Booking flights in the miles world is often be anything but straightforward. Many of us are used to booking multiple legs using different websites, mileage currencies, and credit cards as we try to save the most money and maximize earnings and benefits. Getting a refund during these difficult times should be easy, but a United Airlines refund was like pulling teeth.
A recent trip of mine to London and Paris that was supposed to start last week, for example, was booked the following way:
- LAX-ZRH-LHR (one way) using Air Canada Aeroplan miles (transferred from Amex) on Swiss Airlines.
- LHR-CDG (one way) using British Airways Avios (again transferred from Amex) to get from London To Paris.
- CDG-SFO-SNA – this one was booked differently for my wife and I. There was a $1538 business class round trip deal on United Airlines last year that I took advantage of, with the plan on using the first half to fly back from Europe in April and the return portion to start a second trip back to Europe in July. I booked my own ticket using the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal for 100K UR points and $38 in cash. I booked my wife’s ticket on the exact same flights using the Amex Travel portal, spending ~153,000 points. Since I have the Amex Business Platinum card and since this was a Business Class flight, I was refunded 35% of the points, making the total cost ~99,450 points.
I was happy with the value I got, particularly on the United flights which came down to just 50K points each way to Europe while also earning miles for the flights.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into these plans. Some cancellations are easy, some are not. I was able to cancel the Aeroplan tickets with a full refund after a short wait on the phone with Air Canada. I was able to cancel my Avios booking online without issue, despite British Airways trying to scam customers into a voucher.
The United Airlines tickets have been difficult to cancel. Booking with any Online Travel Agency (OTA) adds an extra complicating layer that I will forever be wary of going forward. Instead of being at the mercy of just the airline, you are also at the mercy of the OTA and its policies as well. In my case, Chase and Amex Travel are both OTAs I used for these bookings.
During the coronavirus crisis, most major OTAs have been behaving relatively nicely. They’ve simply been passing the airline’s public policy on to customers without adding anything, so if an airline was providing refunds, the OTA would as well. If the airline was providing vouchers, the OTA would also do so.
And remember, the customer is due a refund if the airline cancels or significantly modifies the flight timings. It’s been government policy in the US for quite some time, and airlines that do not provide a refund are in violation of the law. The US Department of Transportation reinforced that message to the airlines last week.
Canceling My United Airlines Booking with Chase
I decided to start on my United Airlines refund with Chase a few weeks ago. United had already canceled my CDG-SFO segment but no refund was provided and there was no communication, so I called Chase to get my points back. Waiting for hours ended up in me being disconnected (hung up on?) right when I got to speak with someone. By then, Chase had released an online cancellation form to fill out. I made the error of making use of it.
Within a day I received an email noting my trip was canceled and I was given a voucher with ridiculous restrictions.
- It’s a voucher, not a refund
- Only good for myself and not for anyone else
- One leg must be on United Airlines
- New flights must start by 9/26/20
- I later found out that the voucher could not be split up into multiple flights, and any unused amount would be lost
I didn’t want a voucher, I wanted a refund that I knew I was entitled to. I’d read that some people that called in not only got a refund, but got the points refunded. I tried calling again but it yielded no success, so I tried to respond to the email. After several days I got a response that again said I got a voucher and still had restrictions (though somewhat different).
At least now I had until 12/31/20, but it’s still nowhere near satisfactory. I replied to the email again and still have not yet received a response. I decided to try my luck with Amex for my wife’s ticket.
Canceling My United Airlines Booking with Amex Travel
I got through to Amex Travel quicker than I expected, with no real wait time after the phone prompts. I was put on hold so the representative could check United’s policy. He came back and said they are offering a voucher good through the end of the year, which sounded very similar to what Chase’s last email described. I protested and asked for a refund, and was told to contact the airline since he said he cannot go beyond the airline’s policy.
So I thought “why not” and decided to call United Airlines directly.
Canceling My Chase & Amex Travel Bookings by Calling United Airlines Directly
I was again pleasantly surprised to get through to United Airlines without much of a wait. I started with my wife’s Amex Travel booking. After offering a re-booking to another date (which would certainly result in a higher price given how cheap of a fare I got initially), I was offered the same voucher. I explained that this was not something I was interested in – I wanted a refund so I can pay my bills, and the DOT says I am due a refund. She had to check with her supervisor and put me on hold.
After a ~30 minute hold, she came back and said I’ll get a refund. Great! It seemed like my United Airlines refund was finally coming through. The Amex Travel booking was made from my own account and using my credit card with the ticket under my wife’s name. The representative needed either my wife’s email or home address since neither came through from Amex. I provided the email, and the rep said that unfortunately the system won’t let her add it. She then asked for the home address, which I provided.
So I asked the rep, “will you be sending a check in her name?” The rep said it will be a voucher with a PIN that we’ll have to call in to make use of.
Wait a second…I explained I didn’t want a voucher, I need a refund of the cash value of the ticket. She said she misspoke, that the refund is being processed but she still needed a home address. Uh, okay…
It was the kind of representative that appeared to not know what she was talking about, and so I knew that inquiring further would not yield any useful information. But hey, she said she was giving a refund and that it would go back to my card. Good enough for now.
By the way, another complicating factor for me is that the Amex Card I used for the Amex Travel booking was reissued with a different card number, so I’m kind of praying Amex will apply it to my reissued card.
I figured it couldn’t hurt to try asking for a refund on my Chase ticket as well. Worth a shot since she already got approval from her supervisor and had confirmed the flights are eligible. I gave her the record locator for the Chase booking, and within 30 seconds she said it was done. Awesome! I think?
She said it normally takes 7-14 days but may take longer given the current volume. Fair enough. While I would have preferred to get the points back from both Amex and Chase, cashing out at ~1.5 cents per point is not bad at all…if that’s what I actually get back.
Final Thoughts
OTA bookings have been anything but easy for me to cancel, and getting a United Airlines refund is like pulling teeth. I certainly had a unique situation, but again many of us book complicated itineraries so I’m sure there are many of us with Chase and Amex Travel bookings with United Airlines and other airlines that will experience something similar. The calls to Amex and United happened on 4/8/20 so who knows if/when/how I’ll get a refund. When I search the record locator on the United website, it now displays the following:
It does me no good to worry about it at this time. Perhaps I’ll try calling in a few days to confirm that United Airlines did refund me, but for now I’m just going to assume this worked. Hopefully this anecdotal story will help some of you with bookings you have with either Chase, Amex Travel, or United Airlines.
UPDATE: I have now been refunded both by Amex and by Chase, in different ways. Amex gave me a refund of the entire cash value.
While Chase gave back all my points and the small cash portion I paid:
So there you go – a little patience and persistence paid off, and I bet you’d have some good luck with my strategies outlined above as well.
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