Anyone not getting refunds on their travel plans(not specifically Disney)? And any tips on how to handle?

So, like many I will be cancelling a spring break trip because I don’t want to risk getting sick. We were supposed to go to Sanibel Island in Florida April 4-9 and flying into Fort Myers on Southwest. As of yesterday the condo we are staying at is still not giving refunds just an opportunity to reschedule with the funds that I have already paid. Like many finding another time to go this year is impossible being out of work etc? Also the emotional impact of all this. I used to be the gung-ho travel person and now I want to just stay in my little bubble. In addition to reschedule for next spring break, the company is telling me that the prices for the same unit are $200 more per night because its peak season in 2021 not midseason. So the question is should I plead for an even swap for next year, pay the extra money? As posted on another post my Southwest flight is not cancelled by southwest as of yet. My travel funds expire in September…definitely no way we are going anywhere before then. My husband is currently out of work. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Long shot, but do you have any options through your credit card? We have and chase sapphire (which I highly recommend) and we get a certain level of protection through them. Ex: We had to cancel a trip Yosemite due to forest fires. The park was closed but our lodging wasn’t so they would not refund. Chase helped us out with that and with flight change fees (we changed so we could spend the time in San Fran)

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I initially booked with a citi card back in September but they cancelled all their travel insurance benefits as of September 25th I think. I do have travel insurance through Allianz but I haven’t even bothered calling them(as their lines are overwhelmed) but what i read online is that they don’t cover pandemics. Unless of course we ourselves get sick and can’t travel etc. etc. My plan is to get a chase sapphire card once i figure out how to use up all my citi points. Thanks for the thought though.

We have a beach house rented for end of June. I talked to the owner and we’d need to cancel now and still only get our money back if she’s able to rebook. So we’re keeping it for now. I guess we could always just go to the empty beach (This area isn’t crowded) and do nothing else. I do wonder if we’re still in lockdown status though if she will have no choice but to refund us.

Did you rent through. VRBO, AirBnB, or similar? We were supposed to go to Curacao (near Aruba) in early April and had paid for 9 Nights in a condo. It was non-refundable, and we knew that going in but could not imagine why we would need to cancel. Curacao has closed its borders as of Monday. We rented through VRBO and as of Thursday they are recommending their owners either allow travelers to switch to another visit in the next year at no additional cost, or refund 50 percent. Our owner was not willing to refund us until VRBO changed their stance. Anyway she is now refunding us half of the cost, so basically we are sharing the loss now.

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If you booked before the 25th perhaps the travel insurance still applies to your trip? Worth a call.

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Southwest has extended the expiration date on travel funds. So, that should help a little bit!

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This is what I’m wondering too? I feel like part of the reason why some of those Florida beaches look the way they do is because people are not being offered no questions asked refunds…theres definitely a bit of a run around. Therefore people don’t want to lose money and take their vacations anyway. As it stands my flight to Fort Myers from Albany NY on April 4th is not cancelled and I have gone back and forth about whether we should just go and sit on an empt beach and collect shells. But ultimately fear of getting the virus is keeping me at home. I would rather lose money than lose my life. That being said, I’m wondering if the government that is passing all these laws now, will pass something saying give people their travel money back so they stay home.

I rented directly through the Condo rental company on Sanibel. Wow a 50 percent loss thats terrible. A return visit next year at no additional cost is what I’m hoping for at this point. I will call them back next week and see if they have changed their stance any.

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Maybe your doctor can write you a note stating you cannot travel due to health reasons? Maybe that would suffice the insurance company?

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We asked for the return visit at a later date (to be determined) and the owner said no. I was happy to get anything back, as I was pretty sure we were going to get nothing since it was non-refundable to begin with. We spent $3500, so half back sure beats nothing back. I probably won’t ever book a non-refundable place again though, even though we have many times in the past in places like Hawaii and Costa Rica.

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