Travel Insurance When Using SWA Points???

[kristenrice]

I like to plan for the worst and hope for the best, so I need some guidance.

I have been going to WDW in October for several years now and it seems like the hurricanes just keep getting closer and closer to my trip. This year, we are going in October again and for the first time, I am actually thinking about getting some sort of trip insurance. The thing is, the only part of our trip that I am really concerned about is the flights. We booked our hotel with DVC points (167 Feb UY which would be lost in case of a cancellation, and 122 Oct UY which could be re-booked if placed into holding) and our tickets were purchased back in 2017 before they had "expiration" or "use by" dates and they have not been activated. Basically, we haven't "paid" for anything yet so we do not have any non-refundable expenses. We have the 167 DVC points that will be lost in case of cancellation, but that is a whole different sort of insurance that I'm not worried about.

We booked our flights with SWA points. We are flying from GRR with a connection through BWI. The flight from GRR to BWI is the last one of the day, and the flight from BWI to MCO is the last one of the day. There is only a 90 minute connection time. Under normal circumstances, that would not bother me , but since the first leg is the last flight of the day (5:55pm departure) there's always the chance it could be delayed. Even a slight delay could result in us missing the connection in Baltimore. What would happen in that case? Let's suppose that the delay is due to weather (i.e. not the airline's fault). Once we land in Baltimore, I know that the airline has no obligation to put us up for the night, but am I correct in assuming that they still have to get us to Orlando? There are (4) flights the next morning from BWI to MCO that all land before noon, so while not ideal, we would still be able to make our dinner ADR's. The other weather-related potential issue would be if a hurricane threatens the east coast and disrupts the flights through BWI. Would we be able to choose to be re-routed through, say MDW, without additional costs? There is a flight from GRR to MCO that goes through MDW, but it doesn't land until 1am and we'd like to avoid that one if we can.

That brings me to my second question...travel insurance. If we had a trip interruption...like missing the connection in Baltimore due to a weather delay...and we needed to get a hotel and meals for the night, I would assume that trip insurance would cover those expenses, correct? I am curious...where would I go about purchasing trip insurance to cover a trip interruption/delay? When I have looked into trip insurance in the past, the cost of the insurance was based on the cost of the non-refundable portions of the trip cost. In our case, we don't have anything that is non-refundable. We haven't "paid" anything out-of-pocket, unless you count the EBCI and 911 fee. I would like some sort of protection in case we get stuck somewhere, or even if our return trip home is delayed due to weather. I have a cushion in my budget, but if we ended up stuck in Orlando for an extra day or two due to a hurricane that rolls through, or if we get stuck in an airport due to a missed connection, I want to make sure that we have some sort of trip insurance to help defray the costs.

Can anyone offer some suggestions?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yes SWA will be obligated to get you to MCO even if it is weather related. But remember depending on the weather delay type meaning if is it a hurricane that started a day or two before your flight. Then getting you on the next days flight might be tough because a day or two ago they were already rebooking other flights that got cancelled. So though they are obligated it does not mean it will be the next day it could take several days. If you are worried and you have points I suggest booking a flight for the next day and since you can cancel for free with SWA you can cancel that flight if you don't need it. We had a weather delay in Nashville and lucky for us we got up to the gate agent right away and got rebooked right away and a few minutes later heard others being told it would be 3 days before they could get them on another flight.

Yes if your flight is scheduled to go through a airport that is effected by a hurricane then SWA will post a travel advisory on their web page instructing you to go in and rebook you flight online. So you could pick a flight that goes through Chicago or anywhere for that matter without an additional cost.
As for the 2nd question that all really depends on the fine print of the insurance you buy. I do know that with a Chase Reserve CC they will cover travel distruptions provided you at least paid for the government taxes using your Chase CC

 

[shoreward]

Here is some info on trip delay insurance:
https://www.allianztravelinsurance....delay-trip-interruption-trip-cancellation.htm
Southwest will not charge you any extra to re-book, but, as soon as you know there is a delay or cancellation, you need to be proactive. The airline will automatically re-book you, based on first availability, but you have the right to reject their re-booked flights. I have a family member whose connecting flight was cancelled, and they re-booked him on a flight the next morning, at about 5:30 a.m.; they changed it, when he objected to the super early departure. Southwest normally posts information and travel waivers a few days in advance of any impending weather conditions, which could cause delays or cancellations. Points bookings, other than fees/taxes actually paid for, will not be a covered expense with an insurance policy. Airlines will not pay for any expenses related to weather delays or cancellations, including hotel, food, etc.; that is one reason why you often see images of people sleeping at airports, when there are sizable flight cancellations, due to weather.

