Cancelled Flights and Refunds?

[wanderingback]

Has anyone gone through this? I read that there’s a new federal policy that airlines must give you your money back. Do you just call/text them and they easily agree to this?

Delta said we have flight credits. But we actually paid for our flight with miles, but my mom paid for her flight with credit card. I used Amex platinum which has trip insurance to book her flight.

I know the airlines are overwhelmed right now so don’t feel like calling or texting so thought I’d ask here first and we’d deal with it later

[TR]

I don't have experience with how easily they agree, but here's the government website you could reference when calling them: www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard

[beerlover]

This doesn't answer your question exactly but Secretary Pete did post this on FB where you can report if they refuse to give you your money back.

Secretary Pete Buttigieg
If your airline is automatically giving you credits but you prefer cash, you can tell them you want a refund - and let us know if they fail to provide one: secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint

[eb777888]

This happened to us when we had a big trip planned in the beginning of COVID. We had to wait until they canceled the flight, then call them for a refund. They tried to give us a credit but we pushed back and said we want a refund. There was a lawyer on the board that helped walk people through this, I forget who that poster was.

[mokes]

A little bit different but I was owed $$ under EU261 (similar law but for EU travel). I just sent a message via the airline’s website with the info and requesting the money. I expected push back or some runaround but to my surprise they offered to give me the $600 (what’s owed under EU261) or a travel credit for $1k. I opted to take the $1k. I had purchased with miles also.

[tennisgal]

You might have better luck trying to do an online chat. I feel like I got through a bit quicker on that. It was like a text message exchange with them. It was significantly shorter than waiting on the phone for 2-3h.

We got stuck 2y ago getting back from spring break due to a huge snowstorm that impacted a Delta hub. It was a mess. Delta let us know our flight was cancelled and was kind of like "we don't have any other options for you, good luck" We were able to rebook on another airline and paid a ridiculous amount for that flight. I went back and forth with Delta and submitted our receipts from the new flight in attempt to have delta reimburse us. I think it ended that Delta gave us each $150 travel vouchers and nothing else.

[waverly]

With Southwest if we paid with points and then cancel they give us the points back, and it is a very easy process done online without having to talk to someone. The points are good for a while with no expiration date unlike vouchers.

As far as getting a refund, I only worked with American and it was much more difficult. I had to do it via email and chat because they had 3-4 hour phone wait times. It took a couple of months, but we eventually got our refund.  I didn't reference the law and am not sure it was in place at the time.  They canceled an international flight due to mechanical issues, and we had to fly another airline because of medical need to get to a U.S. hospital.  

[wanderingback]

Jul 22, 2024 9:57:15 GMT -5 tennisgal said:

You might have better luck trying to do an online chat. I feel like I got through a bit quicker on that. It was like a text message exchange with them. It was significantly shorter than waiting on the phone for 2-3h.

We got stuck 2y ago getting back from spring break due to a huge snowstorm that impacted a Delta hub. It was a mess. Delta let us know our flight was cancelled and was kind of like "we don't have any other options for you, good luck" We were able to rebook on another airline and paid a ridiculous amount for that flight. I went back and forth with Delta and submitted our receipts from the new flight in attempt to have delta reimburse us. I think it ended that Delta gave us each $150 travel vouchers and nothing else.

Whoa that sucks. I think the federal rule about reimbursement started last year so likely after your flight. It’s exactly for reasons like that, so maddening they wouldn’t give you your money back.

And yes our text/email was the same. They tried to find alternatives but nothing was available so the flight is cancelled. I get this is truly out of their hands but hopefully this new federal rule works and we get our money/points back.

[SmartyCat]

My Delta flight was cancelled yesterday and I was able to get a refund with no pushback via the Delta app. I think the default option is a flight credit, but the refund option was listed as well with some disclaimer about eligibility. I had originally booked with Capital One points, and got a prompt acknowledgement from Capital One that a refund was pending from Delta though they didn't have details beyond that.

[escrow]

Jul 22, 2024 9:57:15 GMT -5 tennisgal said:

You might have better luck trying to do an online chat. I feel like I got through a bit quicker on that. It was like a text message exchange with them. It was significantly shorter than waiting on the phone for 2-3h.

We got stuck 2y ago getting back from spring break due to a huge snowstorm that impacted a Delta hub. It was a mess. Delta let us know our flight was cancelled and was kind of like "we don't have any other options for you, good luck" We were able to rebook on another airline and paid a ridiculous amount for that flight. I went back and forth with Delta and submitted our receipts from the new flight in attempt to have delta reimburse us. I think it ended that Delta gave us each $150 travel vouchers and nothing else.

If it is weather related (not the fault of the airline) they are not required to give you cash back or reimburse for hotel, etc.

[mich1]

Jul 22, 2024 9:22:44 GMT -5 eb777888 said:

This happened to us when we had a big trip planned in the beginning of COVID. We had to wait until they canceled the flight, then call them for a refund. They tried to give us a credit but we pushed back and said we want a refund. There was a lawyer on the board that helped walk people through this, I forget who that poster was.

We had something like this happen for us too.  We had a trip to Fiji planned, the flights were canceled and the airline refused to return our cash.  We jumped through all their hoops.  Finally, went to the credit card company and they clawed the money back from the airline.  So we got our money back.  

[Jalapeñomel]

Buttigieg just put out a video on SM about how to get your money back, and if you have any issues, contact the link provided.

www.fox5atlanta.com/news/pete-buttigieg-shames-airlines-only-offering-flight-credits-after-global-outage.amp

[wanderingback]

Updating that after waiting 4.5 hours on delta text chat (no big deal since I just had to wait for them to text me back) all funds and points were refunded. I tried to ask for extra money due to having to book on another airline and they offered 1,000 miles per person. I said fine.

I’m also going to read the fine print of Amex platinum travel insurance since I ended up having to rent a car to fly out of a different airport as it looks like they do pay for "inconveniences" for delayed or canceled flights.