In the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, airlines extended the length of their travel credit policies so that travelers had longer to use their flight credits after canceled trips. If travel credit policies are any indicator of the pandemic’s status, it would seem we are moving into a post-Covid world. Now airlines, like JetBlue, are changing their tune on travel credits.
What is JetBlue’s updated policy?
As of March 8, 2023, JetBlue will issue credits with only one year of usage from the date of the original booking. During Covid, JetBlue’s travel credit policy allowed for issued credits to be used up to one year from the date of the modification.
What does this mean for JetBlue travelers?
If you get a flight credit from the carrier, you’ll need to use it within 12 months of the original date of booking. For example, if you booked a flight 12 months in advance and you cancel it a month before traveling, you’ll only have one month to use up the travel credit. JetBlue travel credits can also only be applied toward future flights. They cannot be redeemed for things like priority boarding or checked baggage fees.
The official policy states, “For tickets booked before Mar 8, 2023 that are voluntarily canceled or exchanged to a lower fare, funds are returned as a JetBlue travel credit that is valid for 12 months from the date the credit is issued.”
Our take
This policy change may be disappointing after the generous policies many airlines enacted during Covid, but this is a common protocol across many airlines like Alaska and Delta. And, a year is still a considerable amount of time to change your plans.
Perhaps you are the type of person who books trips a year in advance, but the reality of that is that most people aren’t, especially post-Covid. Last-minute trips are all the more common and it’s unlikely that you’ll find yourself with just a few weeks left to book another flight. It’s also not recommended to buy tickets a year in advance, so wait it out until you hit the sweet spot for clicking “confirm purchase.”
In any case, if you are worried about having to cancel a flight later on, we recommend buying travel insurance to keep your bases covered.
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