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While the pandemic isn’t over, vaccinated Americans have begun considering travel plans for spring, summer, and fall this year.
According to TripAdvisorMay through August are proving to be the most popular months for domestic vacations, with many travelers also hoping to fly internationally later in the year until vaccine launches around the world are completed.
As many travelers learned last spring, they canceled plans for pandemic-related reasons You did not qualify for travel reimbursement With most credit card travel insurance plans, especially if you decided to travel after the news of the Covid-19 pandemic became widespread.
However, many airlines took into account customer requests for flight vouchers over the past year when much of the world was banned and unneeded travel was discouraged. I had booked round-trip flights to and from San Antonio (each one-way on two different airlines) for early March 2020, exactly at the time the pandemic broke out, but southwest and Delta both provided flight vouchers when I decided to cancel.
Last year my flight credit was completely out of sight and out of my mind. But recently I was trying to redeem them for upcoming weddings and other trips that I had pushed into the background. I did this with a little bit of panic, wondering if they had expired last year as it had been so long since I’d thought of them.
To check the status of flight credit on a previously refunded flight:
- Find the email receipt for the original flight. Make a note of your confirmation number and / or ticket number (you will likely need this information).
- Visit the airline’s website and search for “Redeem Flight Credit” or “Check Travel Funds.” For example view Southwest’s Check Travel Funds page. (You can also do a Google search for “AIRLINE NAME + TRAVEL CREDIT”.)
- Enter the requested information and click Submit or Check Funds.
- View your travel credits and their expiration dates.
- When you’re ready to buy, go through the process again and look for the option to “Redeem” or “Apply Unused Credits” on an upcoming flight.
Alternatively, you can call the airline’s customer service department directly and ask for personal assistance.
Fortunately, most airlines have postponed voucher expiration dates until the end of 2021 or even 2022. For example, my Delta balance should expire in December 2021, but the airline extended all flight credit expiries until December 2022.
As many Hotel loyalty programs offer extensions for points. If you have one Airline credit cardwho have favourited rewards usually do not expire as long as the account is open and in good condition.
If you are nervous about booking trips, you can make reservations through a Travel credit card. They often provide protection to cardholders when it comes to cancellations and interruptions due to natural disasters, unexpected medical emergencies, and extreme weather. Travel cards usually offer additional benefits such as luggage protection (if your suitcase is lost or stolen in transit), travel accident insurance, and no fees for international transactions.
Here are Choose Selection for the top travel award cards:
Editor’s note: The opinions, analyzes, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article come exclusively from the Select editorial team and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by third parties.
