Krisflyer miles refunds - Taking forever! Anyone else with this problem?

[kcoulson]

I just started cancelling our July 2020 trip. I just cancelled one leg, which explained that we would get a refund of taxes and points. It cost $225 US for a service fee to cancel though (which wasn't clear until it was done). I will claim costs on travel insurance.

Another leg of the journey, I get a message telling me that my points have expired, and will not be refunded. I'm too nervous to put all my faith in my travel insurance to reimburse, so will therefore wait. It might be safer to wait for SIngapore airlines to cancel???

There is also another leg that I tried to cancel, but I get a message saying that it hasn't been ticketed. They however took the money associated with the taxes in 2019. They also took the points.

 

[ACervin]

I cancelled a business class redemption Copenhagen-Brisbane early March still waiting for points to be reinstated. I will give it 3 months before I start chasing it up. The good news, I was bumped up to Gold for next year, admittedly I was pretty close just missing 600 miles.

 

[Jack_OC]

Strange to read about these delays. I cancelled two trips to different parts of Asia (2x business ticket round trips) and the points were back immediately or at least within 24 hours. The taxes paid were back within a few business days.

TBH, I think you were lucky. I have previously cancelled SQ redemptions during normal times and it took a couple of weeks to get the points back.

Cancelled 2 suites awards SIN-SYD on 20th Mar, spoke to the Sing agent again last week who confirmed points and taxes otw, but would take a minimum of 6 weeks,

Do you know if they meant 6 weeks from 20th March (which would be any day now) or 6 weeks from when you spoke to them (i.e. another 5 weeks from now)?

BTW, do your original bookings still show up under "Manage Booking" in your SQ account. Mine do, which concerns me, given that I also cancelled my bookings in March and got email confirmations on 20 March that they were being cancelled.

 

[ausnew]

I have a redemption booked in November 2019 for Mid July trip SIN-ZRH after transferring points from Amex to SQ prior to booking


Would I get the taxes back now if I cancelled, or should I wait it out until SQ says they won't fly?
Look above it seems I will have to pay a heavy cancellation fee as well
When the points are credited back, would the points last 3 years from Nov 2019 from when they were transferred?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

When the points are credited back, would the points last 3 years from Nov 2019 from when they were transferred?

Krisflyer points normally last 3 years from the date that that batch of points are first credited (ie the date they transferred from Amex) to your Krisflyer account.

 

[matyd]

Krisflyer points normally last 3 years from the date that that batch of points are first credited (ie the date they transferred from Amex) to your Krisflyer account.

Bit harsh in the current environment, wonder if the expiry date will be extended.

 

[Jack_OC]

I have a redemption booked in November 2019 for Mid July trip SIN-ZRH after transferring points from Amex to SQ prior to booking


Would I get the taxes back now if I cancelled, or should I wait it out until SQ says they won't fly?
Look above it seems I will have to pay a heavy cancellation fee as well
When the points are credited back, would the points last 3 years from Nov 2019 from when they were transferred?

As others have said, the normal rules are that points expire 3 years after being transferred to KrisFlyer. Worth noting that you just have to make a booking by the expiry date, you don't have to travel by then. In effect, this means you could book flights up to around 3 years 11 months after you first transferred them. KF miles validity can also be extended for 6 months for a fee.

For flights up to 20 June 2020, the SQ website also states "Any refunded miles that would have expired, would have their validity extended to 30 June 2021. We will also waive the fees to redeposit the miles back to your account." I would guess they will extend this to later flights in due course, but that's just a guess.

BTW, I would wait to see if SQ cancels the flights. They probably will, and then you should get a full refund. Even if they don't, you wouldn't be any worse off by waiting, unless you want to book something else with the same points, in which case you should just call up to change the flights.

 

[ausnew]

As others have said, the normal rules are that points expire 3 years after being transferred to KrisFlyer. Worth noting that you just have to make a booking by the expiry date, you don't have to travel by then. In effect, this means you could book flights up to around 3 years 11 months after you first transferred them. KF miles validity can also be extended for 6 months for a fee.

For flights up to 20 June 2020, the SQ website also states "Any refunded miles that would have expired, would have their validity extended to 30 June 2021. We will also waive the fees to redeposit the miles back to your account." I would guess they will extend this to later flights in due course, but that's just a guess.

BTW, I would wait to see if SQ cancels the flights. They probably will, and then you should get a full refund. Even if they don't, you wouldn't be any worse off by waiting, unless you want to book something else with the same points, in which case you should just call up to change the flights.

Thank you for your advice

 

[mel1]

I have an award booking on SQ on 10th Oct MEL-SIN-IST. Too far in the future to get a refund at this stage but I'm watching and want to cancel as soon as I am able.

All the other parts of this trip have been cancelled.

Our first award flight is end June SYD-Moscow but the return is LHR-SYD middle August. Do you advise I get the refund for the first leg now while I can, and just wait for their policy on the other, or do them all at once later? TIA

 

[straitman]

Our first award flight is end June SYD-Moscow but the return is LHR-SYD middle August. Do you advise I get the refund for the first leg now while I can, and just wait for their policy on the other, or do them all at once later? TIA

I am no expert on SQ. Assuming each leg is a separate ticket I would get back whatever I could whenever I could.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Our first award flight is end June SYD-Moscow but the return is LHR-SYD middle August. Do you advise I get the refund for the first leg now while I can, and just wait for their policy on the other, or do them all at once later? TIA

If separate bookings if you cancel by email or with the Covid19 form the hefty redeposit fee will be waived and you will get back all free and points. This currently so for booking till the end of June. My guess this will soon be extended to end of July, and then eventually end of August.

