Is it worthwhile buying travel insurance for a flight purchased with QFF rewards

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svstrider

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If I am unable to fly on a flight that has been purchased with FF points, are the points refunded or credited. Will travel insurance reimburse if I have to cancel for a medical / bereavement reason? Probably silly Q, I know. Unfortunately my wife made me buy insurance for a J class flight in 3 months before I had time to think about it. If answers to the previous Q's is NO, can I cancel the policy within a few days?
 
If I am unable to fly on a flight that has been purchased with FF points, are the points refunded or credited. Will travel insurance reimburse if I have to cancel for a medical / bereavement reason? Probably silly Q, I know. Unfortunately my wife made me buy insurance for a J class flight in 3 months before I had time to think about it. If answers to the previous Q's is NO, can I cancel the policy within a few days?

Many insurers have a cooling off period, so if you decide you don't want the insurance, you may be able to cancel and get a full refund.

On the question of refund/credit of points, it will depend on the policy you have. I'm afraid you're going to need to read ALL the fine print in the PDS. Same goes for the types of 'Trigger Events' that are covered (eg medical /bereavement).

However, in my (and many other's) opinion you should always have TI to cover medical risks while overseas (and the other things like luggage coverage, missed connections, etc., etc.)
 
Yes you can cancel award flights. You get the points back minus a cancellation fee; for SYD-LAX this was 5,000 points (my most recent cancellation.) If you check your booking you can find the fee in the terms & conditions.

As for travel insurance: there is usually a period within which you can cancel but you'll need to check your policy to establish how many days you have (might only be 24hrs.)
 
If I am unable to fly on a flight that has been purchased with FF points, are the points refunded or credited. Will travel insurance reimburse if I have to cancel for a medical / bereavement reason? Probably silly Q, I know. Unfortunately my wife made me buy insurance for a J class flight in 3 months before I had time to think about it. If answers to the previous Q's is NO, can I cancel the policy within a few days?

For cancellation refund part of the question:

For Classic Flight Rewards, you can cancel your booking and request a refund of points redeemed prior to commencing travel however a Cancellation Refund FeeThis link will open in a new window.applies. There are no refunds of the points redeemed for Classic Flight Rewards once your travel has commenced. For a complete list of all Qantas Frequent Flyer service fees, visit our terms and conditionsThis link will open in a new window. page.
Note: In accordance with the US Department of Transportation rules, customers who purchase an Reward ticket in the United States may cancel their booking and have their ticket refunded without incurring the Cancellation Refund Fee within 24 hours of ticketing when the ticket was purchased one week or more prior to scheduled departure of the first flight in the itinerary.

You need to check your insurance policy about how they would settle it. I would expect them to refund you the cancellation fee, or if you're not entitled to a cancellation refund, the value of a substitute flight.
 
If I am unable to fly on a flight that has been purchased with FF points, are the points refunded or credited. Will travel insurance reimburse if I have to cancel for a medical / bereavement reason? Probably silly Q, I know. Unfortunately my wife made me buy insurance for a J class flight in 3 months before I had time to think about it. If answers to the previous Q's is NO, can I cancel the policy within a few days?

To cover the actual frequent flyer booking you don't need insurance. You can 'self insure' for the cost of the 5000 points you'd lose (ie cheaper than the policy).

If you want to cover missing a FF flight because you are injured overseas, can't take the flight, but need to get home on a paid fare (because there are no FF seats), insurance will cover you for repatriation.
 
I would have thought you would still want the insurance for medical reasons?

But yes most (ie check the policy) do cover flights regardless of method booked.
 
Of course travel insurance is "worthwhile". Vital in fact. Having bought your flight with FF points makes no difference if you get run over by a tuk-tuk.
 
And some people (those earning points by flying for example) would likely be able to justify an annual travel policy.
If there are gaps at the end of the policy year (your next flight is 8 weeks away) don't renew just wait the 7 weeks to get a new annual policy.

Happy wandering

Fred
 
Of course travel insurance is "worthwhile". Vital in fact. Having bought your flight with FF points makes no difference if you get run over by a tuk-tuk.

Medical travel cover is vital. The other bits that come with TI may not be, depending on individual circumstances.
 
An annual policy only ever costs just a few dollars more than a single trip policy.
You never know at nasty surprise may pop up when O/S and covering the cost of these contingencies is why I keep my policy running - although if I am not travelling for a while, will let it expire and then pick up again where I left off.

Whilst on the subject, never just accept the renewal quote from the insurer or broker - apply as a new customer and you will be pleasantly surprised (the same applies for home and car insurance too).
 
Travel Insurance is an absolute must, not just in case you have to cancel before leaving. I had a 10 day hotel in Thailand, Travel Insurance cost around $120 but thanks to an accident on the beach, medical costs, evacuation off an island and repatriation costs to Australia to the tune of over $30,000 covered by Insurance.

Post # 1 was nearly two years ago and the OP hasn’t reported back.

While all the advice was valid, the OP seems to have moved on. :)
 
I don’t think Australians should be allowed to travel overseas without travel insurance. It should be compulsory.
 
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Why did you reopen it?

Why did I reopen it, Pushka? :).

Well, it goes like this. I replied to a jveeevers post made earlier today, on an old thread (this one), where I mentioned to jveevers that the thread was almost two years old and that the OP had probably moved on. ;)

jveevers subsequently then re-entered the building and deleted the post (maybe on realising what had happened. i.e., egg on face?).

Anyway, no harm done.

Edit: Apologies to jveevers for revealing the mystery
 
Last edited:
Why did I reopen it, Pushka? :).

Well, it goes like this. I replied to a jveeevers post made earlier today, on an old thread (this one), where I mentioned to jveevers that the thread was almost two years old and that the OP had probably moved on. ;)

jveevers subsequently then re-entered the building and deleted the post (maybe on realising what had happened. i.e., egg on face?).

Anyway, no harm done.

Edit: Apologies to jveevers for revealing the mystery
He kinda left you to it didn’t he :D
 
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He kinda left you to it didn’t he :D

It was most likely unintentional.

My style is not to delete a post once someone has commented/replied. I may edit to explain, or just quietly fall on my sword if I've muffed it. :rolleyes:
 
Not sure I'd be saying yes insurance does this, and it will do that.

Each policy is unique... Best to consult your PDS or insurance terms in case the OP gets in trouble and starts quoting AFF told me so.
 
Not sure I'd be saying yes insurance does this, and it will do that.

Each policy is unique... Best to consult your PDS or insurance terms in case the OP gets in trouble and starts quoting AFF told me so.

Agree travel insurance is essential. But the OP's question was quite specific - whether they needed travel insurance to cover a QF award booking. In that sense, no. The 5000 point penalty doesn't need to be covered by an expensive insurance policy.

Once travel plans were confirmed, time to buy insurance fit for purpose.
 
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