Adam Smith

They e-mail out a refund confirmation once processed, similar format to the booking confirmation PDFs. Once you get that, it should show up on the credit card account within a couple of business days.

TTC900Rocket

I know the exact figure I was quoted, but they didn't credit me with that amount.

Adam Smith

Did you save a screenshot of what they offered?

TTC900Rocket

I should have taken one, but alas - no screenshot was taken.

I'll give AC another call over the long weekend.

Gorji

I got my credit this morning. It took 4-5 days after they sent me an email stating a refund. Of note: It was to a credit card number that I no longer have but it's from the same visa (Visa Sapphire)

rickg523

Last year this week, I was booked on an open jaw r/t bracketing a train trip Vancouver to Banff. When the flights were cancelled, I selected the voucher with two years validity, since I also chose to take the voucher offer with the train.
Last week, without request or any communication from me, AC cancelled the reservation entirely and fully refunded my money - fare, taxes, airline fees, seat selection fees, even pre-purchased meals.
I'm okay with this and will rebook when I have a firm date for the train trip. I'm planting on next May. Hopefully the border will be open and travel will be back to normal by then.
But I'm wondering if AC decided to kill the voucher (still had a year on it) because my route has been dropped. Itinerary was SMF (Sacramento, Calif)-YVR // YYC-(YVR)-SMF.
Any idea why AC was so anxious to give me my money back? Thanks.

Adam Smith

I think this is the first we've heard of AC just up and refunding someone like this. But most people on this board seem to have ended up with the vouchers that have no expiry as opposed to the 2-year credits, which only lasted a couple of months.

SMF has not been dropped permanently - AC is selling tickets for November travel, for instance - so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

My guess is that AC simply decided it would be less hassle to refund all of those outstanding credits rather than send out offers to refund and then have to process those, which is what they sent to those holding the non-expiring vouchers. Not sure whether that would be because of something administrative or IT within AC, or whether that was part of the fine print of their recent government bailout, which required them to offer refunds to everyone who got a travel credit/voucher during the pandemic.

But I don't know that we have enough data points to really understand much about it.

rickg523

Thanks for the insight. I actually posted because I too have never encountered an unrequested full refund in decades of flying. (Unfortunately, I didn't know about this thread and posted to a different, less appropriate, thread. Thanks to mods for moving me here. I haven't had a chance to read previous posts, but I'll attend to this thread now).
I'm glad to hear SMF service has not been discontinued. Obviously, for this trip AC offers the best options, and as I said, I'm truly looking forward to visiting Canada next year (hopefully). Re-visit actually. My mother was Canadian and I've been there many times.

rankourabu

Whats the wait time on cancelling into a voucher (was paid with a voucher so no refund).

It wouldnt cancel online, and asked to fill out a manual form - Its been over a month and the reservation still shows active....

yyznomad

Not sure if my situation was the same, but I cancelled into a voucher-purchased-booking last month and it took a few days for the amount to be put back into the same voucher.

jmt18325

My Expedia booking took some work to get refunded. I called the first day of the new policy, but they didn't know exactly what to do, and I was bounced back and forth between Expedia (all nice and helpful) and two Air Canada agents (one was very rude, one was very nice). Expedia thought they'd figured out the situation, and tried to convert my booking into a voucher so I could request a refund, but they had it wrong, and I didn't receive a voucher. I called back about a week later since I hadn't received the voucher. This time, Expedia processed my refund. I got the total refunded back to my TDIP yesterday, so it took about a month. I'm happy to have the money back, regardless.

rc82024

Anyone has experience of the card used for booking was cancelled and no longer have an account at that bank?
How long does it take for AC to contact you? And what is the follow-up refund option available?

Adam Smith

Welcome to FT

AC will provide a refund to the original form of payment. If that's a card that has since been closed, it doesn't matter. You will need to get that amount from the card issuer. If you no longer have an account there, they will likely cut you a cheque (if you did still have a card with them, they could likely transfer the credit to your other account) - this is not uncommon for them. If you're lucky, they'll do it automatically. If not, you may have to contact them.

ecgz88

Just want to ask for AC domestic standard fare purchase before 05/31, is it non refundable or can it refund to AC credit valid for 24 month?

I called AC CSR they said it's non refundable, AC Covid website don't mention the refund policy.

• https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/.../covid-19.html
• Ticket must be issued on or before May 31, 2021.
• For original travel between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2022.
• For tickets purchased on or after April 1, 2021: if you need to change any flight, your new travel must be completed within 24 months of the original purchase date. No change fee will apply, however a difference in fare may apply.

Adam Smith

Those two sources are not contradictory.

A Standard fare is not refundable. For tickets booked until May 31, 2021, they do come with one free change, but the only way you will get a refund is if (a) AC cancels your flight and (b) AC does not re-book you on a new flight departing +/- 3 hours from your original flight.

For the time being, if you choose to cancel your booking, you can also choose to convert the value of your booking to (i) Aeroplan points, with a 65% bonus, or (ii) a voucher with no expiry date, however, AC has not disclosed how much longer either of those options will be available.