Long wait for refund for cancelled reward flights Qantas - a common experience?

[MPP2768]

Hi All,

Just reviewing out travel plans to Europe booked for May , I have booked my Europe tickets using Qantas points all booked under classic reward flights . There are 3 different booking reference nos. as i booked them as the classic award tickets became available as below
Leg 1 Mel-Sin- Mel
Leg 2 Singapore-Doha- Vienna
Leg 3 Paris-Dubai-Singapore
I understand cancellation charges are 6000 points per passenger , does this mean i will be charged 6000X3 points per passenger or juts 6000 points per passenger for all 3 cancellations.
Can we pay cash instead of points for the cancellations? does anyone know how much do 6000 points translate to in terms of AUD

Thanks

 

[magicpies]

Where do the itineraries originate? I've found ex Aus refunds happen very quickly but itineraries originating overseas can take a very long time (and often require multiple follow ups)

Oh yes you're right, they are flights departing HKG, BUD and TPE . I guess i'll call up again to follow up next week once it goes past 10 business days. Cheers.

 

[stoodamire]

Another data point.

I cancelled my OWA ticket around Mid March. Received all my points back around 9/4 and got the taxes/surcharges back on 13/4.

 

[Lynda2475]

So my hand was forced today I was holding out in case by some miracle I could still travel in June/July, but today Emirates cancelled the two flights they were provding on my six flight itinerary leaving me with no way to get to CPH and they had disappeared completely from MMB screen.

So I called Qantas (didnt want to cancel online given 1/3 of the itinerary was missing), opted for a call back. 90 mins later, got the call no problem to refund the full 285k points(were J fares on 4 different airlines SYD-HKG-DXB- CPH + HEL-DOH-SIN-SYD) and all taxes are being refunded to my Amex (which thankfully is still a current card).

Depressing, this was first time Id managed a J classic reward after so much time searching last August. Hope it will still be possible to get J rewards once the airlines start flying again.

I will report back when I can see the points back in my QFF accoutn and the $ back on my credit card.

I know the refund will reduce this months Amex points earn, but will Amex also try and claw back the bonus points awarded for this now refunded Qantas spend?

 

[Carlton3]

Just a follow up on cancelling my July OWA flight on 10th April. The taxes have been refunded to my Amex today x 1 week. Once again well done Qantas. A one day turnaround on points & 1 week on taxes.

 

[MPP2768]

Just following up on this. I waited until Thursday April 2 but the cancellation fee points had not been automatically returned. So I sent QF an email and they were back in my account the next day. I was surprised how quickly they responded.

Hi Sydneyswan ,
I am in the same boat still waiting for my refund points which email address did you send the email to i could not find an email address

 

[Carlton3]

There is one mentioned previously in this thread

 

[SydneySwan]

Hi Sydneyswan ,
I am in the same boat still waiting for my refund points which email address did you send the email to i could not find an email address

[email protected]

 

[kpc]

I cancelled my flights Syd-Hkg-Lhr-Kef; Kef-Lhr-Sin-Syd online last Sunday (5th April) and slowly all the legs have disappeared from manage my booking....but no sign of points or taxes back as yet.

Managed to get through to Qf just then via Plat phone line with only 5 minute wait! Agent can see my online cancellation has been registered and has joined a Q for points and taxes to be processed and refunded....apparently now can take up to 45 days!! She also confirmed the 6000 point penalty will be waived.

 

[Carlton3]

Not that one - that’s a generic one.
This one was mentioned a week or so ago.
[email protected]

 

[kpc]

Managed to get through to Qf just then via Plat phone line with only 5 minute wait! Agent can see my online cancellation has been registered and has joined a Q for points and taxes to be processed and refunded....apparently now can take up to 45 days!! She also confirmed the 6000 point penalty will be waived.

Magically, maybe coincidentally, the day after the phone call, the Qf points (with no 6K cancellation fee) are back in my account today. No sign of the $$ component yet...

 

[SydneySwan]

Not that one - that’s a generic one.
This one was mentioned a week or so ago.
[email protected]

I was asked a question and I answered it. The one I listed worked for me.