 

[kristenrice]

Here is some info on trip delay insurance:
https://www.allianztravelinsurance....delay-trip-interruption-trip-cancellation.htm
....that is one reason why you often see images of people sleeping at airports, when there are sizable flight cancellations, due to weather.

^^^THIS is what I am afraid of...I want to make sure we have coverage in case we get stranded in Baltimore overnight and have to wait until morning to get to Orlando. Our return flight connects through MDW which is only a 3 hour drive. I would rent a car and make the drive before I would deal with trying to get a hotel and rebook a 58-minute flight.

 

[shoreward]

^^^THIS is what I am afraid of...I want to make sure we have coverage in case we get stranded in Baltimore overnight and have to wait until morning to get to Orlando. Our return flight connects through MDW which is only a 3 hour drive. I would rent a car and make the drive before I would deal with trying to get a hotel and rebook a 58-minute flight.

Hopefully, there won't be any hurricane activity in October (hoping for you, as well as myself), but if there should be, causing flight delay or cancellation, you could request routing thru MDW and terminate there, not boarding the connecting flight. That only will work, if you have no checked bags. You would also need to notify the ops agent at your arrival gate that you would not be boarding the connecting flight. As you did a points booking, you would not have to worry about not earning RR points for the return flight, so, I don't see any drawbacks, if that were to be how you would proceed.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Don't forget your MDW flight can get effected by a hurricane also if you are hoping to get rerouted on a flight to MCO through MDW
. You connecting plane could be coming from a city on the east coast that is effected by the storm. Or the plane will make it to MDW and the flight crew will be delayed because of the storm. We had that happen in Nashville. Our connecting plane got diverted to Austin because of a storm. So we had to wait for the plane to arrive in Nashville. Then the crew that was scheduled to fly our connecting flight got diverted to Denver so we had to wait for them to get to Nashville too. Well by the time the flight crew got there the pilots had been awake too long and could not legally fly our flight so the flight got cancelled. My husband being a pilot had the forethought to ask the gate agent who checked for us and said the pilot would be cutting it close. So we ended up rebooking right away. Just a few minutes later I over heard them telling a family it would be 3 days before they could get them on another flight!

 

[jec6613]

The only travel insurance I've found that covers this sort of situation is Amex insurance and Citi AA Executive cards.

The Amex purchased insurance covers any unexpected expenses for any reason (they covered a $120,000+ medical bill for my wife while she was traveling), and you can buy a policy that covers you whenever you're more than 500 miles from home and costs exceed your deductible.

The Citi AA Executive cards will cover you retroactively provided you paid for the fees with the card - you simply put the expenses for a hotel and etc on the card, then a week later when they've posted they can give you a billing credit for them. They also have a concierge service, so if you end up stranded they will find a hotel for you and book you into it. This is what I use, and fortunately I've never had to use it.

Both of these are more than an interrupted trip cost though, $500 entry level for them, and they're more general travel insurance for frequent travelers. They even cover international evacuation charges, where if a country implodes or a natural disaster occurs while you're in it they will cover the expense of getting you back to the US, and will contact the State Department on your behalf.

 

[Lewisc]

https://www.getfreebird.com/travelersThis service will proactively book, and pay for a ticket if you're flight is cancelled. A few posters on flyertalk have used it with good results. I've never used it and don't have any further information
Southwest will rarely book you on another carrier.

 

[Jimsig]

https://www.getfreebird.com/travelersSouthwest will rarely book you on another carrier.

For those that don't know most LCC's including Southwest do not have any inter-line agreement with other airlines. As you said SW will rarely book you on another airline and they won't release what qualifies on the rare occasion of why/when they do. JetBlue from my understanding is they do not have any interline agreements either except for those airlines they have a partnership with, but I am not even sure if those airlines fly any of the same city pairs that JB does so for the most part it would not help.

For the most part lack of inter-line agreements does not hurt SW and JB passengers as they have so many flights and aircraft it's easy to fit passengers on other flights. Where it really comes into play is with the Ultra LCC's like Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant. Because they have fewer flights and fewer aircraft it can be a much harder time for them to fit their passengers on another flight in a timely manner when flights start to get cancelled.

The Legacy airlines like United, Delta, and AA all pretty much have inter-line agreements so they can "sign" your ticket over to another airline that they have an agreement with. Years back I was supposed to fly on Continental (now United) from IND-CLE=BOS. Due to storms in CLE the aircraft was still on the ground in CLE and was not scheduled to take off until after the IND departure time. So when I was checking in at the airport they changed my ticket over to Delta and I flew home through Cincy at no cost to me.

 

[EACarlson]

If you paid for the taxes and fees with a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve you would be covered. For up to $10,000 for the trip. One of the big reasons I pay with my CSP for all of my travel expenses. Look at the benefits of whatever card you paid the taxes and fees with.