Cancelling SQ redemption- original points expiry important?

[Glider_]

Hi All,
MrGlider and I are booked on an SQ J redemption PER-SIN-TPE return at the end of the month. We're watching the virus situation carefully and considering rebooking/cancelling.

Trouble is, this is a redemption that has already been rescheduled once before about six months ago, and was originally booked to use up points that were about to expire (+ purchased points to reach the threshold).

I'm going to assume they'll let us reschedule again with the same penalty fee. We're slightly reluctant to do so because we prefer autumn and spring, and feel that this coming autumn is soon enough to still be dicey and this time next year will likely be fine health-wise but it'll be the end of winter rather than start of spring.

But if we cancel, what is SQ likely to do? I'd love for them to just credit back the points in full with a new point expiry start-date and we re-book at our leisure. But I usually expect the worst outcome, which would be to re-credit the points, then assess most of those points as being beyond original expiry date and delete them.

Does anyone have experience with this? I do intend to call SQ, but I'm expecting a long wait and tired operators so would like to get my game plan sorted before ringing.

Cheers!

 

[dajop]

Until the government or the airline imposes travel restrictions you are the mercy of the airline (end even then you may have problems). Expect no favours, and if you cancel and redeposit, those miles used where it is now past the expiry date will be forfeited. Your ticket is valid for 12 months from the date of the first flight, as it stood when you originally made the booking.

I am not sure, you maybe able to rebook to to destination with same number of points - somewhere in SE Asia without having to redeposit miles.

 

[RooFlyer]

But if we cancel, what is SQ likely to do? I'd love for them to just credit back the points in full with a new point expiry start-date and we re-book at our leisure. But I usually expect the worst outcome,

If you ask for the points just to go back into your account, and they would have expired if you hadn't 'used' them, you may lose the points, although under the current 'virus' circumstances, they may have some leniency.

This is based on my experience of cancelling a redemption recently (points back to the account) and the agent made a point of saying 'before we do that, let me check if the points have expired'.

if you can, I'd wait to cancel at a later time, when travel prohibitions may bring in a leniency, if it hasn't already.

You can call and simply ask, of course.

 

[digpomi]

Do not cancel the ticket as expired miles are not restated. Just change the date to 12 months in future and then you can make further changes once you have firm plans. I have managed to extend a ticket with expired miles for nearly 3 years by reissuing it 2-3 times.

 

[Glider_]

Expect no favours, and if you cancel and redeposit, those miles used where it is now past the expiry date will be forfeited.

and they would have expired if you hadn't 'used' them, you may lose the points, although under the current 'virus' circumstances, they may have some leniency.

Do not cancel the ticket as expired miles are not restated.

Thanks very much. Forfeiting the points is what I expected and want to avoid, so we won't cancel outright. I'm not expecting leniency as their website is very clear about cancellation waivers for the virus, and even so I'd be reluctant to rely on them being able to override a back-end calculation like that probably is.
I just wasn't sure what their standard policy for redemptions was.

 

[Glider_]

Do not cancel the ticket as expired miles are not restated. Just change the date to 12 months in future and then you can make further changes once you have firm plans. I have managed to extend a ticket with expired miles for nearly 3 years by reissuing it 2-3 times.

Excellent, thanks for that. We'll try for that, and also do the sums for a plan-b of dates that would still fall within the original 12 months just in case.

 

[theblank]

I have managed to extend a ticket with expired miles for nearly 3 years by reissuing it 2-3 times.

you bloody lucky so and so - how did you do that?
I tried to do that and once i was already passed 12 months since the original booking they flat refused to extend again. The initial extensions i did online, but then it just errored out, so was stuck with the call centre guy. so i got stiffed and had to pay the cancel fee.

 

[Glider_]

I have managed to extend a ticket with expired miles for nearly 3 years by reissuing it 2-3 times.

I tried to do that and once i was already passed 12 months since the original booking they flat refused to extend again.

Interesting opposite experiences!
Will deffo try for a long extension, but come prepared with dates within the original 12 month period.

 

[theblank]

admittedely, my change was during the transition period between the old and new fees etc. My booking was made under the old system, but it was now passed the implementation of the new. it might be different now.

 

[digpomi]

I just rang up asking to change the date to 355 days in future which was beyond the 12 month validity of original ticket, the agent informed me that ticket needs to be reissued and proceeded to change flight with no issues . I did have to pay change fee.

 

[Glider_]

I just rang up asking to change the date to 355 days in future which was beyond the 12 month validity of original ticket, the agent informed me that ticket needs to be reissued and proceeded to change flight with no issues . I did have to pay change fee.

Thanks for that, sounds encouraging.

 

[Glider_]

A follow up on this one,

In hindsight we should have gone anyway, as Taiwan has had such remarkably low virus rates and our trip was before COVID really kicked off worldwide!

I called and was told that the dates could not be changed and if cancelled the points would not be reinstated as they had expired.

Did the old HUACA, this time with the Krisflyer conditions in hand to argue that since the travel had not yet commenced and my new dates were within 12 months of issue, I should be able to rebook. Fortunately the person I spoke to this time knew that before I mentioned it, and the tickets were reissued for October 2020 with change fees and points making up the difference since the award chart change.

But alas, COVID continues with fury.

So will be ringing back closer to October to try and rebook in 2021.