Peter is answering your latest emails with travel questions during the coronavirus pandemic. Email peter@petergreenberg.com if you don’t see your email answered in one of the rounds.
EMAIL: Leslie Jones
Hello,
On several occasions I’ve emailed and called my ASAP tickets rep Ace to no avail. I was charged my American Express ($1913.78) for airlines tkts purchased thru ASAP on August 31, 2019. I was booked on a Delta flight leaving Phil to Amstetdam on June 2. 2020, confirmation # GF5RMC. As you know a pandemic disrupted travel around the world causing cruise line and airlines to cancelled trips. The Dept of Transportation issued a mandate that required all travel entities issue refunds on non-refundable tkts due to this pandemic.
I’ve tried contacting ASAP tkts regarding my refund. ASAP refuses to answer emails or return calls. I’ve written/called directly to Ace, who has not answered any form of communication.
I’ve contracted Delta airlines and filed a complaint. They advised me that a refund was issued on May 6, 2020 for 1531.06t ($765.53 x 2 ) to your company, for the unused non-refundable tickets in question.
So, why haven’t ASAP issued credited to my AMEX acct.? You charged my Amex credit card $1913.78 and this is the amount that I’m demanding to be credited to my AMEX acct. I’m being charged for a service that didn’t receive.
What I know for sure is that I’m not the only one complaining about a refund due them.. The trip that was canceled was Dave Koz Jazz Cruise, those that booked thru you to Amsterdam are complaining about you on Facebook.
Please check your records and please act to you faith and refund my $ 1913.78.
Respectfully,
Leslie Jones
Peter Says: Leslie, thanks for this. Have you had any correspondence with ASAP with a name or a title of the person with whom you corresponded or with whom you spoke? That would be helpful.
EMAIL: Joan McHale
Dear Peter,
This is a note to say “Thank You” for Your help.
I was on Your radio show a few weeks ago and at that time I had verification that the first leg of my flight was canceled
per Expedia. However, when I called Expedia to request a refund, I was told that British Air put my husband and I on a flight that was
5 min. later than our original flight so, therefore, it wasn’t canceled.
I continued to watch our itinerary, and low and behold, another leg of our flight was marked “canceled”.
I called British Air and was persistent in insisting the flight was canceled and therefore according to DOT I was entitled to a refund.
Today the refund came through.
Had I not been following Your show–I would have just thought that we had non refundable tickets–and done.
With sincere thanks,
Joan McHale
Peter Says: Joan, always love when I can help, and thanks for listening to the show!
EMAIL: Arlene Selber
South African Airlines Tickets
Dear Mr. Greenberg,
On December 16,2019, I purchased Tickets on South African Airline for a travel date of June 22,2020 from Dulles Airport to JNB and return. On that same date (December 17,2019, I also purchased an airline ticket on SAA from Victoria Falls to Cape Town and also paid an additional $60 to upgrade my outbound seat from Dulles. The 3 purchases total $2528.05 through my travel agent(which I now learn from you is not the best option) I purchased a policy from Travelex that included $2000 for ticket. On May 19th of this year when I learned that South Africa Airways had filed for bankruptcy, I filed a dispute for the three charges with AMEX. I am still waiting to hear back from them. Please advise what more I can do.
Thanking you in advance for reading and responding to this email Respectfully, Arlene B. Selber
Peter Says: Arlene, the bankruptcy of South African Airways works in your favor, because you didn’t cancel your flight. They simply stopped flying systemwide. As you can imagine the credit card companies are being flooded with refund requests, far more than usual. I would wait another two weeks (in some cases it’s averaging six weeks to process the refunds). Be sure to let me know what happens.
EMAIL: Lori Anderson
My daughter had planned to get married in Jamaica in November 2020. However, we would like to change the date of travel to November 2021. American Airlines told me that since I purchased the tickets in Jan. 2020, and we are traveling in November 2020, they will not let me exchange my tickets for November 2021. Also, they told me that my tickets will expire in January 2021. What can I do?
