i believe the difference is that you can make changes on the first (to a different date) but you don’t get the money back on your credit card; fully refundable means you can fully cancel and not just get a credit to use on THAT airline, and sometimes with a time limit. Trip insurance MAY give you a refund if that is a covered benefit but usually it isn’t unless you are required to cancel (medical reason, death of family member). SW now offers a refundable ticket for a fee, and you can transfer the miles to another person.
My daughter went to Europe in May. We did pay more because she had to book in March (prices then went down a little) because she was going for a school course. We did pay about $100 for the ability to change, get a seat with her friends, and check one bag (didn’t on the way out, will on the way back). She almost immediately changed her return. We (and by that I mean I) paid for travel insurance because I just wasn’t sure of things with covid, her uncertain itinerary, and just her spaciness. The ticket was purchased on a credit card (I insisted, kids and their debit/venmo purchases!) so she’s probably doubly insured. Right now she’s in Oxford and has to get to London to fly home on Sat. And there is a train strike, so she may have issues. She also wanted direct flights from Denver to Munich and then London to Denver, and now with all the cancellations in the US, I’m really grateful for the direct flights.
One of her friends did have her return cancelled. It was a ticket through Iceland, but she had to pay more to go back on the United flight. Don’t know if she’ll get a refund for some or all of the second ticket but I’m glad we didn’t go with a discounted ticket broker and just booked directly through United.
Autoslash. They keep track of best deals across sites dependent on your parameters. Careful hopping on a hotwire deal (as an example) because those aren’t always cancellable. You can make reservations and they keep sending you deals–up to you to cancel and rebook. I’ve saved hundreds in the past. You need to keep up to date though–some deals don’t last long.
You can cancel up to the last second if you rent via Costco, and compare prices among companies and keep checking prices along the way, booking a new rental then canceling the previous one, and you don’t pay anything up front. If you have a Costco membership, it’s worth a look.
My co-worker also suggested the bus, so thanks. She made it by train (not sure what is moving and what isn’t). The reason she preferred the train was that she’d already paid for it with her Eurail pass. She’s extremely cheap (like her mother) and didn’t want to waste any money. I kept telling her she’d waste a lot more by missing her plane!
She’s got one more day of research tomorrow and then home on Sat. She’s been gone 6 weeks and she’s ready to come home.
I think that’s correct. We booked a trip to Europe back in May for an August trip for four people w/three separate itineraries. Paid extra for a seat and baggage allowance. Was fully changeable until Sept. So when we all had to change dates we paid more for the seats (which had gone up in price) but nothing else.
I cannot believe what airlines charge for these days ( upfront seat, extra legroom, bags, and so much more). We always book direct to avoid issues. And we often use the carrier of the country we are visiting. Have found the service levels higher than some US airlines flying to same destination. And the people seem more friendly.
If you stay over 90 days you need a visa. This is just one more thing to get some money from anybody less than 90 days. I guess the USA already has something similar for travelers coming in but it costs 21 bucks.
I thought my daughter was coming home today. When i didn’t get a text before her plane was to take off, I panicked and texted her “Are you on a plane?” Um, “it’s tomorrow Mom.”
That was a good thing as the 3 pm flight today was cancelled. She already received begging emails asking her to go on a different flight (don’t know how much she was offered) but she said no because she has a direct flight and didn’t want to get home at midnight.
Anyway, big notices online that security lines at LHR are long and plan accordingly. Cancelled flights, delays, crowds.
I received notices that 2 of my flights are changing to earlier time, this means my husband and I have to get up earlier than we had planned. I’m not rebooking the hotel part. But this is not my intention, when I travel I like to laze about, not getting up at 5 or 6 am.
IMO, the earlier the flight the less domino effect of cancelled flights and the better chance of rescheduling on another flight left on the roster that day.
I booked a vacation when Southwest had a big sale 2 weeks ago, but the first day that price was available was Aug 16. I just got a notice that they changed the arrival time to 20 minutes EARLIER, but because it is a change their policy is to allow you to rebook for the same price for any flights up to 2 weeks earlier. I’m going to rebook to better times, and for 2 weeks earlier. I’m excited because I wanted to go earlier as I have a training in Aug and didn’t want to work on my vacation.
I just booked SWA tickets to Austin for my husband and me in October. Their prices out of Portland used to be more expensive than other airlines, but they’ve been competitive lately.
I’m flying SW to Baltimore on Wednesday and the tickets were really expensive (but so were all the other airlines). I’m getting a great deal in Aug, so figure it is evening out in the end.
Their prices out of Portland used to be more expensive than other airlines, but they’ve been competitive lately.