Tips on Cancelling Flex Flight for Full refund?

[MARTINE]

Any tips on cancelling a future Qantas flight I also have Melb-Broome (fully flex ecoomy) for refund (not credit). I’m not going through this saga of expensive interstate border travel roulette again ….a thread mentioned do via call centre not online. Times of day? Contacts ? Anything ? Usually never fly QA … thanks for the supports people and nice reactions to my post too.

 

[Daver6]

Why not just do it online? Or are you trying to get them to waive the $99 cancellation fee?

 

[MARTINE]

I have read in some threads you get automatic credit to use (which I do NOT want) if you go online with no choice re refund . I don’t care about paying the cancellation fee

 

[Daver6]

I have read in some threads you get automatic credit to use (which I do NOT want) if you go online with no choice re refund . I don’t care about paying the cancellation fee

I recall that cancelling a business class fair, you were given the option to select cash refund or travel credit during the cancellation process but before finalising. Maybe try cancel online and see if the cash option is available. If it is, it will save you the pain of calling up.

 

[dylarr]

When is your flight? If it's in the very near future and there is a good chance it will be cancelled by Qantas due to lockdowns etc then you can request for a full refund (no cancellation fee). You still need to call to ask for this though.

If you do need to call, either late at night (after midnight) or early morning (before 7am) is the best bet. You can also message them on Facebook.

 

[MARTINE]

Thanks - my worry is I tick cash refund online then get advised I’ve got a credit. I’ve seen this happen to other posters. I’ll steal myself for the call centre option….

 

[RichardMEL]

Thanks - my worry is I tick cash refund online then get advised I’ve got a credit. I’ve seen this happen to other posters. I’ll steal myself for the call centre option….

I've never seen any mention of this being an issue to be honest. Do you have a reference?

 

[Anna]

I have a refundable QF flex booking to NZ that I am wondering about cancelling because it is xMEL and I would prefer to switch to ADL AKL direct on NZ, but there is no QF refund option online that I can see. Only a credit option.

If I decide to cancel for a refund I will probably get up early on a Sunday morning and ring QF then. Have been able to get through pretty quickly before if it is early on a Sunday.

 

[MARTINE]

there are numerous threads that quote requested cash refunds being converted to credit vouchers on QA cancellation threads. Sorry I don’t know how to link. I never fly QA for a reason (but they had only MelbBroome direct flight). Their cancellations info is opaque and - as I said - don’t care about wearing the cancellation fee as I won’t travel again in Australia until certainty that fully vaccinated can travel. I’ve been burnt too many times

 

[MARTINE]

I have a refundable QF flex booking to NZ that I am wondering about cancelling because it is xMEL and I would prefer to switch to ADL AKL direct on NZ, but there is no QF refund option online that I can see. Only a credit option.

If I decide to cancel for a refund I will probably get up early on a Sunday morning and ring QF then. Have been able to get through pretty quickly before if it is early on a Sunday.

Thanks for the tip

 

[MARTINE]

Thanks Daverr and DylaRd for the good tips

 

[RichardMEL]

For the record MARTINE - it's "QF" for Qantas.

just to avoid confusion

(I do realise the company name is Qantas Airways but QF is the official IATA code and common use for Qantas)

 

[MARTINE]

Tx - mea culpa!! I never fly QF - and - although booked today (but clearly I am not in far north Qld for my holiday) or Broome in near future likely won’t again…it was only because it meant I’d (not) get to my destinations….

 

[RichardMEL]

Wait.. if you just booked today you are entitled to a full refund under the "24 hour rule"

You can cancel any booking for any reason within 24 hours of booking and receive a full refund.

have you selected cancel on your booking to see the options?

 

[dylarr]

Thanks - my worry is I tick cash refund online then get advised I’ve got a credit. I’ve seen this happen to other posters. I’ll steal myself for the call centre option….

Even if this scenario did happen and you got a flight credit by accident (or even deliberate), the original fare rules still apply even though it is now a credit. This means you could call Qantas and they would be able to refund per the rules of the original booking since it was Flex. Receiving a flight credit doesn't mean you are stuck with it.

 

[dylarr]

Wait.. if you just booked today you are entitled to a full refund under the "24 hour rule"

Technically it's "Same Day" so this needs to be done by midnight on the day of booking.

 

[RichardMEL]

Technically it's "Same Day" so this needs to be done by midnight on the day of booking.

Yes, have seen conflicting things on this and have been trawling the QF site for actual real policy.
There's the "Same Day No Mistake" policy that means they will change a bunch of things for free by midnight of day of booking (tough if you booked at 11:48pm huh? ) for those things, but I see references elsewhere to a "24 hour from booking" free cancellation policy. Knowing QF I would defer to the midnight rule, but I would love to find this in writing on the QF site and not a bunch of third party sites.

I still can't find any evidence, by the way, of anyone selecting a full refund (to form of payment) on a booking where offered online being delivered a credit voucher. I myself have refunded fares online and it's gone back to the original form of payment (CC for example) so I am still a bit bemused by this assertion - I tend to think it's more likely someone may have thought they selected refund and instead selected credit somehow.. but I digress. Always happy to have someone post it happened to them of course.

 

[Anna]

I myself have refunded fares online and it's gone back to the original form of payment (CC for example)

Have you been able to do that in the last 6 or so weeks?

 

[RichardMEL]

Have you been able to do that in the last 6 or so weeks?

I've not had occasion to - to be honest (though I did have a flight cancelled for next week for obvious reasons and was offered a full refund - which I had to call to request (which IS noted explicitly online and I do not consider to be opaque - as per the current policy. That was a different situation to this one though of course.

Yes, since Covid QF have been doing everything they can do to retain cash and pushing credit vouchers I think we all understand this.

I'm just saying that where the option for refund has been offered I've had no issue using it. The asertion was that there were posters or people who had suggested that when they had applied for a refund online they had instead been given a credit voucher - a timeframe was not specified.

I would expect a booking made today should have the refund option to - hopefully online too.

But if not, then the call centre is the only (sadly) option but the good news is that MARTINE should have no issues getting the booking refunded with no fees or charges (and no credit voucher requirement)

 

[MARTINE]

Thanks everyone
I will take a deep breath - ring the call centre and report back In the next few days.