Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR)

[anemone1296]

VA have introduced a new feature called Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) for bookings usually not eligible for cancellation without a fee, and which is only available at initial checkout. You can choose to pay a sliding fee, lower than the usual $99 fee, to either refund 80% or 100% of the value of your ticket. But there are hoops.
You must click through the correct gateway at the ‘manage booking’ page to access the service. if you purchase this product and then decide to use it, you’ll be redirected to sign up to a third-party service called Hyperwallet (apparently a PayPal company) who at their discretion will process the refund. The refund doesn’t come directly from VA or go into your Travel Bank.

Anyone have experience with this product?

 

[serfty]

Interesting- seems like a form of travel insurance.

 

[Saab34]

So it’s like an insurance scheme? Third Party charges fee, virgin gets a minor commission on the fee, but the funds are not coming from Virgin?

 

[oz_mark]

Haven't used it, but I did notice that the 80% back option was significantly cheaper than the 100% option (like about half the price)

 

[oz_mark]

Interesting- seems like a form of travel insurance.

Sort of - but in the documentation they are at pains to explain that it is not insurance. But I guess, for legal reasons, they need to distance themselves from it being insurance.

 

[ben95]

Sort of - but in the documentation they are at pains to explain that it is not insurance. But I guess, for legal reasons, they need to distance themselves from it being insurance.

Yeah if you have full discretion to trigger the benefit payout (get 80% of your fare back) then it's technically not insurance. If you pay an additional fee to get 80% of your fare back only when certain events happen or condition is met then it would be insurance and immediately make the product subject to all the regulations of an insurance.

I think Jetstart has a similar product where you can pay an extra fee to make your ticket refundable to a jetstart voucher instead of upgrading to a full flex ticket which would cost more. Though JQ I think sell the product themselves and its just the normal cancellation channel to get the voucher back instead of VA going through a 3rd party.