Airline tickets about to expire ... ?

[KrisParr]

My friend and I bought Southwest airline tickets last January for an event that got cancelled, so we cancelled the flights. We each have a voucher that’s going to expire December 1 for about $500 per ticket. With ‘Rona still upon us, I highly doubt either of us are ready to hop back into an aluminum tube. So, gentle people, any suggestions on my options other than watch those dollars float away? Many thanks.

[orville]

Bump. Same question but in Canada

[sincitymix]

i have a voucher that is going to expire. i was told by the agent to just buy a ticket and then keep extending the trip date. (if you purchased it with the flex trip thing)

[KrisParr]

i have a voucher that is going to expire. i was told by the agent to just buy a ticket and then keep extending the trip date. (if you purchased it with the flex trip thing)

Thank you - will have to check the fine print - have no idea if they are “flex” or not. Makes me wonder how many gazillion dollars people have lost in travel getting cancelled. We also have a Viking cruise that was to set sail back on July 4th- it’s been re-booked for same date in 2021. We shall see.

[big-n-tall]

My friend and I bought Southwest airline tickets last January for an event that got cancelled, so we cancelled the flights. We each have a voucher that’s going to expire December 1 for about $500 per ticket. With ‘Rona still upon us, I highly doubt either of us are ready to hop back into an aluminum tube. So, gentle people, any suggestions on my options other than watch those dollars float away? Many thanks.

 

Just to be clear when say last January, do you mean of this year, not 2019. Are travel funds and vouchers the same?

 

I'd make sure you check the expiration dates. I had a trip booked for mid-February. I of course had to cancel. I got the trip converted to travel funds. The expiration was initially for December 2020, but because of the worsening pandemic, that date was pushed to September of 2022.

[KrisParr]

Just to be clear when say last January, do you mean of this year, not 2019. Are travel funds and vouchers the same?

 

I'd make sure you check the expiration dates. I had a trip booked for mid-February. I of course had to cancel. I got the trip converted to travel funds. The expiration was initially for December 2020, but because of the worsening pandemic, that date was pushed to September of 2022.

Ah, thanks! It was January 2020. I’ll do some checking!

[Guest]

Notwithstanding that NBC virologist who supposedly contracted it on a flight, I haven't been hearing much recently of people contracting the virus, let alone clusters of cases, from air flights since the airlines took universal precautions. I'll update some of the latest Covid-19 evidence in the appropriate string, but I think it's becoming reasonable to take some flights now. In about 3 weeks, I'm flying a young man from Mexico who's about to graduate from medical school. I'm putting him on a (luxury) bus from Santiago de Querétaro to Mexico City's airport/Terminal 2 (NH hotel, where he'll spend overnight before his flight to the US), which is about a 3.5 hour trip, then fly him to me (4.5 hour flight), where I'll meet him at SFO. We'll then take Delta to SLC and drive around the parks of southern Utah and the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

[marylander1940]

Thank you - will have to check the fine print - have no idea if they are “flex” or not. Makes me wonder how many gazillion dollars people have lost in travel getting cancelled. We also have a Viking cruise that was to set sail back on July 4th- it’s been re-booked for same date in 2021. We shall see.

 

What if you also call Southwest and ask for an extension?

[rocky]

Notwithstanding that NBC virologist who supposedly contracted it on a flight, I haven't been hearing much recently of people contracting the virus, let alone clusters of cases, from air flights since the airlines took universal precautions. I'll update some of the latest Covid-19 evidence in the appropriate string, but I think it's becoming reasonable to take some flights now. In about 3 weeks, I'm flying a young man from Mexico who's about to graduate from medical school. I'm putting him on a (luxury) bus from Santiago de Querétaro to Mexico City's airport/Terminal 2 (NH hotel, where he'll spend overnight before his flight to the US), which is about a 3.5 hour trip, then fly him to me (4.5 hour flight), where I'll meet him at SFO. We'll then take Delta to SLC and drive around the parks of southern Utah and the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

Well we hope to hear good things about your visit and plans and good luck. I wouldn't even attempt what you are doing particularly as I've heard how some airlines are not really abiding by any covid safety precautions.

[rocky]

But again, sorry I wasn't through, you're in the hands of a young man from Mexico who has graduated from Medical School. That should provide a great deal of assurances.

[+ bashful]

I have a travel certificate from when I canceled a flight before COVID. It was set to expire next month, Sept. 2020 (12 months after it was issued). Went on United’s website, and it said all certificates are now valid for 24 months, so new expiration date is Sept. 2021. I called to ask if I had to complete travel by Sept. 2021. No, I just have to redeem it by then, so hoping to be in Maui in winter 2022.

 

Go on Southwest’s website, or call. Also, if not possible to extend, ask if they can convert it to reward miles.

Edited August 20, 2020 by bashful

[KrisParr]

These are all great suggestions! Thank you so much.