If you haven’t yet used that year-old flight credit, issued when the COVID-19 pandemic first brought travel to a standstill, there’s a good chance it can still be redeemed for an airline ticket.
Many unused flight credits that were set to expire this year, issued to millions of passengers who either were unable or chose not to travel during the height of the pandemic, are now valid through 2022.
Load Error
American and United Airlines, two of the world’s largest carriers, recently extended their flight credit expiration dates to next year, as the COVID-19 pandemic remains rampant and continues to depress both domestic and international travel. Other airlines have also made their redemption policies more flexible.
In April of 2020, the Department of Transportation guaranteed refunds for passengers whose flights were cancelled. Meanwhile, coronavirus-leery customers, whose flights took off while they chose to put their travel plans on hold, in most cases obtained flight credits that could be redeemed for future travel within 12 months. Those 12 months have since elapsed, but for many customers their flight credits still hold value because of the policy extensions.
Daughter, widow of Boulder shooting victim share memories behind viral tribute photo
CBS News
Biden addresses border crisis, filibuster, reelection during first press conference as president — watch in full
CBS News
North Korea tests Biden administration with missile launches
CBS News
Religious-based coronavirus vaccine conspiracies circulating online
CBS News
Report finds just a few anti-vaccine proponents produce most of the disinformation
CBS News
Recap and analysis of Biden's first White House news conference
CBS News
USC reaches largest sex abuse settlement against a university
CBS News
Deadly tornado outbreak pummels storm-weary Southeast
CBS News
Emmy-winning actress Jessica Walter has died at 80
CBS News
Rare access inside Boston Dynamics' robotics workshop
CBS News
Biden: "My plan is to run for reelection"
CBS News
Biden defends decision not to expel unaccompanied minors
CBS News
Biden signals openness to axing Senate's filibuster rule if it causes "chaos"
CBS News
GOP lawmakers push for voting law changes in Georgia, Democrats call changes suppression
CBS News
Biden sets new goals for fighting coronavirus pandemic
CBS News
New video from first tour inside Texas holding facility for unaccompanied migrant youth
CBS News
Daughter, widow of Boulder shooting victim share memories behind viral tribute photo
The world found out Kevin Mahoney was killed in the Boulder market shooting when his pregnant daughter, Erika, posted a touching tribute to him on Twitter. She tells David Begnaud about the memories behind the photo and how the family will continue to honor his legacy.
CBS News
Biden addresses border crisis, filibuster, reelection during first press conference as president — watch in full
During his first official press conference, President Biden announced a new goal of having 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered within his first 100 days in office. He also said he plans to run for reelection in 2024. Mr. Biden took questions from reporters on a variety of topics, including the migrant surge at the U.S.-Mexico border, voting rights, the Senate's filibuster rule, and withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Watch the press conference and <b><a href=https://cbsn.ws/3cp8M7k target=_blank">read more here</b></a>.
CBS News
North Korea tests Biden administration with missile launches
A U.S. official tells CBS News that North Korea fired off two projectiles, “most likely” short-range ballistic missiles. It comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wraps up his three-day visit to Brussels for NATO meetings. CBS News correspondent Christina Ruffini joined CBSN to discuss the latest.
CBS News
Ready to travel by spring
American Airlines, for example, said that customers who voluntarily canceled tickets for travel beginning on March 1, 2020, have until March 31, 2022, to redeem flight credits.
“Based on the increasing availability of vaccines and the fact that we’re seeing more leisure travel booked every day, we are confident that by next spring anyone who wants and is able to travel will be able to do so,” an American spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch.
United has also extended the validity of all tickets purchased between May 1, 2019, and March 31, 2021, through March 31, 2022, a spokesperson for the airline told CBS MoneyWatch.
Travel company TripActions, which manages trips for both business and leisure travelers said that over the past year, it has observed a significant uptick in unused credits among its clients. Indeed, last April a group of U.S. senators estimated that U.S. airlines issued more than $10 billion worth of travel credit.
In January, when TripActions analyzed its pool of clients’ unspent flight vouchers, it found that 55% of the credits were set to expire sometime in 2021, with 45% scheduled to expire in 2022. When it performed the same analysis this month, the company found that just 11% of that same pool of vouchers expire this year, while 89% are valid through 2022.
A TripActions spokesperson said this shift reflects airlines’ recent policy changes, and can also be extrapolated to the industry at large.
Some passengers have already taken to the skies again, as more Americans get the COVID-19 vaccine, and pandemic-related restrictions on businesses begin to loosen.
While airfares are no longer dirt cheap, travelers can still score good deals, particularly to Mexico vacation hotspots including Cancun, Cabo San Lucas and Mexico City, according to fare aggregator Kayak.
Source: Read Full Article