JQ postponement options MEL- DPS

[babysun]

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I booked a trip to Bali months ago that is due to depart in a couple of weeks. Due to changes in jobs and a few other things we can't go and I'm a bit unsure of what to do with the tickets. We have taken out travel insurance but our reasons are not valid for claiming.

We have booked two (economy) Starter Plus fares. From what I have read on the JQ website I may have a couple of options rather than throwing away the money as they are non-refundable.

1. Change the date to some time in the future and pay the fare difference (which ideally would be nothing) without any change fee. It says you can't change to a fare that is lower value and must also be the same fare (e.g. can't change to Starter from Starter Plus).

2. Change the name on the tickets without any change fee- sell them to somebody else for a bargain price. Can you sell them? Where and how?

3. Cancel the tickets and get nothing.

Could anybody confirm that these are actually options open to me and I haven't misread the conditions of Starter Plus fares. They were purchased in March 2015. It looks like the fare rules have changed since then.

If anyone else has other ideas I would love to hear them. It sucks to throw away $1300+

Thanks!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

If you've paid the plus bundle then changes are free but you need to pay any difference in fares but sometimes that won't amount to much.

We changed a sale fare that had the pus bundle added to it BNE/HNL and it only cost us about AUD29.00 pp. I would defiinitely try to do the changese yourself online because reservations will charge you more and try and put the hardsell on you. There are phone airfares and internet fares so it's in your best interests to DIY over the net.

Play around with some dates yourself then ask reservations & the latter option will always cost more.

Can you maybe fly to Bali for a long weekend a few months away and use the tickets then which would eliminate the need to get annual leave when you've just started a new job.

 

[yohy?!]

lots of people also trying to sell jetstar flights on gumtree - agree though that a date change is better, I have had the same fare type in the past and just kept moving the date out 18months after the initial purchase to when it suited.

keep an eye out for sales to minimise the fare difference (business class sales also can be used if you fancy paying a bit more).

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

I too agree that when the plus bundle is purchased initially within a booking then the best option is to change the dates of your flight should you find the dates don't work for you no longer.

Yes, you pay the difference from between the price you paid initially to the price for which the dates you wish to travel.
If your smart about your new travel dates & can Identify fares where the price hasn't risen much, then the difference payable in negligible.

And, the fee free date change that is included with a plus bundle can actually be used a second time if you like.
I have changed dates on a number of international flights more than once on the same booking before, the system allows this which is IME , more flexible than the cheaper economy fares on Qantas, where only an outright cancellation ( with a penalty imposed once the travel voucher is redeemed ) is given.

 

[babysun]

Thanks for your replies,

I have changed flights to May next year because that was the only time they had cheaper fares right now.

Doing it online was charging another $310 despite the fares being the same price and it saying $260 but the PAY NOW box was $310.

I rang the call centre and they took 50 minutes to put me on hold a lot for the woman to say they will change it for $180 and customer service will call me to refund the extra amount I paid in baggage etc on old Plus package (it's now included).

Seriously weird phone call. She kept telling me how I had "agreed to the terms and conditions of the fare" despite me telling her the website wasn't working re correct prices. Then she pulled out the new number and said I would get a refund.

Fingers crossed I do get a refund but I am not holding my breath. Better than blowing the entire trip.

Thanks again clever experienced travellers!