Don't know what to do. Can I refund my ticket?
 

Need help. I booked an international flight from the US to the Philippines with justfly.com (airline: china eastern). I'm having second thoughts about going and I no longer want to go - my flight is on July 24, 2017. Anyone know if or how I can get a refund? I spent $500 on an economy round-trip ticket and it's gonna suck if I can't get the money back some how. What are my options here?

How long ago did you buy your ticket? Is it a non-refundable ticket?

Well, you need to call the OTA and find out if your ticket is refundable or not and under which conditions. Then at that point will you know for sure...

Especially if it is not within the 24 hour timeline...

I Am sure a more sage poster will provide more insight soon.

Good luck and Safe travels

I bought my ticket on Sat. Jun 24, 2017. How can I tell if it's a non-refundable ticket? It's an economy ticket I purchased from Justfly.com.

Yes, you need to call the agent to see how much you can get back/ if you can get anything back.

$500 is a pretty fantastic deal from the US to the Philippines as it's a long way. Any reason you don't want to go?
If you can't get a refund, you may as well go and get a low cost flight to KL/ Bangkok/ somewhere and explore a bit! That would be much better than wasting money of the flight ticket.

Look at your ticket and/or the OTA site, but at $500 for a TPAC flight, I'm guessing it's a non-refundable ticket.

My guess is the current state of political and religious unrest? If I were the OP and I didn't want to visit the Philippines and couldn't get a refund, I would use Manila as a transit point and take a LCC to another country.

Here's Justfly.com's refund policy. Doesn't look like I'll be able to get a refund.
https://www.justfly.com/help/faq/I-h...ncel-my-flight

I think I'll make the flight out there and just go somewhere else instead. Thailand would be nice. But I've never traveled solo outside the US before. What should I be careful of?

Like when visiting any other major US city, just use your common sense.

How long is your trip?

2 months.

I can understand if you dont want to go, but you said you just purchased it on Sat 6/24 all the info on whats going on in a secluded part of that country was well known before 6/24, therefore I dont see any agency or carrier allowing any type of change or refund since all the so called bad news was well known before the purchase was made

I agree with most others, decide where you do want to go and simply purchase a LCC tkt from MHL to get there, just make sure to be back in MHL the day before your return flight, just in case something hits the fan since you will be on separate tkts if the return flight to MHL from XXX is delayed and you miss your flight back from MHL youd be SOL

Lots of time to explore SE Asia. Were you planning on staying the entire time in the Philippines had you gone?

For your first trip overseas, the Philippines isn't a bad place to visit and settle in before moving around other parts of Asia. Transiting through Shanghai might be a bit of culture shock, but as long as your connection time is generous, you will find your way fine.

Good thing about the Phils is that it is well connected by low cost carriers (such as Cebu Pacific), so you can easily visit other places fairly cheaply.

Start researching airfares now so you have an idea on costs, routings and flight times. Note that LCCs aren't always visible on OTAs, so you need to visit the sites directly. Having said that, you should always check airfares using google flights since LCCs aren't always cheaper than full service carriers.

We've been wanting to tour Thailand and the prices seem quite inexpensive which would make 2 months more than doable. You could always hire a local guide if you're worried about traveling and eating alone. You'll also likely meet people along the way. Just sit at a bar for an hour and buy people a drink now and then. Don't flash money around, but be genuine and who knows.

even is a non-refundable ticket, you can get back all the airport fees (dont expect a high amount)