Another question about Air Miles--cancellation?

[coastgirl]

Is there any way to not lose your points if you cancel an Airmiles air ressie? (Not for health or typically imsured reasons.)

If you cancel do you get your "taxes and fees" refunded?

Ok, we have enough points to get the 4 of us to Orlando in the low season. But I have commitment issues. I know if I want a points ticket I've got to book it. (If it's even available anymore--there was a good routing for the dates I wanted in April. ) But it's not exactly FREE, and I'd hate to lose the points and/or the money if we need to change or cancel. (We'd cancel if we can't afford it--dh is looking for work but I hate to miss out on booking free dining. Disney I can cancel if things don't look good.)

I think I know the answer , but I'm looking for an "out".

 

[MikeyNS]

I don't believe there is.. at most you'd get a credit with your airline for the amount of the ticket (which is probably a discounted ticket purchased by airmiles...).

 

[Valjean13]

I am pretty sure that unless you purchased insurance (and can use one of the reasons) you can't get a refund. The airline will not give you a credit, they will not even make changes for you. Everything has to be done through airmiles, unless it is a change that the airline is making once you are at the airport.

If you know you'll definitely use airline tickets to go somewhere (even if it's not Disney), you could always book and then pay the change fee if you have to change dates/cities. But that gets quite expensive, kind of makes the airmiles tickets not worth it in the long run. Another option is using the airmiles for park tickets, that way if you decide not to go you can save the tickets for another time. Of course that may not help you for free dining, because you'd need to purchase at least a one day ticket for everyone.

 

[mkmommy]

I am to the point with all the fees and charges that is is best to use the Airmiles for GC for groceries and then use the grocery money/budget for airfare.

I was trying to book Starwood Airmile Gift Certificates today and the dates I wanted were not available. Glad I checked before I ordered the certificates.

 

[WishingMom]

I think another poster is right...if you don't purchase the insurance, you lose your points...pretty unnerving when you live in NL and hope to travel during the winter months...although, last time I flew via airmiles there was weather in TO and clear in NL and my flight got cancelled.

 

[coastgirl]

Yikes, Wishingmom, did they reschedule you??

Yes, I am giving up on the loyalty plans. Gave up on Aeroplan to try Airmiles and can't believe it's even worse...If one of us starts flying for work, it's worth it, but otherwise, not. I'm thinking of using my last AP miles for a car rental. But I've got 8000 airmiles now, I should be able to get somewhere with a reasonable planning horizon!!

Thanks for the feedback...as I said, I thought I knew the answer.

 

[WishingMom]

Yikes, Wishingmom, did they reschedule you??

Yes, I am giving up on the loyalty plans. Gave up on Aeroplan to try Airmiles and can't believe it's even worse...If one of us starts flying for work, it's worth it, but otherwise, not. I'm thinking of using my last AP miles for a car rental. But I've got 8000 airmiles now, I should be able to get somewhere with a reasonable planning horizon!!

Thanks for the feedback...as I said, I thought I knew the answer.

They did actually, there was a flight leaving St. John's for Newark via Montreal and the very lovely lady at the Air Canada counter put us on that flight, (which actually got into Newark the same time as our cancelled flight would have). Anyhoo, bonus for us, there were only executive seats available so not only did we get our flight, but we also got bumped up...it was fantastic...I'm pretty lucky though, because if we couldnt' have gotten out, we would have lost about $800 worth of event tickets...

 

[coastgirl]

Oh, phew, glad you got there, sorry about the hardship along the way!

I'm from Corner Brook, have dealt with cancellations like that. Deer Lake in Dec--yuck--and the ferry's not such a great option! We got stuck in Halifax airport a few years ago, heading to Boston, in a days-long fog; AC gave us back our points (anything to get some customers out of the airport at that point) and we drove instead. Can't do that from St. John's...