Seattlenerd

I think what the CSR meant to write was that the companion cert would be lost if the fare was saved from both tickets into My Wallet, not the actual dollar amount of the fare.

Flying for Fun

If the reservation falls under the waiver the Companion Certificate will be reissued, if not expired, with the original expiry date. Expect up to 7 days for it to be reissued. The full fare for each ticket can be taken as a credit in your My Account wallet and would process as two transactions, one for the primary passenger fare and one for the companion.

Also, keep in mind that new ticket purchases are currently exempt from the 7.5% Excise Tax & segment fees. The Security Fee & Passenger Facility fee still apply. Fares will be cheaper even if the base fare remains the same until the exemption is lifted.

As far as I know, online changes are still not recognizing the fee waiver. Otherwise you could just do the changes online to force a reprice and take the the difference as a My Account wallet credit while maintaining the companion certificate on the reservation. For those that already have a change fee waiver, the process is unhindered.

James

Seattlenerd

I was able to accomplish this cancelation without a fee. However, I'm a Million Mile Flyer and that permanent MVP Gold status programming probably overrode any glitches regarding waived fees that would have otherwise been charged in this situation.

And I didn't try to change it nor save the cert, because I have other current, unused certs and the certificate attached to that ticket (as I noted upstream earlier) would have otherwise expired in late January, and couldn't be reinstated as a standalone cert for that reason. Obviously, others may make different choices.

Flying for Fun

Yes, but the point is that a change to the reservation would keep the companion certificate intact. It doesn't matter if it would have expired in January. It was valid at the time it was attached and since it doesn't need to be consumed prior to it's expiry date, you can make changes to the itinerary within the 1 year validity of the ticket from the purchase date and still utilize the companion component of the certificate. Cancelling an itinerary with an expired companion certificate voids it. In other words, it was thrown away when it still had value.

James

Boraxo

Thanks for clarifying. This trip was booked in August, so both our certs are expired, but I'm not concerned about that as we have 2 new ones. I am not sure if it is worth the effort to earn $150 in travel credit, particularly as I may get 100% cash back if the flight is cancelled.

Seattlenerd

I understood the point, and I appreciate you re-expressing it for the benefit of others who may not have. For me, it wasn't worth the effort to conserve and track that certificate, because I doubt I would have been able to use the certificate within a year after the original flight purchase date, and I have other valid companion certificates that are unused and on which the clock is ticking. Too much of a good thing.

However, I may make a different decision if two other upcoming trips, both with companion certs attached, have to change due to COVID-19 restrictions.

cblaisd

For a May ticket that I need to cancel, if I use this option

Email the canceled ticket numbers and use later to retrieve the value.

if I later use that value for a ticket that is less than the value of the canceled ticket, do I get a refund? How does that work? thanks

beckoa

Should be able to either get it added to mywallet, or as a voucher for future use (pin # and code).

pentiumvi

Just wanted to confirm, but if I book an award ticket today, for travel later this year, will I be able to take advantage of this waiver?
My understanding of the waiver is that I can cancel my trip anytime prior to departure, and have the points redeposited with no fee?

HIFlya

Any rumors on extending the date pay May 31 for tickets eligible for a refund/no fees? I have flights booked for 6/1-6/10 but it seems doubtful things will be back to normal by then.

pcoll

we are in the same boat. Perhaps next month AS will extend to end of June??

phoenixstar

Also in the same boat waiting. Have tickets for early June, and had to make the decision to cancel the accommodations as the cancellation deadline was coming up to at least get my deposit back. With the other airlines (United and American) allowing for changes into June, hoping Alaska will follow suit soon.

Boraxo

its all about cash flow so you can count on AS to delay as long as possible since there is still a “chance” that vacation travel may resume in June. They would rather issue you a travel voucher than cash refund so they want you to pull the trigger before they do.

The problem is that many of us maybe fly the family 1x or 2x a year (cash tickets) so the expiring vouchers really don’t cut it. Others got it right with the 24mo expiration

phoenixstar

I am actually OK with a voucher even, but in my call to even request that, have been told I would need to pay a change fee for that privilege, which is annoying when considering competitors responses over the same time period.

So yeah, have figured out will just wait it out. Couldn’t afford to do the same for my accommodations, so at least was able to get my deposit back there.

But honestly, am just thankful for our health right now, so minor inconveniences like this will just have to be taken care of when they can be.

flyingstudent

Now extended for all travel up to Dec 31st for previously booked travel.