Qantas: Flight credit and cancellation extension

Introduction

Qantas up until now has offered no-fee cancellation if taking a flight credit for flights booked through until May 31 2020. Today, they have extended this, along with some other changes summarised below.

Qantas Flight Credits now offered on flights to 31 July 2020

Qantas is now offering no-fee flight credits for any Qantas ticket for travel before 31 July 2020. If you choose their flight credit option before 30 April 2020, you will not pay any change fee as detailed in your flight conditions. If you choose a refund, then its another story. The conditions under which you booked the ticket are re-instated.

For instance, I have a trip to Europe booked that commences in June on Emirates, but on a Qantas ticket/flight number. In normal circumstances, I would forfeit AU$600 of the cost if I changed or cancelled. If I take the ‘refund’ as a credit with Qantas, then, I don’t pay that AU$600, as I understand it.

BUT, and there are a few . . .

Equal or greater value

The credit must be applied to a fare of equal or greater value. As I understand it, you can’t use it as a general credit to spread the value over a number of flights. So, in some circumstances, you will be better off taking a refund rather than a credit, say, if your intended new booking will cost significantly less – like AU$600 less. The problem is, how are you going to know this when the whole world is topsy-turvy, and we don’t know when we will be able to travel again?

Qantas cancels your flight

Don’t do a thing if you booked it with them. Wait until they contact you. It’s likely the terms will be better given that it’s they who have cancelled. I’ll be interested to hear of any reader experiences.

Re-booking deadline extended

Qantas has extended the rebooking time for all affected tickets. The extension was for 12 months from the date of the original booking, or the 30 September 2020, whichever was later. This has been changed. Now we all have a fairly whopping 18 months, through to the 31 December 2021 to rebook and travel by.

Travel Agent and third party bookings

If you booked through a travel agent, or online through an aggregator other online sales outlet, say webjet.com.au, then you need to contact them in the first instance. That is because they control your booking, and they may also have other terms and conditions that affect your credit or refund. For instance, Webjet’s cancellation policy states:

Please note that any amount paid towards payment fees, Webjet Servicing Fee and Webjet Booking Price Guarantee fee will remain non-refundable.

Webjet Cancellation policy under ‘support’/FAQ

Qantas doesn’t cancel your flight

You can still cancel and get a flight credit for the full amount, or re-schedule, as long as your flight is for a date before 31 July 2020, and you change your plans by 30 April 2020, you still have until 31 December 2021to commence your travel.

My cancelled flights still appear on ‘my bookings’ on the app or the website

Yes, get in the queue, so are mine. With mine, if I try and click through, I get an error message:

I think Qantas is just being overwhelmed, and their IT people have a backlog of things to sort out, including bookings that have been cancelled still appearing on the website.

Lounge Closures

Just a reminder that Qantas has closed all its lounges, domestic and international, but then you won’t need them because you are self-isolating. If you’re not, then you are putting others in peril, idiot.

Membership Status Extension

Qantas has wisely granted a 12-month status extension to every current frequent flyer with premium status – Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One.

2PAXfly Takeout

While I don’t envy any of the Qantas support staff, it is a pity that resolving some cancelled or delayed flight issues can’t be done with a real person in the current climate. I totally understand why, and I won’t be contacting their call centre.

However, I and I am sure others have a little anxiety when their online account doesn’t reflect the reality as they know it. So I know I have cancelled the flights to Bali, but the bookings still show up on my account page, and the points have not yet been refunded into my account. I’m also self-isolating, so I have few distractions to my refund anxiety.

On the other hand, there are people with real problems, like sick friends and family, or the infection anxiety of front line health workers, or no job and no income. So I will shut up, and go watch Netflix.