Cancelled due to fires- AAA will not refund!!!

[hyena29]

I am exceedingly frustrated with AAA Travel Services . Since the Santiago fire was only 16 miles from Disneyland and there was a health advisory due to poor air quality from the smoke for sensitive groups including young children, we chose to cancel our Disneyland trip (Oct 27-Nov 1) due to health concerns. We have a 6 month old baby, a three year old and a five year old. It was also to be my husband's birthday trip (Oct 27 was his birthday) After spending literally all day trying to get an answer of how much our refund was going to be, (left a message 10/29 evening, called at 8:40 am on 10/30, was told would be called right back by Tracy at the Bellevue office, called back at 10 am, only got voicemail, called the corporate office who called them and spoke to the manager and assured me they were working on it and would get back by afternoon, called again at 4 pm, got voicemail again, called main office at 4:10 and asked for manager, finally spoke to Tracy) found we would only get 50% of "land portion" back and no airfare refunded. Spoke to manager Cynthia who could offer nothing else and agreed that if I had just booked the trip myself I would not have had to deal with this.
Now if I had booked the trip myself, I would have got a full refund by Alaska Airlines due to the fires and no cancellation fees (according to their website). Same with The Disneyland Hotel ."Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim were open, said Bob Tucker, spokesman for Disneyland Resort. He said Disney hotels were waiving penalty fees for guests who canceled stays because of the fires." LA Times
At this point, I am never using AAA Travel Services again and will certainly not be recommending them! Thankfully, I did buy travel insurance but now I have to go through the whole claim process...
We were sad enough to make the agonizing decision not to go on our first family trip to Disneyland but then to have to deal with all of this as well...
If anyone has any tips (I have never made an travel insurance claim before), they are welcome!!

 

[ShawnaF]

Wow, what an ordeal! I'm so sorry for you to have to cancel and really sorry about this mess as well. Unfortunately it's not the first time I've heard such a story about AAA travel. Before having the AP, we always were treated well and taken care of through WDTC (some better than others!) To be honest, we've always waived the travel insurance because it's never been something we used or needed.

We were there Oct. 21-26 and the smoke smell was pretty strong at times, but it was still so much fun (also my daughter's 3rd birthday!) However, it was a little irritating to the nose & throat, so I totally understand you cancelling.

Wish I had advice for you, but all I can say is stick to your guns to get your money back.

 

[samkj]

AAA has the same cancellation policies as WDTC. The change fee should only be $75 on the land portion. All the major airlines were also allowing changes to your dates/itinerary without charge. I would call your airline directly if AAA is unwilling to work with you on this. This is from the travel agent update I received last Friday.

Many airlines serving airports in the region have begun waiving change fees for passengers who wish to reschedule their flights due to the wildfires. Here’s a short list of the major carriers involved:

American Airlines
Continental Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Frontier Airlines
JetBlue
United Airlines
US Airways
Virgin America

Northwest Airlines and Southwest Airlines had not posted advisories on their sites at press time, so you should check with these carriers directly.

 

[bumbershoot]

That's not nice of them at all!

However, you did have the travel insurance, and that is GOOD.

Though I do wonder if they would have worked with you more, directly, if you did NOT have the insurance?

 

[EnnEss]

AAA is absolutely horrific with Disney travel it seems. I have no idea why they are so bad since it seems they strive to advertise their ties with them. Most decent travel agents actually help you work with the travel insurance company as well.

Hopefully you get more of your money back .

 

[KathleenlovesMickey]

I am so sorry to hear that you had to postpone your trip. Before you work on the insurance end I would keep making phone calls up the chain of command, so to speak with AAA. I would not take no for an answer. Especially if you still want to plan another trip. Christmas time at Disney is even more magical. I sure would like you to keep us all posted this is a big group that would think twice about using AAA. Good Luck

 

[Laxmom]

Made me think twice. And it is the only reason we have them. Guess I won't be renewing.

 

[Took]

Wow, AAA really seems to be a waste. I've always booked disney trips myself. Now, I have a good reason to keep doing so....

Sorry to hear of your ordeal. Good luck with the insurance!

 

[lilpixie]

That is so horrible. What a pain. I do hope you end up getting most of your money back. I hope you are able to take your dream trip soon!
We just got back from DL last week. And while the adults didn't notice the smoke affecting us too bad, my SIL's baby (6 months old) wound up in the hospital for 6 days. They had to switch hotels to be closer to the hospital and extend their time away from home until the baby could be released from the hospital. It was so horrible! She got the croup and was having all kinds of respiratory problems and had to be put on oxygen. Needless to say, my SIL never made it to the park and their vacation was a total bust. So that is so frustrating that they won't refund all your money -- especially since there is a risk for infants, etc.
I hope you get everything worked out soon!!

 

[famograham]

What a nightmare!!!

I'm so sorry you have to go through this!! I hope that can reschedule your trip VERY soon, and that it is everything you've dreamed of
And I also hope that you can get as much money back as possible!


Linda

 

[LukenDC]

You can get many of the AAA discounts when booking your own travel. I get a AAA membership exclusively for the Disney discounts and have been able to buy steeply discounted tickets for Disneyland and booked a great discounted room at Anaheim Hilton. Next year I will be saving just over $500 on rooms at Disney World with my AAA membership.

I have never used the AAA travel service. I suggest that the OP make a formal complaint to someone high in the organization (perhaps someone in member services). If that does not work, contact the travel editor at your newspaper and inform him/her of the issue.

