I recently had a successful trip delay claim with my CSR that I thought would be helpful for folks to hear, especially if you're wondering what the definition is of "reasonable expenses".

I went to Austin, TX with my girlfriend the weekend that Hurricane Harvey hit. We landed Friday night with no problems, and the rain and wind really started up Saturday morning. She was scheduled to go back to DC Sunday evening whereas I had a flight to Dallas Monday evening for a conference.

During the day on Saturday we get a notification that the first leg of her SWA flight (booked with points, taxes+fees were on my CSR) back to DC was cancelled. I assumed it was because of the hurricane. Sunday morning we rebooked her on a direct flight to DC Monday afternoon. That's an overnight delay!

We had been staying with friends in Austin, but decided to use this delay to test the limits of what's considered "reasonable expenses." We booked a Suite at the Hyatt Regency for Sunday night. The rate included parking and breakfast for $344 plus tax ($393 total). We also went to a nice dinner downtown that totaled $121 including alcohol, tax and tip.

I communicated with SWA via twitter direct message and asked them to send documentation of the flight cancellation to my email. It turns out the official reason for the delay was an "unscheduled delay."

Right when I got back from Texas, I filed my claim with eclaimsline. A little over a week later, I got a response back saying they needed more documentation for my relationship to my girlfriend, who is my domestic partner. I sent them a bill that showed both our names and our address and another week later, I got a message saying a check for $500 was on the way!

All in all, it was a pretty painless claims process.