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If you booked travel to or from Florida or other East Coast destinations in the past week, there’s a good chance you’ve dealt with a plane travel alert as Hurricane Ian headed north.

These alerts are common during hurricanes, winter blizzards, and particularly disruptive rounds of summer storms, and often cause airlines to relax their policies regarding itinerary changes. While they might be called something different from airline to airline – travel advice, warning, etc. – the idea behind these alerts issued by airlines is that they give passengers greater flexibility to board new flights, delay travel or avoid cities in bad weather.

In the past, I’ve used the leniency offered by travel alerts to leave for a trip 24 hours early to avoid a snowstorm and avoid a connecting city where stormy weather was predicted. I also canceled a trip affected by an alert and claimed travel credits that I could use on a future flight.

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As airlines have generally relaxed many of their cancellation and change policies compared to before the pandemic, it’s much easier to change a trip for free now, even under normal circumstances, than it was a few years ago. Today, the importance of a travel alert for your itinerary often depends on the type of ticket you’ve booked and the initial flexibility.

At the same time, these alerts can give any traveler an early warning of impending bad weather, prompt you to change your itinerary, and help provide more flexibility. So knowing what a travel alert means and how to take advantage of it will help you have the smoothest and cheapest trip possible – whether now, in a few days or months.

A travel alert is a good heads-up

I often add my destination city – and even connecting cities – to my iPhone’s weather app in the days before a flight, but a travel alert from an airline can also be a good way to see if your itinerary might be affected. To see also : Travel tips now with airport chaos, delays, lost luggage. by bad weather.

Let’s say you’re planning to fly from Providence, Rhode Island, to Cancun, Mexico, with a connection in Atlanta. If you receive a winter travel alert for Atlanta, it can warn you that the likelihood of delay or cancellation due to snow or ice is high.

These alerts are usually based on weather forecasts. They can be an early sign that the weather somewhere along your itinerary is looking risky and can cause disruption to your trip.

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Anyone should be able to change a trip

Major U.S. airlines have relaxed change fees in recent years, allowing passengers in most ticket classes to at least cancel and get flight credit for future travel, or change a ticket and, in the worst-case scenario, pay a fare difference. The big exception, however, is that under normal circumstances, basic economy passengers on board American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines do not have the flexibility to change their travel.

That’s where a travel alert comes in: if your trip is affected by one of these advisories, even if you’ve booked Basic Economy, you can usually change your trip without fees. On the same subject : The Scandinavian airline SAS has gone bankrupt in the US while struggling to survive.

There is often no need to stand in line or call the airline’s customer service number. Consult the airline application; you can quickly reschedule right there.

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Rebook the same trip or get flight credit

Some of the specific terms differ from airline to airline when it comes to travel alert policies and may also change from one specific alert to another. Read also : Does Summer of Revenge Travel Here? Hope Businesses So.. However, on the three domestic airlines, travel alerts generally have two general rebooking options.

If your travels are affected by the alert, you will typically be able to reschedule your trip to the near future, usually shortly after the weather event ends. If you choose this option, you can rebook the same trip without paying any fare difference, as long as you travel in the same cabin. Please read the alert carefully: it should specify which travel dates are acceptable for this option. You will likely have to book the same origin and destination cities as you planned on your original itinerary.

Alternatively, you can often claim flight credit to use towards booking a future flight. This is a good option if you no longer want to travel to the same destination or if this specified date window no longer works for you. Airlines typically offer the option to claim flight credits in the amount of your ticket. American, Delta and United generally allow you to use these credits for one year. One thing to note: double check the alert to see if you have one year from when you claim the credits or one year from when the original ticket was booked; you would hate to see these credits expire.

At Southwest Airlines, you can always cancel and reschedule your trip with future flight credit, even outside of a travel alert; in fact, certain higher-fare tickets are always eligible for a refund.

Again, these are just general rules, and specific policies may vary from airline to airline and weather event to weather event. So be sure to check out the specific alert that applies to your trip.

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Not covered by the alert? Keep checking

If you’re not covered by a travel alert but are concerned about impending weather, keep checking the airline’s website, app, and your email inbox. As weather forecasts change, cities included in travel alerts change.

For example, when Hurricane Ian began to form as a tropical storm over the Caribbean, airlines issued warnings for destinations like Jamaica, Grand Cayman and some Florida airports. Carriers added dozens of airports to the alerts as Ian strengthened and then moved north.

Changing forecasts can also greatly affect the dates listed as part of an alert, so be sure to bookmark the alert page and watch for subsequent updates.

Don’t forget about refunds

Keep in mind that whether a cancellation or delay is “the airline’s fault” or not affects your refund for things like an extra hotel night or a meal while you wait for a delay. Generally, during bad weather – which is a common cause of travel alerts – you will not be eligible for these types of refunds if your trip is interrupted.

On the other hand, if your flight is canceled or significantly delayed and you choose not to travel, you will be entitled to a timely refund in accordance with US Department of Transportation policies. This goes even for weather-related outages.

Please keep in mind that if you accept the airline’s offer to rebook your reservation or accept credit for future travel, you will not be eligible for a refund.

However, if the airline cancels your trip due to the weather and you want your money back instead of putting it towards future travel, asking the airline for a refund is certainly an option at your disposal.

Bottom line

Many travelers have had to deal with travel advisories in recent weeks as the hurricane season has affected many travel plans in the fall. Knowing how these warnings work and how they can affect your travels can be crucial. This is especially true as Mother Nature is sure to intervene on itineraries in the form of snow and ice storms in the coming months.

Editorial Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the author, not of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of these entities.

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