 

[Carlton3]

My mistake - wouldn’t want to start WW111 - though I was being asked what email address I used to get my cancellation sorted very quickly.

 

[foggy]

That's much more than the 14 days (or even 6 weeks)!

How did you cancel it?

Have tried calling recently?

They cancelled the flight, received a SMS that the flight had been cancelled 4 days before date of flight.
I contacted them again via the web-form and stated I would be contacting the aviation ombudsman and they had a reply back today

Dear foggy,



Booking Reference: xx_xx_

Thank you for your email.

I do apologise for the delay. As you would understand, we’ve been contacted by a high number of customers wishing to change or cancel their booking, so some refunds are taking longer to process than normal.

I can confirm your booking has now been organised for the points refund. Due to manual processing required, we had to create a new voucher reference.

Your new reference for this request is xx_XX.

Due to a high volume of requests, we're currently experiencing longer processing times. We appreciate your patience as we continue to work through unprecedented volumes of customer requests.

***KINDLY NOTE: this inbox will no longer be monitored, we ask that you do not reply to this email, if have any follow up queries about your booking please call our reservations line on 131313. You may also chat with us via qantas.com/qffwebchat 7am-7pm AEST, seven days a week.

Kind Regards,
Pamela
Qantas Airways Limited
qantas.com | facebook.com/qantas | twitter.com/qantas | youtube.com/qantas

From: Qantas Frequent Flyer <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, 8 April 2020 6:56 PM
Subject: Qantas Loyalty - xx_xx_X


Hi Team,

Please create a dummy PNR for refund purposes as original PNR is purged.

Kind regards

JC Josef
Qantas Frequent Flyer Service Centre

qantas.com/frequentflyer


They haven't mentioned on refunding the taxes/surcharges. Booking with qantas is so annoying.

 

[Flying Fox]

I cancelled flights on 14/03/2020 for a full refund to my CC.

Was told it would take 10-14 business days to appear on my CC.

Called again on 17/04/2020 and was told that refunds have been delayed due to high volumes. Told to wait another 10-14 business days.

 

[Pushka]

I cancelled flights on 14/03/2020 for a full refund to my CC.

Was told it would take 10-14 business days to appear on my CC.

Called again on 17/04/2020 and was told that refunds have been delayed due to high volumes. Told to wait another 10-14 business days.

I rang up today as it's been 35 days. They told me they can't do anything until it's been 45 days and call back then. She mentioned over 90,000 refunds!

 

[laf2er]

Magically, maybe coincidentally, the day after the phone call, the Qf points (with no 6K cancellation fee) are back in my account today. No sign of the $$ component yet...

So, I did the same thing today and called then Plat Line. Was also told that it will likely be 45 days and it is with the correct department. Throw to 2 hrs later and all the points are back in account, strange how that works.

 

[Airbumps]

I did the same thing couple of weeks ago. The phone call got me the points back immediately but I'm still waiting for both bookings (cancelled 2 PNRs) taxes to return to the respective credit cards.

Was told in a follow up call to expect up to 45 days.

 

[LinaLee]

I rang up today as it's been 35 days. They told me they can't do anything until it's been 45 days and call back then. She mentioned over 90,000 refunds!

I’m also waiting since 25th March for the refund to CC after they cancelled the flight. Only have a screenshot of the refund request. Hope it’s still happening . Might call them later tonight.

 

[Pushka]

I’m also waiting since 25th March for the refund to CC after they cancelled the flight. Only have a screenshot of the refund request. Hope it’s still happening . Might call them later tonight.

There's no point. Nothing will change. Ours was cancelled on 13th March and we have to wait another 10 days.

 

[serfty]

I cancelled two bookings online on Sunday March 5th.

One was MEL-(QF)-SIN-(JL)-HND with AU$+++

The other HND-(QF)-xSYD-(QF)-MEL with JP¥+++

The latter JP¥+++ and points were back in my accounts the next day (dated 5th) - I presume it was automatically processed.

I am still waiting on the former - which surprises me as AU$ refunds have tended to be quicker than FOREX ones, although there is the JL segment..