Sam Kemmis is a travel rewards expert at NerdWallet specializing in airline and hotel loyalty programs. In a previous professional life, he wrote comedy until a nomadic lifestyle and a lifelong obsession with saving money turned his attention to travel rewards. He is no longer funny. His work has been featured by The Associated Press, The Points Guy and Fast Company. He has spoken about travel rewards at CardCon, the Altitude conference and AwardWallet's "Award Travel 101" podcast. He is based in Ojai, California, and teaches mindfulness meditation because that's what you do in Ojai.
Lead Assigning Editor Mary M. FloryMary Flory leads NerdWallet's growing team of assigning editors at large. Before joining NerdWallet's content team, she had spent more than 12 years developing content strategies, managing newsrooms and mentoring writers and editors. Her previous experience includes being an executive editor at the American Marketing Association and an editor at news and feature syndicate Content That Works.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted air travel tremendously, forcing airlines to offer flexible travel policies and start canceling flights across their networks.
So what should you do if your flight is canceled or rebooked? That depends on your travel goals. Here we’ll break down the different scenarios and offer best practices for achieving your desired outcome.
The most important piece of advice we can offer right now is: Don’t accept proposed changes to your itinerary until you’ve weighed the options.
Airlines will notify you, usually by email, if they rebook or cancel your flight for any reason. If you booked through a third party like a corporate travel portal or an online travel agency such as Expedia or Orbitz, you might hear about the changes from them.
When an airline cancels a route, it will usually try to rebook passengers onto other flights. For routes with tons of service, like JFK to LAX, that can bump the itinerary by an hour or two. For more rarefied service, it can disrupt the itinerary by a day or more.
The specific protocol for rebooking varies by airline, but generally you’ll receive an email or call with the new itinerary details, and be asked to accept the changes.
When an airline cancels a flight, all passengers have the right to cancel their (entire) itinerary and receive a full refund. Here’s the Department of Transportation’s language:
"If your flight is cancelled and you choose to cancel your trip as a result, you are entitled to a refund for the unused transportation — even for non-refundable tickets. You are also entitled to a refund for any bag fee that you paid, and any extras you may have purchased, such as a seat assignment."
Airlines, of course, don’t want you to cancel your itinerary, and will try to rebook you on a similar one. They will often present this rebooking as the “default” option in the hopes that you will accept it without investigating further.
Declining the proposed changes is (usually) within your rights as a passenger. Once you accept changes to an itinerary, it will be much harder to make changes later, so make sure to consider your options before you confirm the changes.
And keep in mind that the proposed rebooking an airline offers is just that: a proposal. You can and should call the airline to find better dates and times if the suggested ones don’t work for your travel schedule. Just keep in mind that many airline call centers are busy, so set aside plenty of time.
Many airlines have also waived change fees on most domestic and short-haul international flights, as long as you didn't book a basic economy fare. If you can find a flight with a different airline that fits your schedule better, one option is to re-book with another airline and cancel your existing flight. You might not get a cash refund, but most of the time, you will receive a flight credit to use on another trip within one year.
If you’re looking for an excuse to cancel your air travel, use an airline rebooking as an excuse to get your money back.
If you still want to travel but the proposed changes don’t work for your schedule, call the airline to get other rebooking options.
If you’re fine with the proposed changes, go ahead and accept them.You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024 :
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve® Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card About the authorYou’re following Sam Kemmis
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Sam is a travel rewards expert at NerdWallet specializing in airline and hotel loyalty programs. His obsession with travel rewards started with a business-class flight to New Zealand on Emirates, which earned him instant Alaska MVP Gold status. Sam's work has been featured by Fast Company, The Associated Press and The Onion. He has spoken about travel rewards at CardCon, the Altitude conference and AwardWallet's Award Travel 101 podcast. See full bio.
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on Chase's website
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rate5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.
Intro offerEarn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
on Chase's website
Chase Freedom Unlimited® NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rateEnjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.
Intro offerEarn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!
on Capital One's website
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card NerdWallet RatingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account the type of card being reviewed (such as cash back, travel or balance transfer) and the card's rates, fees, rewards and other features.
Rewards rateEarn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
Intro offerEnjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.
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