Peter Says: In a common sensical world, your voucher should be good for one year from the time you learned your flight had been changed or was canceled. I would reach out to a supervisor, because in my experience they can override their systems and have the voucher expire later. After all, at this point you might remind them that you have given them essentially an interest free loan and all you want to do is sensibly use your tickets for the same wedding, just a year later.
EMAIL: Chris
Peter,
Interesting interview with the young lady this morning.
I, also, have to think through my trip before I go because I travel alone most of the time. Being a female, I have to look around before I stop when driving cross country. I usually buy gas with a credit card only and never go into the store. Most of the time I do not eat in restaurants, but go to a supermarket and buy snacks. I will not stop traveling, but I am very careful about where I stop.
Great show.
Thank you
Chris
Peter Says: Chris, thanks for your email. Remember a line we used to say about political terrorists: if you don’t travel because of fear of these terrorists, then the terrorists have one. The same thing applies to racism. The worst thing we can do is choose not to travel because of it. So thanks for continuing to travel, and travel smart. And thanks for listening to the show.
EMAIL: Terry Wells
Peter, hopefully you can give me some advice:
I booked an entertainment Cruise for myself and my wife as a retirement gift. The cruise is hosted by radio personality Tom Joyner. Tom chartered a ship from Carnival Cruise lines for 8 days from March28- April 5th.The cruise was postponed due to the virus. The cruise is very expensive because of the top notch entertainment and that a portion goes to a scholarship fund. I purchased insurance from Generali insurance but they will not cover us because the cruise was not canceled only postponed and that a pandemic is not included in our coverage.
The Tom Joyner Foundation has provided very little information other than they are working on rescheduling, many of the 3000 people want a refund. The idea of sailing anytime in the next year is not an appealing proposition. Total cost of the cruise is $10,000.
Any suggestions on what I can do?
Thanks,
Terry Wells
Peter Says: Here’s the key information I need. Did you pay Carnival or the Tom Joyner Foundation for the cruise? That will quickly determine the next action you’ll need to take.
EMAIL: Sharon Serow
Dear Peter and Darra,
Thank you for recording my call on air today. I appreciate the help and interest you have shown in addressing my cruise questions.
Best regards,
Sharon Serow
Peter Says: Sharon, always happy to help and thanks for listening!
EMAIL: Betty Cohen
Hi Peter
Thanks for all you do.
This is my third email to you.
You’ve been so informative on so many travel questions.
We cancelled a Regent cruise leaving June 15-June 30 from NY to Iceland on March 11.
We have not received any refund as of 90 days.
Not a full refund because they cancelled May 1.
Or a 50% refund they say is in the contract.
Help.
Any ideas?
The credit card said it was a legitimate charge made in January.
The travel agent says Regent is very busy.
What do you say?
Fondly,
Betty Cohen
Peter Says: Betty, thanks for writing. I’d need more information — name of ship, reservation number, names on the reservation and the names and titles of anyone with whom you have communicated. So let me know and thanks for listening to the show
EMAIL: Frank Strell
Trip to Paris October 25. Passport good til Dec 20.2020. Should I renew passport now?
Peter Says: Answer in a word…yes! But expect six to eight weeks to get it back. The passport offices are currently closed and by the time they reopen there will be a backlog. So don’t hesitate. Fill out the forms and send it in.
EMAIL: Joseph Sakowski
We have a Southern Caribbean cruise booked with Total Caribbean for Thanksgiving week 2020. Any feelings about it happening?
Peter Says: Joseph, thanks for writing. Before I can answer, I’d need a little more information — name of the cruise line, name of the ship, departure port. I’ll check and get back to you. And thanks for listening to the show.
