Trip Cancellation Tips & How to get a travel refund

Cancelling a trip sucks, but losing your money on that cancelled trip sucks even more. You planned the perfect getaway, purchased your flights and already imagined yourself sitting on a rooftop sipping your favorite glass of wine. Unfortunately, some things are out of our control — earthquakes, family emergencies, a pandemic (ahem, 2020!!) — and you’re forced to cancel your trip. So, how do you get a travel refund in that case?

More often than not, having to cancel a trip comes up unexpectedly and you need to act fast. To make things worse, the travel industry has made it difficult to get your money back. I break down all my trip cancellation tips (pandemic related and not) to help you get your money back and that coveted travel refund.

WHEN TO CANCEL YOUR TRIP

No one wants to cancel a trip so it’s nearly impossible to actually plan for it in advance. It may seem like a daunting task when you have some forces out of your control, but I have found you have a bit more control than you think.

With the COVID-19 pandemic going strong as of November 2020, there is still so much unknown. When will this end? When can we travel again? How the heck do I get a TRAVEL REFUND?

It’s important to understand that everyone is in the same boat, though. No one has a definite answer. If you’re like me, you’re itching to get out and explore the world again so you look forward to a trip in the future and plan ahead. I have planned nearly five vacations this year in the hopes of being able to take them and each time I have had to cancel the trip. That still doesn’t stop me from planning, though! Below I’ve laid out when to cancel, how to request a refund and what to think about when canceling a trip:

1. Trip cancellation polices
2. Flight refunds and vouchers
3. Hotel refunds
4. Travel insurance

TRIP CANCELLATION POLICIES

The first thing you should check if you need to cancel your trip is your trip cancellation policy. This will determine how likely you are to get a travel refund. In this day and age, if you are still booking a trip without a free cancellation policy in place then you are doing it wrong, my friend. However, every booking site has a different cancellation policy so it’s wise to look them over before you book. Some allow up to a certain amount of days to cancel, some are the day before the stay and some require a non-refundable deposit.

Before you request that travel refund, make sure you review what the policy says so you can accurately convey why you deserve a full travel refund or voucher.

FLIGHT changes, refunds & VOUCHERs

2020 changed a lot. Before, it was nearly impossible to make a flight change without an additional cost or God forbid get a travel refund from an airline! With the pandemic still looming, airlines have been way more lenient on their change polices, allowing vouchers and in some cases that travel refund. A voucher is great and all, but money back in your pocket is what you are after, right?

It’s pretty obvious that the absolute best way to get a travel refund on a canceled flight is by purchasing a refundable ticket to begin with. But, who actually buys refundable tickets?? No one. So, if you’re like the rest of the population, you booked a non-refundable ticket and your trip was canceled. What’s next? Here are your options.

1. PLAY THE WAITING GAME

Amidst the pandemic, your best bet is waiting. I had a trip planned to Europe back in August and by then the borders were not even open (p.s. still aren’t). While waiting it out can seem a little scary, the airline was forced to cancel the flight and in that case, you are more likely to actually receive a travel refund rather than a voucher. I only recommend this if you had a trip planned somewhere that you know the airline will be forced to cancel because of the pandemic. All other situations, your best best is one of the options below.

2. CHANGE YOUR FLIGHT

In all other cases, non-pandemic related, changing the dates of your flight is a great option when your plans change. If you know you still want to take your vacation and need to push it back, you can easily change the dates of your flight. One of my best recommendations would be to research your dates ahead of time. For those that aren’t locked in to their future travel dates, figure out which dates you think could work for you and stay flexible on the day you want to fly out.

If you want to change your flight for a week ahead, check how much flights are before you reschedule. Currently, most airlines are offering $0 (yes, free!) change fees. The catch, though, is you’ll pay the fare difference for your new flight. By staying flexible on the day you fly out, you can save some money. I am a control freak so I don’t like to leave it up to the airlines to book my flights, which is why I always plan ahead with Google Flights or track a flight using Hopper.

3. FLIGHT VOUCHERS & Refunds

Typically, if a flight is cancelled outside of the airlines control (like a natural disaster), you aren’t entitled to a refund. You also aren’t entitled to a refund if you choose to cancel on your own. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a refund especially during this time in our lives. No matter the reason a flight was cancelled, I always request a refund with the airline — it’s always worth a try. Below, I’ve linked all the major airlines voucher forms.

For reference, I had the worst luck on the first day of my honeymoon. We had an endless amount of flight delays, a mid-flight landing and eventually a flight cancellation. It was a nightmare. Although they rebooked our flights each time the flight was delayed, I requested a refund for each of the delays as well as the cancellation and received money back on each request. Most people don’t want to take the time to go through the process so you’d be surprised that airlines are pretty willing to compensate you for your lost time.

HOTEL REFUNDs

Although it’s tricky, getting a travel refund on a non-refundable hotel room is not impossible. Below are some ways you can secure a refund on a trip cancellation.

Medical or family emergency:

If you need to cancel a hotel stay because of a medical or family emergency, contact the hotel directly and let them know of your circumstances. Typically, hotels are pretty lenient when it comes to these types of situations and you may get a chance at a refund. While it may take some persuasion and can ultimately depend on the person you talk to, you should always ask. Side note, please make sure you only use this method if you really do have an emergency ’cause karma is real, ya’ll.

Did not meet expectations:

If you stayed at a five star hotel and had a three star stay, get that money back, baby!! There’s no reason that you should be paying for an experience that you never had. Be sure to take any pictures that you believe will back up the reason why your stay didn’t meet your expectation as that is something you may need to present when requesting a refund. Similar to the emergency requests, it may take some persuasion on your end but it’s always worth asking. I know someone who stayed in two five star hotels in Europe with bed bugs in each — you bet they got a travel refund from both hotels.

Sell your room:

This approach is actually becoming more and more popular. I have not yet needed to try this route but definitely would in the future. Websites like Roomertravel.com and SpareFare.net allow you to resell your nonrefundable hotel room. These sites are able to change the name on the booking to someone who wants your room!

These tips are for when you’ve booked directly with the hotel. If you’ve booked through a third party like booking.com or hotels.com then you should reach out directly to them to see what their cancellation policy is and if a refund is possible. Contacting the hotel will not do you any good as they will send you right back to the third party.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

One of the biggest questions I get is if travel insurance is worth it. The short answer, it depends. I personally have never bought travel insurance, but know people who swear by it especially in this day and age. Even if you did have travel insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of those policies essentially were worthless because most don’t cover pandemic related incidents. In most cases, travel insurance only covers the basics like medical emergencies, trip cancelations, flight delays and lost luggage. This is great, but I even question if it’s worth it.

Pro tip: One way I have always secured my vacations, though is booking all of my travels on my Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card. Their travel protection is one of the best I’ve seen because at no additional cost, it covers everything a typical trip insurance policy would.

Got questions? I got answers…hopefully! Feel free to reach out with any questions you have!

happy travels, liz stanford

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