Originally Posted by
DrinkSlinger
... and when the airline is effectively cancelling the booking by cancelling one or more flights and not offering any alternatives, they should return the points, even if they had expired. Anything else would be unfair to the traveler.
Unfortunately, the EU regulation is so stupidly formulated:
Article 8
Right to reimbursement or re-routing
1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:
(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.
The (b) and (c) re-routing options are clear: the operating airline (for example SK) has to re-book the passenger on other flights. If the operating airline fails to do so, then the passenger books a new ticket and bills SK for the cost of doing so. However, the (a) refund option states that SK has to refund the passenger in a stupid way:
The compensation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be paid in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques or, with the signed agreement of the passenger, in travel vouchers and/or other services.
How do you refund Eurobonus points "in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques"? This probably requires setting an exchange rate from Eurobonus points to a normal currency like DKK, NOK or SEK and refunding the converted amount. However, nowhere in the regulation does it say how you should set this exchange rate.