EMAIL: Daniel Simons
I don’t know if you can steer me in a right direction. Me and friends had a flight booked to Myrtle Beach with Spirit Airlines. Took out a insurance policy out to with A I G Travel insurance. Spirit changed are flight status to different day which we couldn’t leave on due to work. They did give us a credit for a year. But we wanted are money back instead of a credit. A I G travel insurance said that they would not reimburse us due to Spirit airlines giving us a credit. We would like to get are money back. We drove instead to are vacation and can’t use the credit in the future. If you can give any suggestions would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Dan
Peter Says: Dan, as long as Spirit canceled first (and you didn’t), then your rights are preserved under the Department of Transportation rule to get a full refund, even if you purchased non-refundable tickets. So go back to Spirit and remind them of that rule and ask again for a full refund, back to your original form of payment.
EMAIL: Kay RIndal
I was listening to Eye on Travel this morning, and I’m wondering if we have any recourse on getting money back on a Danube River cruise my niece and I have paid for in full – $12,180. Our trip was promoted by Carrousel Travel, and featured that our host would be the female host of a local daily TV show. We made our initial payment in February 2019. Our second payment was in November 2019, and our final payment was in March 2020.
Now the company has acknowledged we can’t go on our original departure date of July 23, 2020. The only option we were given is moving the trip to identical dates in 2021.
Also, we were informed the host would be changed to the male host of the same program, since the female host is pregnant.
My niece and I are not pleased with the changes. We both have other plans for next summer. Also, for different reasons we each wanted to travel with the original host. The entire trip is sponsored by a major TV station, and I would think they would not want the negative publicity of keeping all our money. We did get travel insurance that the travel agency recommended. And we purchased it immediately. But the fine print eliminates covering epidemics.
Wondering what you recommend. At this time, I would think we probably won’t be able to go next year either. And we’re willing to wait if you think it advisable. But it’s frustrating that we had no option in the entire process.
Thank you for advice in advance.
Kay RIndal
Peter Says: Hi Kay, and thanks for writing me. Can you send me the exact details of the trip. names, dates, confirmation numbers. ship name (or cruise line name), agency contact information. And let me see what I can do. And thanks for listening to the show!
EMAIL: DJ Johnson
Hi Peter, I hope you can help me with this. I booked a trip with Rail Bookers for a trip from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, British Columbia. Leaving 8-29-20 returning 9-15-20. On 1-21-20 I paid my deposit and insurance. They called me on 5-29-20 and told me the train will not be going anywhere til November of this year. They gave me a choice of picking another date for next year or a voucher for what i have already paid (deposit and insurance) . I have to let them know before the end of June when my final payment is due. I told them being they canceled the trip I just want my money back. They said they didn’t cancel the trip the train did. So I can only get a voucher or schedule another trip. So can you tell me what my options are. Confirmation #468452 contact is Ellery Fraser. I made my air separate. Not worried about the air. I will be flying Delta using my frequent flyer points. I would appreciate your input. Thank you very much. Diane J Johnson.
Peter Says: Diane, thanks for your email. Is Rail Bookers a U.S. company based in the U.S? And if so, where in the U.S. are they based? Let me know and then let me look into it.
EMAIL: Barry
Dear Peter,
This is the first time I am emailing you. I do not have a question to ask you. I just want to thank you for all the wonderful insight you continuously provide through your in-person presentation, podcast interviews, website…etc. I have regularly attended your presentation at the annual Travel and Adventure Show in Washington D.C. I did hear your presentation and meet with you again briefly at this year’s event, held the weekend before Covid shut everything down. In fact, this may have been your last trip before being hunkered down in New York City. I really enjoy and appreciate the content on your website, You Tube and other services. Your candor helps get me stay positive and keep me excited to travel when I am able to do so again.
Take Care! Stay Safe!
Barry (Rockville, Maryland)
P.S. While I would like to believe my undergraduate school of Indiana University–Bloomington is one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, I will have to admit the University of Wisconsin–Madison is (almost) as beautiful!
