Airline travel is so unpredictable. The pandemic is causing airlines to drastically change their itineraries and flight schedules regularly as they adapt to passenger needs. It will be quite some time before things return to what we consider normal. Like many of you, I was looking forward to several trips in 2020 which I had to cancel.
As I wrote in a post last week, one positive thing that came out of this mess is that airlines have eliminated change fees. You can change your flight for free. This is great for passengers. But, can you get a refund? Not really…but sort of? You can read all about your options here, and how to get a full refund on a non-refundable ticket.
I have a great anecdote to share hoping that you may benefit if you find yourself in my position. Out of all the trips I had planned before the pandemic there was one that I was looking forward to the most. It was also the most expensive. I live in New York and was all set to visit Australia (bounce around to a few cities there), New Zealand, Fiji, and Paris. Damn–it would’ve been awesome. The trip was originally scheduled for the Fall of 2020. As the pandemic exploded back in April 2020, I rebooked the entire trip for Spring 2021. The main long haul flight was booked on Qatar’s business class Qsuite–‘the best business class in the world.’ I used my Amex to pay for that flight. The rest of my flights were booked as reward flights using credit card points. Fortunately, Qatar allowed me to rebook that long haul flight free-of-charge, which was awesome.
So, now the whole vacation was scheduled for this Spring. Great, right? Ummm–not really. The trip was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, but the truth is that I had mixed feelings. Covid is far from under control, the vaccine rollout has been slower than expected, and–as of today–Australia is closed to tourists. Will things be better by the Spring? Sure. Will Australia reopen its borders by then? Unknown. If Australia (and the other countries on my itinerary) allow tourists by the Spring, will attractions, restaurants, museums, etc…be open for business? Who knows? But, what I did know is that I had a real dilemma.
The real concern was that long haul Qatar flight. It was expensive, and I didn’t want to lose that money. I had a few options available. I could’ve taken my chances and made the most of the vacation–assuming borders were reopened. I could’ve accepted a travel voucher. Qatar currently offers a 10% bonus when you cancel a flight and accept a voucher for use on a future flight. That’s certainly a plus. Or, I could’ve waited..waited to see if my flight was either canceled or the flight time was significantly changed. This last option would allow me to request a full refund.
With all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic coupled with the complexity of the trip, I decided on the last option of waiting–and hoping–for my flight to be canceled or significantly changed. And, that is exactly what happened. Qatar sent me an email notification a few weeks ago that my flight time was changed by seven hours. I called their customer service line and requested a full refund. It took a couple of weeks, but all of my money was refunded to my Amex.
Now I start the long-drawn-out process of deconstructing the remainder of the trip. It sucks, but I’m glad I got my money back considering the uncertainty for the first half of 2021. I hope that some of you can benefit from my experience, and get a flight refund when it’s not ordinarily avaialble.
Were you forced to cancel any trips recently?
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