Bondeely

Due to the corona virus, I have cancelled several trips on Jet Blue. They insist that money must be put in my travel bank, but I wanted a refund. Last month I cancelled a trip that I used with points, so just the tax in money was left to be returned. I was told that even tax $ had to be put in travel bank. is this true?

Often1

Yes.

If you cancel the ticket, you are due a credit. If B6 cancels the flight, you may have a refund or a credit at your option.

In this case, it appears that you, not B6, cancelled and thus B6 is entirely correct.

For the benefit of others, hold off on cancelling until close to flight time. If B6 cancels or substantially changes the schedule, you are due a refund. In addition, all of the ordinary reasons for cancellations & delays may occur, e.g.weather or mechanical. On the other hand, as flight time approaches, you may cancel and still have a credit and you are no worse off for having waited.

pxm

I find JetBlue to be disingenuous with refunds. I had a round trip to Florida that was cancelled by JetBlue. I went to their website to cancel the trip and the only option that I was given was to place the refund in a travel bank. I called them and was able to get a refund back to my credit card, instead of a travel bank refund. It was not mentioned anywhere, that I could see, that one had to call for a refund, instead of cancelling on-line. Fortunately, I called them early in the morning and avoided the one hour hold time that they warn people about.

Often1

To be frank, I would always do these things in writing and screenshot them. If the refund is not initiated within 7 days, simply initiate a chargeback and supply the screenshot. DOT rules may short work out of this.

vatraveler

How long are credit card refunds taking? I've been waiting five weeks and counting.... This was for a flight cancelled by B6.

Often1

You have been waiting 3 weeks + 6 days too long.

On the 8th day after you requested your refund, simply file a dispute (chargeback) with your credit card issuer. Include all the relevant documentation, most particularly proof that it was B6 that cancelled and the date of your request. You should see a temporary credit in 1-2 days and that ought to become permanent very quickly.

bedelman

Like Bondeely, I recently observed that when I canceled award travel on JetBlue, airline staff claimed my prepaid TSA fee could only be put in a Travel Bank but not refunded. In a complaint I filed with DOT this week, I identified federal law and regulation that, I claim, disallow JetBlue processing my TSA fee in this way. I asked DOT to order JetBlue to refund me and everyone similarly situated. Bondeely or others similarly situated: You can file comments with DOT by clicking the "Comment now" button on regulations.gov. I expect that DOT staff will be interested in your relevant experience such as what you requested and how JetBlue staff replied.

Often1, you write "If you cancel the ticket, you are due a credit" and "In this case, it appears that you, not B6, cancelled and thus B6 is entirely correct." Perhaps you can spend a few minutes reading my complaint and the authority cited there. Bottom line is I think you'll find authority -- albeit little-noticed and little-known -- that a passenger is always entitled to a refund of the TSA fee if the passenger cancels an itinerary or otherwise doesn't travel.

skyhigh1

This is slightly off topic, but was able to change the departure date of a RT trip where the outbound leg dropped Mint to a couple weeks later for an even exchange (longer than the published +/- 7 days). I get the sense they want to keep your cash. I would have asked for a refund if they didn't accommodate.

GW McLintock

I had to cancel a trip today for October since both of my flights were canceled (booked Blue Basic). I was unable to do it online so I tried on Twitter and on the Mosaic line. 20 minutes later, I was successful on Twitter (and still on hold on the phone).

-J.

Pickles

Sorry if this is not the most au courant thread to put this in here, but it is relevant to my situation (which I assume tens of thousands of people find themselves in right about now). I have a flight out of MCO on Thursday that B6 has cancelled because of Ian, and I want the refund to come in the original form of payment, not to Travel Bank. But when I go to the website, the only option I can see is a refund to Travel Bank once I proceed to the refund.

What's the method to get my ticket refunded to the original form of payment, and not Travel Bank? Do I just initiate a chargeback? I really don't want to call anybody or deal with something that should be a straightforward process for all involved. Thanks.

GW McLintock

For that you'll have to call; you could also try the chat or Twitter (if they still do that), but regardless an actual person will have to process this.

-J.

michael1023

i was in the same situation due to the Hurricane, but i didn't necessarily care for a refund, i just cancelled online and got travel bank credit, to put towards my 4,000 dollar economy GYE flight in December....

Pickles

I was able to use the chat function, now I need to be on the lookout for the refund to the credit card. They said 7-10 days, which is OK. Wait time was about 45 minutes.