If you still have a Qantas flight credit for a cancelled booking that was affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the airline says you can ask for your money back.
Australian Qantas customers still hold around $400 million worth of unused COVID credits that were issued for bookings originally made prior to October 2021. Even more unredeemed credits are still held by overseas and Jetstar customers.
But Qantas says that 80% of outstanding COVID-era travel credits are refundable. It has also left the door open for the other 20% of customers to request a refund.
Qantas has extended the expiry date several times on travel credits for bookings originally made on or before 30 September 2021. These travel credits now expire on 31 December 2023. They can be used to book flights up to 353 days in advance, meaning they can be redeemed to travel in 2024.
Qantas quietly changed its travel credit policy in October 2021 so that credits would resume expiring after 12 months, and could only be used on a new booking of equal or higher value. The more restrictive policy affects credits issued for bookings originally made on or after 1 October 2021. Qantas is not counting travel credits from bookings made after October 2021 as COVID-era credits.
Meanwhile, Qantas today launched a ‘Find My Credit’ tool to help customers track down long-lost credits. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce had announced in March 2023 that it would be operational in April.
Qantas making it easier to convert COVID credits into refunds
Throughout the pandemic, Qantas automatically sent travel credits to many customers after their flights were cancelled. Many of these customers were also entitled to a refund. But customers needed to proactively call (and successfully reach) the Qantas contact centre to request one. Many did not, and now still have travel credits they haven’t used.
Consumer advocates have recently been calling on Qantas to make it easier for people to claim the refund they’re entitled to. Qantas has now done just that.
The airline says it has streamlined the process for requesting a refund. It has done this by automating some back-end systems and reducing the amount of paperwork involved to access a refund if a customer’s details have changed.
“The majority of the COVID credits we hold can be converted into refunds but we can’t do it automatically as the credit cards used for the purchase as far back as 2019 may have expired,” Qantas Chief Customer Officer Markus Svensson said.
“We’d obviously like customers to use their COVID credit to fly with us, but if they’d prefer a refund, we’re putting additional processes in place to help with that.”
Customers who still choose to redeem their credits for flights can earn double Qantas points on bookings made until 31 July 2023. To take advantage of this offer, you’ll first need to register for it on the Qantas website.
How to convert your Qantas COVID travel credit to a refund
If you made your original booking on or before 30 September 2021, and you booked directly through Qantas, you can call Qantas’ Travel Credit Concierge team to request a refund on 1300 171 505.
You’ll need to contact your travel agent to request a refund if you originally booked through an agent. If your travel agent is no longer in business or isn’t responding to your enquiry, you can instead email a Customer Refund Declaration form to Qantas.
Not all Qantas travel credits are refundable. For example, if you voluntarily chose to cancel a flight that was still operating as normal and wasn’t affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions, Qantas won’t necessarily offer a cash refund.
However, Qantas has advised that “customers with COVID credits who do not have the option of a refund but whose circumstances have changed and who are no longer able to use their credit are also encouraged to contact Qantas to discuss a refund.”
Hopefully, this isn’t just a shallow promise. It will be interesting to see whether Qantas has actually empowered its call centre staff to offer a refund to people who aren’t technically entitled to one. If you’re in this category, please let us know how you go on the AFF forum…
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