If your flight’s price falls after you buy, don’t kick yourself before seeking a refund

On average, ticket prices are higher than a year ago, but select fares have dropped since March, particularly on routes with the most competition or the fewest bookings.

Before kicking yourself, find out if you can recoup the difference. (Warning: In some cases, you’ll still end up kicking yourself.)

Here’s a rundown of refund policies:

■Most major airlines treat a fare adjustment like a reservation change and charge a fee. Factor in that fee when weighing whether to fight for your money back. AirTran and Virgin America have $75 change fees; at Hawaiian Airlines, it’s $100.

■Only three airlines offer refunds on any price drop: Southwest, Alaska, and JetBlue.

■Refunds on the most traveled airlines are more difficult. United, Continental, Delta, US Airways, and American all hit you with a $150 change fee. (OK, start kicking.)

The likelihood of a swing that big at the height of the summer travel season is pretty slim. Overall, summer fares are expected to be up by about 15 percent, compared with last year, according to Bing Travel, as airlines try to make up for rising fuel costs.

Still, many travelers can benefit from prices going down. A most dramatic example: Say you booked a flight from Phoenix to Philadelphia leaving on Saturday, July 16, and returning the following Friday on US Airways. A coach class ticket cost $675 in early spring. If you booked yesterday, it cost $497.

Not many travelers, however, bother to check if the fare has dropped. Yapta.com allows fliers to register their flight information and receive alerts when fares fall after they book.

Bear in mind that the airline won’t give you money back for a ticket purchased on Expedia, Orbitz, or other outside travel sites. Those sites have their own price-match guarantees, but they’re harder to snag.

You need to find a better price online within 24 hours of booking to get money back from Expedia. And another traveler would have to book the same flight for a lower price on Orbitz in order for you to get a check in the mail. That applies any time before your flight takes off.

Also, on most airlines your refund comes as a voucher good for future travel. Most vouchers expire within a year. And you won’t even get that if you try to change your itinerary.

Of course, you can avoid all this if you land a good fare in the first place. That may be easier said than done, but there are methods to ensure you don’t “buy high.’’ Signing up for alerts from sites like Travelzoo lets you see promotions not otherwise advertised. Kayak.com offers a system that allows fliers to monitor the best time to buy. An application called “Invisible Hand’’ scans other websites while you’re booking and lets you know if it finds a better deal.

Samantha Bomkamp writes for the Associated Press.