Anyone with tickets on AC...getting a cash refund is easy.

Frwinkley

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
We were flying from the US to Vancouver through Toronto for an Alaskan cruise in June. Just got an email notification that part of our flight was cancelled and our connection was significantly changed. Their email, however, did not indicate that we were entitled to a refund. The email says that you'll get a travel voucher good for up to 24 months. Obviously, they are not going to offer you a cash refund immediately.

I called, respectfully requested a cash refund and was offered no resistance. I was on the phone for less than 5 minutes.

Do not accept a voucher if you feel you may be entitled to a full cash refund.
 
Wow that is great news. Good for you. I booked my flights through AM and the only thing I could get from them was voucher in my account for 24 months. I wonder if its worth another call.
 


We were flying from the US to Vancouver through Toronto for an Alaskan cruise in June. Just got an email notification that part of our flight was cancelled and our connection was significantly changed. Their email, however, did not indicate that we were entitled to a refund. The email says that you'll get a travel voucher good for up to 24 months. Obviously, they are not going to offer you a cash refund immediately.

I called, respectfully requested a cash refund and was offered no resistance. I was on the phone for less than 5 minutes.
Do not accept a voucher if you feel you may be entitled to a full cash refund.
I would like to know what class of booking you had. We have a non-refundable type of flights. When following the link for the credit offer, we had the choice between « reimbursement of the eligible part of the ticket », in our case only the sale taxes (400$), or getting the 24 months credit, in our case 3700$.

ETA: What probably made the difference in your case is that they modified only part of your flights so your connections were no longer possible. That happened to us in the past and yes, reimbursement is an option in those situations.
 
Below is the email we received. We were flying from Pittsburgh to Vancouver with a connection in Toronto. The only part of the trip that was cancelled was the Toronto to Vancouver leg. I bolded the part below. I suspect that what they are trying to do is have customers take a voucher for the part of a trip that has not been cancelled. I did not want that, thus the phone call to them. I was met with no resistance at all.



We regret to inform you that AC105 from Toronto, Lester B. Pearson Intl (YYZ) to Vancouver, International (YVR) on June 10, 2020 has been cancelled due to the impacts of COVID-19, government travel advisories and/or health and safety concerns.

The remaining value of your ticket can be used for future travel. This is valid for travel to be completed within 24 months of your flight cancellation date. If you purchased a non-refundable fare, please note that you are not eligible for a refund. To store this value, if you booked with:

1. Air Canada: Visit book.aircanada.com/bkgd?ref=RMFYRZ&n=Frech and select 'Cancel Booking.'
2. A travel agency: They will process this for you on your behalf.
3. Aeroplan: Visit aeroplan.com and select "Manage Your Bookings" to return the Aeroplan Miles into your account.
 
Our tickets were non-refundable also. There are still flights flying between Toronto and Vancouver that we could have made. They involved an extended amount of travel time, and obviously our purpose for this trip was to get to Vancouver for our Alaskan cruise, so our desire to travel to Vancouver was greatly reduced.
 


I think the difference is the airline canceled your flight where as some people are canceling their flights voluntarily and are only being offered the future credit option
 
The airline only cancelled one leg of our trip (Toronto to Vancouver), yet we were refunded the entire cost.
 
How would we get anything other than the AM back though @ottawamom ? Or is that what you are talking about, getting your AM back (not a refund from AC)?
I would only have hoped for the AM back and cash for the taxes and fees. I was told I was only elligible for a voucher for future travel. Air Canada cancelled all my flights. But that being said the flights I booked were non refundable flights so that may explain why I only got a voucher.

At this point if I use the voucher at all it will likely be for travel within this country next year. DS, who has the other ticket, has always wanted to go to Newfoundland so we may do that (and take his Dad along too as that's where he grew up).
 
I had two flights booked with Air Canada. One for YYZ to Florida & one for YYZ to Paris this summer. I cancelled both trips as international Travel did not look likely. Originally, Air Canada was only offering travel credit up to April 30, 2021 regardless of when your trip was supposed to be. My DDs will be away at university (hopefully) so that timeline would not work. I waited til their website offered credit for up to 24 months from travel date. I grabbed it as our tickets had been non-refundable. i Double-checked website and their policy hasn’t changed.

Count yourself lucky that you got a cash refund. Maybe it was because of their cancellation, maybe you got a generous at-home agent. But, saying “getting a cash refund is easy” in your thread title is a little misleading.
 
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The airline only cancelled one leg of our trip (Toronto to Vancouver), yet we were refunded the entire cost.
It was still a portion of your trip the airline cancelled which is why you were (most likely) eligible for a cash refund. I have tickets with AC booked for August (YVR-LAX) and it’s unlikely crossborder travel will be allowed however if I take the initiative and cancel it’s highly unlikely I’ll receive a cash discount. I’ll be calling in the airline in a few days to determine the current offers to scheduled guests however I’m fairly certain it will be 24months/full credit
 
Just announced today. Air Canada will be turning those "vouchers" for cancelled flights into ones without an expiry date. Specific details are still uncertain when I called Airmiles but the new conditions will hopefully apply to all our unused tickets. More information to come.
 
From what I read on the news, the new Air Canada policy “applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30.

Customers will be given the choice of a travel voucher with no expiry date that is fully transferable or the ability to convert their booking into Aeroplan Miles and receive an additional 65 per cent bonus miles.”
 
From what I read on the news, the new Air Canada policy “applies to non-refundable tickets issued up to the end of June, with an original travel date between March 1 and June 30.

Customers will be given the choice of a travel voucher with no expiry date that is fully transferable or the ability to convert their booking into Aeroplan Miles and receive an additional 65 per cent bonus miles.”

If the credit is truly fully transferable that is 100% fine by me and probably the best I could expect outside of a full cash refund. I purchased tickets on behalf of another guest so this way I'll still be able to use the value of that ticket.
 
If the credit is truly fully transferable that is 100% fine by me and probably the best I could expect outside of a full cash refund. I purchased tickets on behalf of another guest so this way I'll still be able to use the value of that ticket.
I also read on another news site that the residual value will also be available. So it seems like this will be the equivalent of a gift card, maybe? I would be ok with that too.
 
I didn't realize that the funds were now transferable. Just to make sure I'm interpreting this correctly. Currently its me and DS. Fully transferable it could be me and DH?
 
Hmmm the only thing that stood out to me was the small note about cancellation penalties may apply.
" Cancellation fees may apply based on the type of fare you purchased.".
Previous to this announcement I thought all fees had been waived?
I booked with expedia; it may be time to give them a call
 

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