Refund for illness?
Jan 6, 2016, 7:26 am
#16
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: PHX & PPT
Programs: DL PM, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold, AmExPlat
Posts: 833
Also check out www.insuremytrip.com for a variety of options. Some insurance covers only travel expenses, others cover only medical expenses, and some policies include both.
Apr 23, 2018, 4:43 pm
#17
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 12
This looks like an old thread but I will chime in with my experience. We had flights scheduled in May DCA-PDX in F class. We used money and miles. Recently I found out I was going to need some extensive back surgery and would not be able to travel anytime in the immediate future, actually, maybe never fly again. I secured a letter from my surgeon and submitted the information to Delta. They very generously refunded all of our money back into our credit card account and the mileage back into my mileage account. No fees charged. And they were non-refundable tickets. So I have nothing but good words to say about Delta. They came through and went above and beyond what they had to do. They will always be our airline of choice (assuming I can fly again.). It is nice to see some companies will do the right thing.
Apr 23, 2018, 10:00 pm
#18
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Plat, 1 MM; SPG LT Plat (RIP); Marriott LT Titanium; Fairmont Plat (RIP), DL Kryptonium Medallion
Posts: 1,791
I believe Delta's policy is that if you are hospitalized (or a member of your party is), then non-refundable tickets can be refunded. You need to provide the person's name, hospital name, doctor's name, dates of hospitalization, etc.
I did this last year when a party of four of us were going to travel (mostly on separate tickets) to a vacation together, and one member was indeed hospitalized so we cancelled. My ticket was booked with cash. I called up, initially hoping to just get the taxes refunded, learned of the policy, and got a full refund.
Beforehand, the person who was hospitalized had already cancelled his ticket, which was a mileage ticket, and paid the $150 change fee, as he is not Platinum. When I learned about the hospitalization waiver policy, we called back, and Delta was happy to refund the $150. This is very pro-consumer.
[Note: Delta did not ask us to sign a HIPAA waiver, so Delta was not trying, at least in this instance, to verify the information, but we were prepared to do so. I suppose if someone were to use the policy sufficiently, Delta would want to verify the information.]
I did this last year when a party of four of us were going to travel (mostly on separate tickets) to a vacation together, and one member was indeed hospitalized so we cancelled. My ticket was booked with cash. I called up, initially hoping to just get the taxes refunded, learned of the policy, and got a full refund.
Beforehand, the person who was hospitalized had already cancelled his ticket, which was a mileage ticket, and paid the $150 change fee, as he is not Platinum. When I learned about the hospitalization waiver policy, we called back, and Delta was happy to refund the $150. This is very pro-consumer.
[Note: Delta did not ask us to sign a HIPAA waiver, so Delta was not trying, at least in this instance, to verify the information, but we were prepared to do so. I suppose if someone were to use the policy sufficiently, Delta would want to verify the information.]
Apr 25, 2018, 1:36 pm
#19
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ATL
Programs: DL DM, Hyatt LT DM, Wyndham DM, Hertz PC, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,038
Yes it is possible. I had multiple trips booked and was in a motorcycle accident. I didn’t get a refund but got full credit for each one and have since used them up. I was in the hospital at the time I requested.
Apr 25, 2018, 8:50 pm
#20
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SoCal
Programs: LH, DL
Posts: 133
DL requesting documentation
However, a letter documenting inability to travel for medical reasons was required to use the credit some months later.
Since the patient never informed us about the illness, I could not write the letter. Thus the money was lost.
So it might be prudent to let your clinician know, even just a email, that you are cancelling a flight for medical reasons even if DL does not ask up front.
Apr 26, 2018, 3:57 am
#21
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A patient got $$ credit placed in their account by just calling about an illness without documentation required.
However, a letter documenting inability to travel for medical reasons was required to use the credit some months later.
Since the patient never informed us about the illness, I could not write the letter. Thus the money was lost.
So it might be prudent to let your clinician know, even just a email, that you are cancelling a flight for medical reasons even if DL does not ask up front.
I'm curious if pt cancelled and then brought up illness when going to rebook so as to not be charged.
Apr 26, 2018, 8:12 am
#22
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SoCal
Programs: LH, DL
Posts: 133
Illness was used as the cause of cancellation as it was a non refundable ticket. Type of illness would not require hospitalization or doctor visit, but would making flying very unpleasant. The attempt at rebooking was many months later. The entire ticket cost was lost.
Apr 26, 2018, 8:28 am
#23
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I've had to do #2 before because the agent didn't understand that DL either requests the info at time of cancellation or doesn't request it. Supervisor had to explain to him you can't demand documentation after the fact if it wasn't requested in the first place.
Apr 30, 2018, 12:05 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: North Sentinel Island
Programs: UA Gold, BONVOY TIT
Posts: 777
They gave me a full flight credit (minus the usual penalty), not a refund, for a surgery that prevented me from traveling that included a doctor's note.
Last edited by rdurlabhji; Apr 30, 2018 at 12:06 am Reason: clarify
Apr 30, 2018, 12:40 am
#26
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: California
Programs: DeltaSilver/MM, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 494
In 2014, my in-laws were to travel back from Manila with us. My mother-in-law had surgery and was not going to be able to travel. Delta took the hospital/doctor information and gave them both credits and waived the change fees. Used the extra value for 1st class LAX-SFO.
Apr 30, 2018, 8:41 am
#27
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Confused? If they took the penalty then they didn't do anything special for you. Unless this was a BE ticket that wasn't changeable, you can always pay a penalty and use the funds for a new ticket.
Apr 30, 2018, 8:42 am
#28
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May 1, 2018, 9:35 pm
#30
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