Paid too much for your airline ticket? Get a refund.

April 3, 3:19 PMNY Travel ExaminerKelley Vick

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Annoyed because you purchased your airline ticket last week when you thought the prices were great, only to see them go even lower this week? Don't despair. You may be able to get your money back. Yep, you heard -- er, read -- me right. Many airlines will refund the difference (often in the form of a voucher) if the fare drops lower than what you paid.

Some carriers charge a "change fee" of between $25 and $150 to apply the new price, but there are a few -- Southwest Airlines, for example -- that don't charge a thing. (In fact, Southwest offers cash refunds instead of vouchers in some cases.)

Virgin America allows customers to cancel their ticket and re-book without a fee if the fare dips below the purchase price within 24 hours. After the 24-hour window has elapsed, customers can simply cancel their ticket and re-book at the lower fare, less the respective change fees ($50 for on-line changes and $75 for re-booking via the call center.)

To find out what your carrier’s policy is, give a quick call to their customer service line. You can usually find the number on your flight reservation.

For a quick and easy way to keep track of your fare, sign up for fare alerts from your airline or use a website like Farecast.com. In addition to sending regular e-mails updating you on changes in a selected fare, Farecast also has a function that predicts whether a fare will rise or fall over a period of time by evaluating patterns in fare history.