For an upcoming episode of the Rewards Canada podcast I am planning to delve into the travel topic that is one of the most talked about in Canada right now. That topic is the issue of most Canadians not being able to get refunds for flights that were cancelled by airlines in Canada due to the pandemic. It has been on the back of my mind for sometime now and even one of Facebook readers suggested it back in early June, so it’s time the get the ball rolling.
I thought it be best that I reach out to the Rewards Canada community and get some real world data points from our readers and listeners as to how you have approached the issue, what you have done and are planning to do if you haven’t gotten anywhere with your situation. Tell us all about your successes, failures to get things resolved, and anything else that may be on your mind about the topic!
Personally, when the pandemic hit the Rewards Canada family had only one confirmed trip booked with WestJet to the U.S. and if you follow us on a regular basis you’ll know we did get a refund since WestJet did go ahead and start refunding those customers who had flights to/from the U.S. and U.K.. You can read our refund story here: My experience getting a refund from WestJet for cancelled U.S. flights.
Here are some of the things you can pass along in your comments but by all means expand on these and provide any other details you feel are pertinent!
- What airline did you have travel booked with that was cancelled
- Did you cancel the flights yourself pro-actively or did you wait until the airline cancelled the flight?
- How many times have you reached out to the airline? How did you reach out to them? Phone? Social Media?
- Did you receive a refund? A voucher?
- Are you fine with a voucher and the terms & conditions attached to it?
- Have you been successful in converting a voucher to a refund?
- Did you convert Air Canada tickets to Aeroplan miles?
- Was your booking made via a rewards portal like RBC Rewards, CIBC Rewards, AIR MILES and how has that process been?
- Did you approach your credit card company for a charge back? Was it approved?
- Was your approved charge back get reversed after the fact?
- Have you joined any proposed class action lawsuits?
- Have you written to your MP or to Marc Garneau
- and anything else you can think of!
We also recommend visiting Air Passenger Rights and reading what they are doing in pressuring the airlines and the government to follow suit with what other countries are doing. If you are unfamiliar with Air Passenger Rights, they are a non-profit organization that fights for the rights of Canadian travellers.
So without further ado please bring on your comments!