long do I have?

You have 24 hours from when you booked. For example, if you book at 3 PM on a Tuesday, you have until 3 PM on Wednesday to cancel and get your deposit back automatically.

After that, your trip's standard cancellation options apply instead, and your cancel screen shows what they are. What you get back when you cancel explains them.

How do I cancel?

Here's what happens:

  1. Open your trip. Go to Trips and tap the trip.
  2. Open your cancel screen. Tap Flight Options, then Cancel.
  3. Choose the option that cancels your trip. If you're not sure which one that is, tap Talk to support or chat with the Defera Concierge, our AI concierge, and say you booked within the last 24 hours.

You don't need to ask anyone for the deposit refund itself. Within 24 hours of booking, it's our policy, not a request, and your deposit comes back on its own.

When will I see my money?

How it shows up depends on whether the charge has finished going through on your card:

  • If the charge is still pending, it's reversed on your card. Most of the time it drops off your statement, usually within a day or so, rather than showing up as a separate refund. A pending charge is one your bank is holding but hasn't finished processing.
  • If the charge had already posted, the money returns to your card within a few business days. Your bank controls exactly when it appears.

Either way, the deposit goes back to the card you paid with, not to your Defera account as credit.

What does the 24-hour policy cover?

  • Your deposit, in full. That's what the 24-hour policy refunds. Anything you paid beyond the deposit in those 24 hours follows your trip's normal cancellation outcome, such as Defera Credit on eligible bookings.
  • Defera Zero trips. On Defera Zero, nothing is due at booking. If no payment has been taken yet, Cancel Trip cancels your plan with nothing charged.

What if my deposit hasn't come back?

If you cancelled within 24 hours and the deposit still isn't back after a few business days, contact us so our team can check the transaction. Chat with the Defera Concierge, our AI concierge, or email support@defera.app. Our email response time is 2–5 hours.

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