 

[hyena29]

Thank you all for your sympathy and tips!!! I am amazed myself at the lack of customer service with AAA - I have been a AAA member for 5 years!! Today, I tried to get my claim info figured out and called AAA for my travel insurance policy number since all they had given me was a brochure of the insurance. She insisted I had all the info to make a claim in my packet and said I should come down to the office so they could find it for me. I read her over the phone everything in my packet to show her NO, I DON"T HAVE IT! Now they have to call me back because they don't have it on file or have any idea what the policy number is!! Good thing it says on my itinerary that I paid for travel insurance or they might question that too! At this point, I hung up incredulous and decided to call the travel insurance directly and got all of the info in 5 minutes!! I am still waiting for AAA to call me back...been 2 and a half hours so far!! I am definitely crafting a letter to AAA corporate! I think that is a good idea to contact the newspaper travel person as well.
Any other tips are welcomed!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I appreciate your frustration, but a lot of your issues relate to booking a travel package and can occur with any travel supplier. Packages often have much more onerous cancellation policies than the underlying components. It is one of the reasons that buying travel insurance may be more important when buying a package.

Of course, travel insurance may still not solve your problems because each policy has its own unique terms and conditions. Keep us posted on your success with your claim, since I think many buy a policy from the same provider as this policy is routinely offered as an add-on to AAA and WDTC packages.

Unfortunately, there are lots of stories out there of policies not paying out because the reason for cancellation was not "covered". Because the hotel, the airline and Disneyland were all operating, you may need to show medical evidence of inability to travel to receive a refund.

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[audrabolster]

That is sucky, but most travel organizations have a no refund policy- not just AAA.

 

[drag n' fly]

That is sucky, but most travel organizations have a no refund policy- not just AAA.

This is what I was thinking plus that is what travel insurance is for. If the park was closed due to the fires then I could see the OP being correct in attemting a refund however the park was open and running and cancellation falls upon travel insurance at this point not the supplier.

 

[kiwitravel]

This is what I was thinking plus that is what travel insurance is for. If the park was closed due to the fires then I could see the OP being correct in attemting a refund however the park was open and running and cancellation falls upon travel insurance at this point not the supplier.

I can't agree.... In this case it has already been identified there was a health alert issued, DL and airlines were agreeing to full refunds for cancelled trips to the area. I would have thought AAA could have arranged the refunds in this case, they obviously just didn't want to. I make my own arrangements when planning trips saving literally thousands in the process. With the modern internet age the days of wholesales and agents taking a cut on travel plans are numbered...

This case just highlights yet another pitfall of trusting agents to arrange your travel.

 

[samkj]

I can't agree.... In this case it has already been identified there was a health alert issued, DL and airlines were agreeing to full refunds for cancelled trips to the area. I would have thought AAA could have arranged the refunds in this case, they obviously just didn't want to. I make my own arrangements when planning trips saving literally thousands in the process. With the modern internet age the days of wholesales and agents taking a cut on travel plans are numbered...

This case just highlights yet another pitfall of trusting agents to arrange your travel.

Obviously you have never worked with a legitimate travel agent. Much of your statement is just plain wrong. BTW, airlines and Disney were not giving full refunds, they were waiving the CHANGE FEE, which is a big difference. There are many, many agents that want to save you money. Travel agents can and do book direct with hotels for the EXACT same if not better prices than you get booking on your own.

 

[kiwitravel]

Now if I had booked the trip myself, I would have got a full refund by Alaska Airlines due to the fires and no cancellation fees (according to their website). Same with The Disneyland Hotel ."Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim were open, said Bob Tucker, spokesman for Disneyland Resort. He said Disney hotels were waiving penalty fees for guests who canceled stays because of the fires." LA Times
!!

I was only quoting what had already been said and quoted from the LA Times and Alaska Airlines, that full refunds with no cancellation fees were being offered.

I do from time to time get legitimite Travel Agents to quote me for our holidays, last year the best price I could get for the Carousell Inn was $99US, I ended up getting this hotel myself for $69 per night saving us $480. I have achieved similar results with buying airfares, transfers and tickets.

I am not saying that organising their own travel is for everyone, there will always be those that prefer someone else does the planning for them and they are happy to pay someone to do that, but more and more people every year do their own.

More and more airlines are now chasing the internet sale, Pacific Blue, Air Pacific and Air NZ are now undercutting agents on their websites. More and more hotels now have "internet specials" that are cheaper than what agents can offer.

 

[farmfresh]

You can save money, but if you have the right travel agent they will save you money most often too. Also, and relevant in this case, often cheaper fares etc are non transferable or have other conditions eg change fees. We tend to see our travel agent not as some one who arranges things for us but as someone who uses their savvy to help us. It's true the internet is a great help, but when your hotel has lost your booking,or when your airline cancels the flight, knowing you can ring, from anywhere, 24/7 is great. On one occasion we rebooked airfares by phone whilst standing in the reticketing queue, on another we dealt with poor front desk service in tokyo by ringing our travel agent at home in front of them...that sure clears up any misunderstandings about rooms and rates! But we're lucky, we've got someone who really knows their stuff - no one can read airline codes like Jeff!

So, the way I see it is , do what works for you. And hope for the best!

 

[samkj]

Thanks Farmfresh!

Kiwi, I'm sorry you've had bad experience with travel agents. For the record, 99% of the time if you see a rate on a hotel's website an agent should be able to offer you the same price, this includes "internet specials".