VegasGambler

I think I have finally figured out the details of making use of the "no change fee" perk with the VX Premium Visa.

When you buy MC or MCS tickets, there is a $75 change fee that applies -- this is waived only if you bought the ticket with the card (not with the travel bank). If you cancel online, it will charge you the $75 and then give it back to you as a statement credit eventually (I've never done this so I don't know how long it takes in practice). If you call and cancel over the phone, they will waive the cancellation fee right there, so all the funds are put into your travel bank immediately.

For a MC/MCS ticket bought with the card, if you want to take advantage of a price drop (but keep the same itinerary), and it's 21+ days before the flight, you don't need to cancel and rebook. You can just call them, and they will refund the price difference straight to your travel bank. This does not change the payment method on the ticket, so it is still eligible for "no change fees"

So, my strategy is:

1. Book F fares with travel bank funds, if available.
2. Book MC/MCS fares with VX Visa
3. If an F fare has dropped, cancel and rebook online
4. If a MC/MCS fare has dropped 21+ days before departure, call and ask for the fare difference to be put into your travel bank. You can do this multiple times if the fare drops multiple times.
5. If a MC/MCS fare has dropped <21 days before departure, call and cancel, and leave the funds in your travel bank. Re-book with the Visa.

Of course if you fly very little in F, this might not work (since you rarely get a chance to use those travel bank funds). In this case I would only use travel bank for MC tickets if you are pretty sure that the price will not drop significantly and your plans will not change. It might also be worthwhile to do your <21 day cancellations online rather than over the phone (because the $75 eventually gets refunded as a statement credit, rather than the travel bank, where you might have trouble using it)