JetBlue is in making headlines today as they announced they’re doing a hostile takeover of Spirit Airlines. You gotta give it to them for being relentless but let’s see if it works … and more importantly, if the government approves it. Time will tell.
As I’ve written about the last couple months, JetBlue has been falling apart operations-wise (which explains why they want to acquire Spirit for their planes, crew, slots … ) I do have to give them some credit. Before the pandemic hit, I bought three Mint (First Class) tickets to fly between Boston and Los Angeles. I paid $1,500 for all three, which was only a few hundred dollars more than coach and it made sense since I didn’t have elite status so I would have to pay over $200 for baggage, assigned seats, extra legroom and food. It was a no-brainer.
But once COVID started screwing everything up, I canceled those tickets. I waited until the last minute to see if JetBlue would cancel the flight because if they had, I would have been entitled to a full refund. But they didn’t so I had to take it as a Travel Bank credit, as JetBlue calls them.
They extended the credits automatically last year since they couldn’t expect people to fly and my credits were about to expire at the end of this month. So I did some digging and found out that JetBlue has a travel credit extension request on their website.
JetBlue’s policy states:
“Travel Bank credits issued for flight purchases with an original expiration date between February 1, 2020 through September 29, 2022 may be extended to September 30, 2022. Credit must be used by the expiration date and can be used to book any JetBlue flight through the end of our published schedule.
JetBlue Travel Bank credits that meet the following criteria may be eligible for extension:
The credit was issued for the fare a JetBlue flight that was voluntarily cancelled by a customer (compensation and other credits issued by JetBlue are not eligible for an extension).
The expiration date is between 2/1/20 and 9/29/22, including credits which expired on or after 2/1/2020.
The credit would have been used before its expiration date if not for the COVID-19 pandemic altering travel plans.
If your credit is a result of a regular reservation, please contact us.
Please note, extension requests take 5-7 business days to process.
Extension eligibility according to these terms is subject to JetBlue’s sole discretion. No further extensions may be granted.”
It was easy to apply and it only took 1-2 days to get my approval. Here’s the form approval email they sent:
“Hi,
Thanks for contacting JetBlue. We appreciate the chance to assist you.
We’ve extended all qualifying credits in your Travel Bank account. Please note that our current extension offer applies to airfare credits expiring between 2/1/20-9/29/22 for a cancelled JetBlue flight. If your credits are outside of that date range, or were issued as compensation or other credits, they are not eligible for an extension.
Please access your Travel Bank account to verify your credit details by visiting travelbank.jetblue.com. For more information about using your JetBlue Travel credit, click here. Your credit must be used to book by the expiration date and may be used to purchase any JetBlue flight through the end of our published schedule.
This message was sent from an unmonitored email address. Any replies will not be received. If you have any questions regarding your Travel Bank account, please contact us.
We appreciate every time you choose JetBlue. We look forward to welcoming you on board.
JetBlue Customer Support”
So now I have until the end of September to use the credit, which I should be able to do. If I can’t, I will try another trick to getting the money back, which I will write about it in due time.
The point of this tip isn’t just for those with JetBlue credits who need extensions. Other airlines offer them as well, as they should. Just contact them either via their website or phone and ask. If they say no, go up the ladder. If they continue to say no, then look into booking a trip far into the future and then change those dates when you’re ready to go (just ask the agent if it’s okay to do this).
It’s kind of ridiculous that airlines make customers jump through hoops and keep on top of their credits but that’s where we’re at in today’s business world.
Is it true that United Airlines extended travel credits due to expire 12/31/2022 have or will be extended until 12/31/2023? I thought I saw a reference to this in one of your newsletters.
That was Delta
Southwest doesn’t extend carryover credit. I cancelled a trip and now I must rebook AND fly round trip before July 1. Any suggestions?
Any tips of getting a Hyatt award credit extended? Mine expires in June. I called and was told they are not extending.
Thanks.
SPIRIT AIRLINES give you one extension and after that you cannot get an extension. I learned a good lesson
Checked back with Southwest. IF you let the credit expire and then call Southwest, they will extend the expiration date for additional six months. However, they will charge $100 for this.
I just realized my JetBlue credits expired. Is there any way of getting them back now?
Contact them via email, phone and Twitter. See what they say. They most likely won’t but you never know. Try multiple people.
You can’t use travel bank credit on any flights that are partnered or codeshares – which is pretty much all of them. So I’m about to lose $800 in credits since I can only use this on Jet Blue operated flights, and there are none that I can find. And there is no way to filter this feature out on their webpage. Seems like they don’t want anyone cashing in what is rightly theirs !!