When you cancel an airline ticket, your refund is generally sent to the original form of payment. For example, Qantas’ policy states that they are “obliged to process any refund to the card number used as the original FOP and customers will need to claim funds from the issuing bank”. But what if you need to get a refund sent to a cancelled credit card?

In general, it is still possible to get a refund to a cancelled credit card. The bank that issued your card should have a process in place to deal with refunds to closed cards.

Your success in securing the refund will depend on the individual bank’s policies. But most banks make this relatively easy if it’s been no more than 2-12 months since you’ve closed your card.

If it’s been more than 12 months since you closed your credit card, you’ll probably need to call the bank.

If you hold another account with the same bank, the funds can be credited to that account. If not, contact the bank’s credit card department and arrange for a withdrawal. They may send you a cheque or transfer the funds to another bank.

What if the bank doesn’t accept the refund?

If your account has been closed for some time, the refund may fail. In other words, the airline (or any other business refunding you) still has your money and you will need to try another method.

The airline may accept a statutory declaration providing an alternative form of payment. The stat dec should state that the account attached to your original form of payment has been closed and the bank did not accept the refund.

Sadly, there are reports on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum of these statutory declarations achieving nothing. The general consensus is that working with the bank to receive your refund is easier and offers a higher chance of success than dealing with the airline.

AFF member MARTINE had a positive experience with their bank:

I had this experience with a CBA card and rang my bank re the pending refund. They advised it would automatically go into another credit card (which it did.) If not, you can nominate an account. It was pretty easy really.

There are several Australian Frequent Flyer forum threads that include other user experiences with securing refunds to closed or cancelled cards:

• Refund with expired credit card
• Qantas awards cancellation … latest on refunds
• How long did Qantas take to refund for cancelled flights?
• Long wait for refund for cancelled reward flights a common experience

A final word of advice

Ease of receiving refunds on cancellations is one of several reasons for holding at least one credit card that you don’t churn. Use this card for travel bookings, and you will only have to deal with this issue if your card is cancelled unavoidably (e.g. due to fraud, theft or loss).

Bronwyn Turner

Bronwyn is a journalist and author whose passion for points collecting and travel planning led her to the Australian Frequent Flyer community. As a consultant with Frequent Flyer Concierge she helps clients travel better and further using their frequent flyer points. As a traveller she enjoys using points for the same benefits.

Bronwyn posts on the AFF forum as @BriarFlyer.