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Qantas is now offering flight credits to passengers that were booked to fly until the end of September 2020 (previously July 2020). Qantas credit vouchers can also now be used towards multiple new bookings, rather than just one booking of equal or greater value. But the national carrier is no longer waiving change fees for customers that choose to convert the value of their booking to a credit voucher after 1 May 2020.
Last month, Qantas was encouraging customers with flights booked until July to cancel their booking for a voucher if they no longer wanted to travel. The deadline for customers to cancel or change their bookings without paying fees was 30 April 2020.
For flight credits issued on or after 1 May 2020, change fees will be applicable when redeeming your voucher. The fee will be equivalent to the regular change fee that applies to your fare type. For example, the change fee for a Qantas domestic red-eDeal booking from Sydney to Melbourne is $99. Red-eDeal bookings are non-refundable, subject to your rights under Australian Consumer Law.
Following this Qantas policy change, there are only two reasons it would make sense to request a Qantas credit voucher:
- You cannot get a refund for your flight (because Qantas is still operating your flight, and you have a non-refundable ticket)
- You don’t wish to rebook your travel within the next 12 months.
Qantas travel credits are now valid for booking and travel until 31 December 2021. This is better than the usual 12-month validity period.
If your original Qantas booking was made before 30 April 2020, and you were due to travel between 31 January and 30 September 2020, you’ll soon be able to redeem your flight credit towards multiple future bookings. Qantas says its systems will be updated to allow this from June 2020.
Jetstar customers will also be able to redeem their vouchers for multiple new bookings “from mid-June” this year.
If you have a Classic Flight Reward booking, you’ll need to pay the usual cancellation fee of 6,000 Qantas points to cancel your booking. But you will receive a refund of the remaining Qantas points and taxes paid. This only applies if your flight is still operating and you choose not to travel.
Don’t forget: If your flight has been cancelled by Qantas, you are entitled to a full refund.
Until this week, only flights until the end of May had been cancelled by Qantas. But Qantas is now in the processing of extending domestic and trans-Tasman cancellations until the end of June. International flights are being cancelled until the end of July. If you’re not travelling this month, and your flight has not yet been cancelled, you may decide to wait until this happens! This way, you may be entitled to a full refund in the future. This applies to both commercial fares and Classic Flight Reward bookings.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Qantas improves conditions on vouchers