Peter Says: Barry, thanks for the nice words, and I forgive you for going to IU! (lol). And thanks again. Cheers, Peter
EMAIL: Laura Anderson
We purchased tickets in January, 2020, to travel to Montego Bay in November 2020, for my daughter’s wedding. We would like to exchange our tickets and change the date of the wedding to Nov. 2021. American Airlines is saying that our tickets will expire in Jan. 2021. Is there anything that we can do? I purchased four tickets.
Thank you,
Laura Anderson
Peter Says: Laura, there is every reason to suspect American may be flying back to Jamaica by this November, but that doesn’t mean they might not reschedule your flight or cancel it. In either case, it constitutes a cancellation and as long as the airline cancels first you are entitled to a full refund.
EMAIL: Sue and Family
HI Peter,
What do we do about Norwegian Airlines during the pandemic? By all news accounts they are not flying except a very limited domestic schedule. We had 5 tickets for New York to London in July. The flights haven’t been “cancelled” yet, but that seems to just be a ruse. Do we still have to wait for a cancellation notification?
Thank-you
Sue and Family
Peter Says: Sue: yes, you do have to wait for them to cancel first.
EMAIL: Joan Christiansen
I cancelled flights for husband and myself on British Airways (for September,2020) for which i paid an extra $560 in order to make a seat choice. Since we will not be going on the trip, i hoped to have that refunded, but have never gotten through on the phone, and online, they do not recognize the confirmation number and i can’t proceed further.
Am I entitled to a refund?
Thank you.
Joan Christiansen
Peter Says: Joan, under European Union rules, you ARE entitled to that refund!
EMAIL: Judi Mcauley
Peter
I’m traveling to Mexico in Oct (I hope). My passport expires the day after I return.
I’ve read not to renew your passport at this time. Should I apply or wait?
Thanks
Judi Mcauley
Peter Says: Judi, the minute U.S. Passport Offices reopen to issue new passports or renewals, get yours renewed as soon as you can. If you are traveling and your passport has less than six months validity, some countries might not let you enter…
EMAIL: Charles Reiss
Hi Peter
Hope you are ok with an email from the UK. We are in the same difficulty as Ted David who emailed you recently. We were compelled to pay a large deposit (almost £700) to book a Rocky Mountaineer trip in July, which the company has now cancelled. They are refusing any refund, instead offering vouchers up to the end of 2021 which because of our age and for medical reasons my wife and I are not in a position to take and, on principle, do not feel we should be obliged to.
Rather sneakily, RM have sent an email suggesting I should cancel the trip! That as I understand it would immediately remove any right to a refund. I have already, as you suggested, taken this up with my card issuer, but I notice you say you might raise it yourself with the company.
Our airline, WestJet, does seem to be gearing up to offer a refund option for our UK/Canada flights. Which is what one would expect and hope for from a country with a reputation for good business and consumer service standards.
Best regards
Charles Reiss
Peter Says: Charles, thanks for the email. Please let me know the latest developments, and yes, I will be speaking to the Rocky Mountaineer folks in a few days and will raise this.
EMAIL: Janice Meyerovitz
It is now June 2, 2020, 10 days before our reservation.
Per your request we have waited until 10 days before our reservation in order for you and your parent company, Expedia, to come to a favorable resolution for us to either receive a full refund or something else that we can agree upon. Do you not see the future loss of business you will incur if we get a negative response from you?
You have had the use of our money for an extended period of time.
Read our letters that you have received since March.
I received a letter from The Lucerne Hotel on May 27 stating we have to have our reservation canceled through Expedia. We are loathe to do this as we don’t have any come back if we cancel. They won’t give us any details concerning our voucher or refund.
I would appreciate a clear and concise explanation as requested herewith in order to resolve this ongoing issue in an equitable manner.
Janice Meyerovitz
Peter Says: We reached out to the Lucerne on your behalf, and I am awaiting answer. Janice, with all due respect, we are receiving hundreds of emails, and as soon as I can get an answer from the Lucerne, I will let you know.
