How to avoid airline and travel change fees
2 min read
Traveling the world shouldn’t be hard, annoying, or stressful. At InsureMyTrip, we know this and sell travel insurance that can help travelers with the unexpected stressors that may happen on their trip. From trip cancellation to cancel for any reason coverage, having travel insurance will ensure your vacation isn’t a nightmare.
We can go on for days about the importance of a third-party travel insurance plan. However, there are other ways you can avoid unexpected flight cancellation fees when adjusting or canceling a trip.
Tips for avoiding change fees when traveling
Be very selective about travel brands
Not all travel brands are created equal. To ensure you don’t pay extra money for change fees or cancellations, be selective with which brands you book for your trip. Some airlines have change fees of $200 if you need to change a flight. Other flights can be changed easily without fees if you do so within their specified time frame. Then there are the special brands that have flights with free cancellation.
Hotels vary even more than airlines. No matter how you book your hotel stay, ask about cancellation or change fees. Even rooms labeled as “refundable” could have a small cancellation fee for convenience. Aggregators are generally upfront about the insurance cancellation policy, but you’ll need to ask some hotels for the information.
Canceled flights and hotel stays can be covered by your travel insurance policy. However, it’s important to make sure you understand when you would be covered and when you wouldn’t. Learn more about how travel insurance covers cancelled flights.
Build extra time into your travel schedule
Arrive a day early for your cruise. Put hours between connecting flights. Arrive home on a day when you don’t need to be at work the next day. These are all good things to try and do.
If you travel without insurance, you open yourself up to paying unexpected fees or having your vacation end earlier than intended. A bad storm in Chicago could ground flights around the country, not getting you to your cruise launch. A technical glitch with an airline can halt your trip before it starts! You could even get stuck between flights, forced to pay for a hotel room, or sleep in the airport.
Travel insurance can reimburse you for financial loss typically associated with your trip’s non-refundable expenses like lost luggage, medical emergencies, last-minute cancellations, and even if your trip is interrupted and you must come home early. Learn more about how travel insurance works and how to pick a plan that’s best for you.