If your travel voucher is about to expire, don’t panic. Here are some steps you can take before it becomes invalid.
Whenever we travel, we always keep our eyes open for any good travel deals or vouchers that will help us save some money through hotel discounts, free meals, or other benefits. Even though it’s an advantage, it might get a little troublesome when offered as a form of compensation by an airline company.
The thing about travel or airline vouchers is that they have to be used within a certain time, otherwise they will expire. The worst part is many people, after receiving the voucher, remain completely oblivious to the expiry date. Missing out on the opportunity to use a great travel deal is like a nightmare. Unfortunately, these things happen all the time. Normally it shouldn’t cause a stir. So why has this become such an issue now?
The Problem With Expiring Airline/Travel Vouchers
Besides buying yourself a voucher from any given travel agency, there is one other way you can get a travel voucher.
It’s very common for flights to get canceled or exceed their passenger capacity. When this happens, the airlines will try to compensate you for the inconvenience. They might ask you to give up your seat in exchange for a travel voucher that will not only reschedule your flight to a later date but also offer you some exceptional benefits. You have every right to decline the offer, or you can simply ask for a refund instead of a voucher.
Recently, however, the airline’s situation has changed for the worse. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had taken the world by storm. Several countries were quick to close their borders to protect their people from the spread of coronavirus. This in turn resulted in the cancellation of numerous flights across the globe.
It’s hard to comprehend how many flights are coming and going daily. Let’s not even talk about the number of passengers involved. Airline companies hit a corner, as arranging refunds of such a magnitude is truly horrifying. That is why instead of returning money to the passengers, they planned to provide their passengers with travel vouchers for the time when they will finally start to fly again.
However, this has given rise to an even bigger problem; the world has not yet opened up completely, which means that travel restrictions are still in effect. With that being said, these travel vouchers too, won’t last forever. If you are someone who has a voucher that’s about to expire, and you were unable to use it, here are some steps you can take.
Gather Appropriate Information
It would be a bad idea to start making any type of complaints or queries without first having the appropriate information about the voucher. You are expected to know everything about the voucher, the benefits it offers, the date of issue and expiry, etc. So if you go to the airline without any proper information, the airline can not help you.
The voucher was most likely delivered to you via email. Refer back to that email to see when the voucher was given to you. If the voucher was printed and delivered, then you might want to check that. Now that you have all the info, give the airlines a knock.
Contact the Airlines
As mentioned earlier, many countries have not yet lifted their travel bans. In such circumstances, many airlines have decided to extend the due dates of the vouchers they offered.
These extensions are easy to overlook. Even if the email regarding the extension of the voucher was sent to you, it may get buried in your inbox. In some cases, the customers aren’t even notified. Call the airlines and ask if the expiry date of their voucher has been extended, but in case it hasn’t been, then move on to the next step.
Look For Alternative Options
If the airline where you booked your travel did not extend the date of the voucher, then you should ask whether you have any other options in case your voucher is near its expiry.
If you can’t use it yourself, why not give it to someone else? Yes! That’s very much possible. Many airlines offer you to transfer your travel voucher to another flier in the form of an electronic travel certificate. This service is normally provided by United Airlines, but there are other ways also to make the transfer possible. For example, in the case of Delta Airlines, the transfer is valid as long as the person to whom the voucher will be transferred has the same reservations as the original owner.
Don’t Cancel Your Flight
An unreasonable thing to do in this circumstance is to cancel your flight. Don’t be hasty. You will not get a chance to get your money back if you do so. Assuming you’ve accepted an airline voucher due to the pandemic, that too will be canceled.
If you, however, paid for your ticket with a credit card, then you can try and dispute the purchase you made. In such an instance, the airlines will be able to issue a refund.
Get Help From Social Media
What better way to get your voice across to a company, than to fan some flames on social media? Using social media to directly call out the company will help you get an immediate response. Not only that, you will have plenty of people backing you up in the comments, so the company will most likely give you a positive response.
Keep At It
The most important way to get what you want is to keep trying until it works. You should remain persistent in your pursuit to get a refund for your ticket if your voucher is about to become invalid. It might seem like an annoying thing to do, but you need to get your money back. It is your hard-earned cash after all.
Plane tickets don’t come cheap, and it’s only understandable that you want to get your money back or at least extend the date of a voucher you accepted. Although stressful, there’s no need to panic. Keep yourself calm as there are many ways to solve your current problem. Good luck!