If cancelled now if the return is a separate booking you will get back the points and fee, but will have to pay the redeposit fee.


If flights are all on the one booking then I think you can cancel now, but it would pay to check that the redeposit fee is waved for all flights.

WARNING: Do not cancel online as the redeposit fee will be charged.

Travel Waiver Policy T&C | Covid-19 Info Centre

Terms and Conditions of Singapore Airlines’ Covid-19 Travel Waiver Policy. Click here to read on eligibility and more.

www.singaporeair.com

a.Issued on or before 15 March 2020;
b.With original unutilised flight sector(s) commencing on or between 24 January 2020 and 30 June 2020; and
c.Booked for travel on SIA, SilkAir or our codeshare partner airlines flights (referred to as “Eligible Ticket”).



You could also just wait for SQ to cancel the flights.

 

[RB]

Got the official cancellation email yesterday for our May 17th flights. Nothing specific re the time frame

How long will a refund take?

We aim to process refunds as soon as we can. However due to the high volume of requests, we seek your patience and understanding as we work through your requests.

 

[Jack_OC]

I spoke to someone at SQ yesterday. A reminder that I had 3 bookings (all late May/June), 2 of which were KF redemptions and one was a commercial fare.

The bad news: they are only now starting to process refunds for flights due to depart in April. They don't expect to issue points or cash refunds for flights that were due to depart in May until at least June. And for flights that were due to depart in June, it will likely take until July.

The good news: even though I had already requested refunds for all of these bookings back in March (and received emails acknowledging and agreeing to my requests), I was able to instead change the redemption bookings (and by change I mean different routes as well as new dates). They waived all fees, as I would have expected, so for anyone who is waiting on points to come back ASAP so they can make a new booking, this might be a better way to do it.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I spoke to someone at SQ yesterday. A reminder that I had 3 bookings (all late May/June), 2 of which were KF redemptions and one was a commercial fare.

The bad news: they are only now starting to process refunds for flights due to depart in April. They don't expect to issue points or cash refunds for flights that were due to depart in May until at least June. And for flights that were due to depart in June, it will likely take until July.

FYI, I had flights cancelled for 2 April by SQ and I am still waiting for the points and fees refunded. I do have the email confirming that they will do so.

So hopefully if your source is correct I may gain my refunds soon.

 

[ninja-tim]

As per emails from SQ and responses here, general wait time is 4-6 weeks. It probably did take less time before covid hit, but I assume it's due to the massive amounts of refunds/cancellations they are doing for all flights globally, 4-6 weeks is the norm for now.

 

[Jack_OC]

As per emails from SQ and responses here, general wait time is 4-6 weeks. It probably did take less time before covid hit, but I assume it's due to the massive amounts of refunds/cancellations they are doing for all flights globally, 4-6 weeks is the norm for now.

That's not consistent with my understanding (based on the info I got on the phone from SQ a couple of days ago).

My flights were cancelled 7 weeks ago and I received acknowledgement of my refund requests on 20 March (6.5 weeks ago). However, I was told I won't get my points/cash back until June or July - that would be 3-4 months after they accepted my refund requests.

The key point is that the timing of refunds seems to be based more on what the original departure date was, rather than when the flights were cancelled or when refunds were requested. In some cases it may turn out to be 4-6 weeks (or even quicker?), but in others it will be much longer.

 

[tizey]

weird. i just tried calling to find out status of a refund for redemption booking due to fly on 27 March...'its in queue with our Melbourne office'

Cancelled approx 6 weeks ago too. Bit frustrating that my flight is the one that doesnt get refunded, but my mums did straight away that wasnt due to fly until June!

 

[luxury-lizard]

Finally got my taxes refunded and points reinstated for an award booking for 2 persons (original flights would have been April 26) - cancellation requested some 5 weeks ago. Not sure if it made any difference but the award was a *A - mix of SA and SQ.

Now to work on ones scheduled for mid-July (not sure whether to ask for date change or refund) - thought I'd wait until these flights are cancelled by SQ to ensure waiver of re-instatement fee - can't image flights to Europe at that time being a goer.

 

[matyd]

Finally got my taxes refunded and points reinstated for an award booking for 2 persons (original flights would have been April 26) - cancellation requested some 5 weeks ago. Not sure if it made any difference but the award was a *A - mix of SA and SQ.

Now to work on ones scheduled for mid-July (not sure whether to ask for date change or refund) - thought I'd wait until these flights are cancelled by SQ to ensure waiver of re-instatement fee - can't image flights to Europe at that time being a goer.

Well done, I'm waiting on a refund of cash and points from flights cancelled that I was due to fly April 10th. Can I ask if your refund just lobbed up in your account or did they notify you via email? Cheers

 

[luxury-lizard]

Well done, I'm waiting on a refund of cash and points from flights cancelled that I was due to fly April 10th. Can I ask if your refund just lobbed up in your account or did they notify you via email? Cheers

Got an e-mail overnight notifying the refund of taxes - checked my account and points had also been re-instated.