As I mentioned in a prior post, I’ve made a strong effort this year to book travel in advance. That means that toward the beginning of 2020 I actually booked about 80% of my travel for the year. Unfortunately, it seems like nearly all of it will need to be moved or canceled over the coming weeks and months.
I’ve already made a few changes to existing reservations and made one notable mistake along the way. I’ve also managed to get a few different refunds on both non-refundable paid reservations and award bookings. Over the past few weeks, this is what I’ve learned.
Wait As Long As Possible To Make Changes
One of the flights that I booked prior to the pandemic was a round-trip flight from Oslo to New York. I booked this flight to get back home from our Cape Town trip since it was a quarter of the cost of a one-way ticket. Instead of booking a one-way I simply booked a round-trip and selected a return date in early April. When I booked this flight I figured there was a 50% chance that I’d actually take the flight. The truth is, I could have skipped the leg completely and still saved over a one-way ticket.
However, when the pandemic began and American announced free changes, I quickly called American to push this flight out into the future. I moved the flight toward the end of the year because I could try to make a vacation from it later in the year. Sadly, American eventually canceled the flight I originally booked. Since American canceled the flight I could have actually got a cash refund. That would have been incredible, especially considering I didn’t even plan on taking the trip.
From that first experience, I’ve learned that the best thing to do with an existing reservation is to wait. In uncertain times it’s often tempting to be proactive. I’ve learned though that by waiting you might end up getting a refund on an otherwise non-refundable trip.
If Possible, Move Flights Into 2021
Another thing I’ve learned from waiting is that Airlines are extending elite status benefits for another year. This means that there is little incentive the qualify for elite status again this year. However, by moving flights into 2021 I can get a head start on next year. Additionally, if for example you only budget one vacation annually, you’ll end up being able to take two in 2021, your 2020 vacation and your 2021 vacation.
Another reason I’d recommend moving non-refundable flights into next year is because I expect cheaper airfare to follow. When the world starts to open up again I expect to see some incredible flight deals. I’d much rather pay for a cheap flight later in the year than to use a more expensive flight I booked before the pandemic began.
Final Thoughts
Essentially, if you have upcoming travel that falls within an airlines free change waiver window, I’d recommend waiting as long as possible. If you make a change too soon you might miss a chance at a cash refund or travel voucher. Also, if you move the flight too far into the future you might end up locking yourself into a trip that you don’t want to take anyway. Overall, I’ve found that waiting for a cancelation is your best bet. If that fails, I think it makes a lot of sense to move the trip into 2021 and forget about it.
So far I’ve had very positive experiences making changes to previously booked travel plans. I received two cash refunds from American and moved a return leg of a round-trip to a later date. This week, I need to finally address a much larger trip I have scheduled to begin in just over a month. For that trip I’ll have to coordinate changes with two global airlines and hope that I can line everything up properly again. I’m going to be a bit more proactive with this trip only because I’m not trying to get a refund. Instead, this is a trip that I’d still like to take, but not until 2021.
