Changes and refunds

Last reviewed 1 August 2026.

Groups change. Someone falls ill, a date shifts, a school pulls funding. What it costs depends almost entirely on one thing: whether the tickets have been issued yet.

Before ticketing

While the group is held on a deposit and names have not been ticketed, changes are at their cheapest and often free. Travellers can be swapped, added, or removed within the block, subject to the airline’s group terms. The deposit itself is generally non-refundable — that is what secures the space.

If the whole trip is cancelled before ticketing, you lose the deposit but nothing more. If it is postponed, some carriers permit a held block to move; we will ask, but it is the airline’s decision.

After ticketing

Once tickets are issued, each one is governed by its own fare rules exactly as an individual ticket would be. Some group fares permit a name change for a fee. Many do not. Cancellation may produce a refund, a credit, or nothing beyond recoverable taxes, depending on the fare.

Holds versus charges

Submitting a card for a booking places an authorisation hold for the booking total — it reserves the amount, it does not take it. The card is charged only when tickets are issued. If we cannot ticket, we release the hold and nothing is taken; the card issuer decides how quickly the pending item clears, usually within a few business days.

If a group is cancelled before tickets are issued, there is no payment to refund because none was taken — we release the hold. A group deposit is different: that is an actual payment taken to hold airline space, and its own terms apply.

The 24-hour window

For most qualifying bookings to, from or within the United States made at least seven days before departure, US DOT rules allow cancellation within 24 hours of purchase for a full refund. Tell us as soon as you decide — the window cannot be extended.

When the airline cancels or changes significantly

This is a different situation and the fare’s own rules do not govern it. If the airline cancels, or makes a significant change you do not accept, travellers are generally entitled to a refund to the original payment method rather than a voucher, regardless of how the fare was described.

How to request a change

1. Contact us on (855) 817-3532 or [email protected] with the MSK reference. For a group, one message from the organiser — not thirty separate calls.
2. Tell us exactly what you want: swap a name, remove a traveller, move the group, or refund.
3. We read the fare rules, tell you what it will cost before anything is actioned, and file it with the airline once you confirm.
4. Refunds go back to the original payment method once the airline authorises them.

Timelines

We aim to file a complete request within one business day. Airline authorisation is typically a few business days but can run considerably longer during widespread disruption. Once authorised, card refunds usually appear within one to two billing cycles. Ask us at any point and we will tell you which stage yours is at.

Service fees

Where an MSK Tour Groups service fee was charged, it covers work already done and is generally not refundable. If we have not yet started that work, or the failure to travel is our fault, we refund it. Airline penalties are set by the airline and passed through unchanged.

Tickets issued elsewhere

We can only change or refund what we issued. If your reference does not begin MSK, the seller who issued the ticket has to handle it — the airline will normally send you back to them.