Forbes
7 Tips For getting A travel Refund During COVID-19
By: Geoff Whitmore
You're likely one of the many travelers whose travel plans were canceled or otherwise impacted by COVID-19. With most locales around the world enforcing stay-at-home orders and travel bans, not to mention the threat of the virus itself, going somewhere for business or pleasure is likely out of the question for the foreseeable future.
So how can you go about getting a travel refund during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here are a few tips.
1. Push Your Trip Back (Even If You Don't Know When)
For some, you may be considering getting a travel refund but not canceling your trip altogether. If you know you'll be flying or traveling to a destination at a later date, even if you don't know when that date might be, consider delaying your trip, but not canceling it altogether.
That's what many airlines are offering instead of reimbursements right now. You can indefinitely postpone your flight. The money paid is set aside for use at a later time.
This might be a more attractive option for you. Getting a refund with some airlines will either be impossible or a complete headache. However, do note that some airlines are offering refunds if they were the ones to cancel the flight due to COVID-19 rather than you.
2. Look At Companies Impacting Your Travel
You may be able to get a refund from some, but not all. This would be the case if you booked your travel through a third party, such as Hotwire, Expedia and other online travel agencies.
For example, while your hotel might not offer you a full refund for canceled travel, Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz are offering full refunds for those who booked hotels in select countries. The countries include China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Israel, Marshall Islands, El Salvador, Denmark, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Oman, India, Poland, Cyprus, Ukraine and Italy. More countries are being added to the list regularly.
3. Ask For A Discount
What happens if your travel provider, whether it's a hotel, airline or tour provider, isn't going to give you a refund? If that's the case you're running into, ask for a discount. This is an option some tour providers are offering, giving travelers future credit to use on a future trip. Some are even giving them more credit than their previous cost.
Cruise lines are doing the same thing, with some offering affected travelers as much as double future credit. You might just find that after all this COVID-19 craziness is over, you can travel somewhere a little more lavish for a more affordable price.
4. Consider Waiting Before Trying To Get Your Refund
As the COVID-19 pandemic becomes worse, travel providers are loosening their restrictions as far as refunds go. If your trip is still a ways out, you might find that waiting until closer to your travel dates gets you a better chance of getting a refund. Additionally, it might just happen that the airline cancels that flight or the hotel shutters for a brief period due to COVID-19. You'll likely get a refund anyway, without having to ask for one directly.
5. Check Your Credit Card Benefits
You may have cancellation coverage via your travel credit card insurance. If you booked your travel with that travel credit card, it wouldn't be a bad idea to look into the insurance that particular card offers. You'll want to see if there's any way it can help you get the refund you want.
6. Try Again.
Sometimes the level of service you get when working with a customer service agent just depends on the agent that you're dealing with on that particular day. If you aren't finding that your airline, hotel or other travel provider is responding in a particularly helpful way, try again another time. Getting mad at the agent you're speaking with won't help. Remember, they're under a lot of stress right now too.
You may find that reaching out a different way, like through an online chat or speaking with someone else, can get you the refund results you want.
7. Use Your Loyalty Status
While you may not want to go there, using your loyalty status to pull a few strings can help you. This is especially true if you booked with a brand that you use frequently. If you have loyalty status with the brand not offering you a refund for your affected travel, point out your loyalty status. You never know what it might get you. If not a full refund, at least a hefty credit toward future travel is better than nothing.
