The Process of Canceling my Flight Reservations (and Why You Shouldn’t Accept Vouchers)

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No industry was as severely impacted by current pandemic as the world of travel. There is no precedent for what’s happening now, at least not in modern times. As a result, airlines are desperate to hang on to current bookings in order to preserve liquidity. So, most are pushing travelers to accept vouchers (with expiration date) when flights are cancelled or re-routed.

Why I would never voluntarily accept a voucher 

Imagine this situation. You buy an expensive TV from a local business. It’s supposed to be delivered in a few weeks. Except, a few days after making your purchase, you get a call from the owner. Apparently, there has been a disruption in the industry that is beyond his control. He will no longer be able to deliver this TV in a timely manner.

In fact, it’s hard to say when this disruption will be over. But fear not! He will give you a signed voucher that you will be able to use at his store in the future for new TV purchase (just not now). Oh, and the voucher will expire in a year.

You then read an article in a local newspaper saying that this business has fallen on hard times, and they are laying off employees. Would you feel comfortable accepting this potentially worthless voucher? I doubt it.

Yet, the airlines have no qualms insisting that this is totally fair to consumers. Here is the thing. I don’t want airlines, any airlines, to fail. It’s hard not to feel bad for them right now. Plus, airlines aren’t just soulless corporations. They consist of individuals who depend on these jobs to feed their families. Still, I need to feed my family, too. If this is airlines’ modus operandi, then by that logic consumers should always be able to cancel tickets without penalty. But no such policy exists, with the obvious exception of Southwest.

Why didn’t airlines set up a “pandemic” fund that would provide them with a financing cushion for hard times like these? Hopefully, this will be remedied going forward. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind paying an extra $5 tax on each airline ticket from now on.

As it stands, I’m fairly certain that the US taxpayers will bail out United, American and Delta. I’m not too sure about the others, but those three should be safe. In the meantime, I don’t recommend you accept vouchers unless there is truly no other option. Even then, hang up and call again. Also, please don’t cancel your flights too soon when taking a voucher is the only option offered. Your problem may get solved on its own down the road.

Sure, accepting the voucher is easy, and usually doesn’t require a phone call. But your life situation can change drastically in the next year or two. Maybe this particular airline is convenient now, but that may not be the case in the future. Also, plans could change. I’m in the process of cancelling my third trip in a row.

Even if an airline offered me 150% in value of the flight via voucher, I would still push for cash refund. A bird in a hand, and you know the rest.

The process of canceling my airline tickets

I’m going to assign pain level on the scale of 1-5, with 1 being the easiest, 5 being the absolute worst. I’ll start with the worst.

1) Trying to get a refund for my parents’ return portion of Lufthansa flight.

Pain level:5, more like 6

I’ve described the situation in this post, so won’t repeat myself. Basically, the last leg of their flight was cancelled, rendering reservation worthless. Fortunately, I anticipated this and used miles for an earlier flight to get them out of the country in time.

The original flight was booked via an obscure currency called Terps Rewards, which served as a booking agency. As a result, when I called Lufthansa airline, the agent said all requests for refund have to go through Terps Rewards.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. I’ve called Terps Rewards four times, to no avail. One time I was put on hold for 2.5 hours, and the rep never came back. I’m not into conspiracy theories, but I wonder if the agents are instructed to put customers on hold and leave them hanging. I will try one more time in a week or two, but I doubt anything will come of it.

2) Asia Miles booking

Pain level:1

I used Asia Miles to book a JAL flight from Honolulu to Osaka. At the end of March I got an email that all award bookings through May could be changed or refunded without penalty. I had to fill out an online form, and four days later got an email that everything was taken care of. Very easy, though not a great option if you need your miles ASAP.

2) Avios booking 

Pain level: 3

I used Avios to book an AA-operated flight from Tokyo to LAX. A week ago, I got a notification from Avios that my AA flight was cancelled. Unfortunately, the miles were not automatically refunded. Instead, when I went into my online profile, I was prompted to request a voucher for the taxes we’ve paid, rather than refund. Huh?

So, I called Avios, and got connected within 10 minutes or so. The rep didn’t put up a fight, and said the taxes would be refunded to my credit card within a couple of weeks. It was rather annoying that I had to call, but it wasn’t too bad. Still, I imagine many folks take the path of least resistance on that one.

3) United booking

Pain level:1

United tried to play dirty to begin with, but recently changed its tune. A class-action lawsuit will do that to you. I booked an ANA operated flight within Japan via United miles. Since it fell within the waiver period, I was able to cancel the booking online with no fuss. The miles were instantly re-deposited.

4) Delta booking

Pain level:1

The LAX-MCO flight I booked with Delta doesn’t currently fall under the waiver exemption. Fortunately, I had a backdoor way of getting the miles re-deposited without a fee (the departure time of the flight has changed significantly). So, I’ve reached out to Delta on Twitter, and it was taken care of within minutes. Nice!

What’s left

I’m not sure what to do with my Alaska Air flight from Orlando to Honolulu. Two of our tickets were purchased with BoA Merrill+ points, via Saver fare. Here is the  current policy:

The problem is that I would have to use those funds soon, and travel before February 28th 2021. That’s pretty restrictive. On the other hand, I’m seriously thinking about trying to go to Hawaii at the end of July, assuming things settle down by then.

The Alaska Air fares are pretty low right now, so I’m almost tempted to roll the dice and re-book. But I would hate to accept the travel credit and not be able to use it for whatever reason. Plus, who knows when Hawaii will lift 14-day quarantine on visitors.

So for now, I plan to take my own advice and just sit tight. I have a separate travel insurance policy, so I can make a claim on Hawaii leg since we  won’t be able to fly to Japan anytime soon. In that case, I should get at least 75% of tickets’ value (“Cancel for Any Reason” policy). Or perhaps Alaska Air will cancel the flight due to low demand. But this just underscores how using points/cash instead of miles, complicates things if you need to cancel your trip.

The silver lining

All of a sudden, I’ve become a millionaire, y’all! Well, when it comes to miles and points. The other day I’ve added all of my balances (scattered between gazillion loyalty programs), and apparently I’m loaded. Though I’m cheating  a little bit by counting 80k Hilton points. That’s what happens when you cancel three trips in a row and keep on applying for new cards in the meantime.

I have to say, I would much rather be broke and have my travel memories. But, all in due time, right?

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Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.