Dying to fly? Unused vouchers can add to tricky travel plans

Those are vacation questions many Las Vegans are asking themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With tens of thousands of flights canceled during the past pandemic year and international travel all but shut down for months, it is widely accepted that there is a pent-up demand for vacations and air travel.

An airline industry expert is advising potential travelers to start booking soon.

“This spring and summer is shaping up to be a huge explosion in travel, said Scott Keyes, founder and owner of Scott’s Cheap Flights. “You talk to people about when the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror and travel is one of the first things they mention.”

Online flight searches surge

One sign that people are getting serious is that the daily number of flight searches on Kayak has gone up every day for the past week.

“People are making bookings for summer and even late spring that they weren’t making a month ago,” Keyes says.

Keyes also believes that the airlines’ response to the expected demand will not follow the normal supply-and-demand scenario.

Airlines understand that business travel will remain depressed for some time, Keyes notes, while leisure travel is very price sensitive. He anticipates good flight deals to vacation destinations in 2021. And advises potential travelers to plan and book soon.

“Airlines know the cost of the flight may be the difference of (people) going or not going,” Keyes said. “There is competition out there and getting butts in seats is the best way to get more vacationers on planes.”

Some deals in the past few weeks are an example of what Keyes said he expects for much of the travel season.

Recent offerings from full-service airlines included $59 nonstop from Las Vegas to Chicago and a a Las Vegas-Hawaii round trip for $286. Two international round-trip fares that stood out were $209 from Vegas to Costa Rica and $283 to Aruba.

Unused vouchers

Another factor potential travelers may have may to negotiate are air travel vouchers for flight plans they were forced to ditch during the pandemic.

As the coronavirus began to spread months ago, thousands of flights were canceled. And that left plenty of would-be travelers with vouchers originally good for one year. If you’re one of the many people with vouchers burning a hole in your pocket, here’s what you need to know.

Most vouchers extended

Expiration dates vary by airline and by type of voucher or credit. To determine what type, you have you may need to look up yours on the airline website using the links below (United even has a handy look-up tool to see your balance). Here’s what the largest US airlines are doing:

— United: Travel certificates are valid for up to 24 months after the date they were issued while future flight credits for tickets issued between May 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, are valid for 24 months after the original issue date. This means you need to book by the expiration date but you can travel after it.

— American: A flight credit is good for travel within one year from the issue date with the caveat that if your credit expires before March 31, 2021, it can be used for a travel date through December 31, 2021. A voucher must be used within one year of issue (the travel date doesn’t have to be within the year).

— Delta: Vouchers usually must be used within the year. But, for tickets purchased before April 17, 2020, for original travel by March 31, 2021, you can use your voucher for travel until December 31, 2022.

— Southwest: Puts credits into travel funds which normally can be used for a flight that takes place within one year of issue. But for pandemic-era flights, it extended the travel date to September 7, 2022. Credits can only be used by the person who was originally booked on a flight.

Carriers have different rules

You can change your destination and, in some cases, switch travelers.

Most airlines treat their vouchers or credits like a gift card. You have a balance you can draw upon to book any flight. That means you don’t have to rebook the same route you got the credit for. Unfortunately, you generally can’t transfer funds, though again there are exceptions. If you have a voucher with American (not a flight credit), you can use it to book travel for anyone. On United, if you have a travel certificate (not a future flight credit), you can do the same. On Delta, you can use your voucher to pay for another person’s flight, but you have to be ticketed on the same reservation.

What happens if there’s a fare difference?

Flight prices can change by the minute, and unfortunately, the price of your flights may go up. If the new ticket you’re buying costs more than the value of your credit or voucher, you’ll need to pay the difference during booking. If the new price is lower, most airlines (American, Delta, Southwest, etc.) will give you the difference back in a travel credit. United won’t, unless your ticket was issued before March 3, 2020.

So. Much. Fine print.

Every airline also has different rules about how the vouchers can be used. Here’s what to look for: How many credits or vouchers can you use on booking? On United, for example, you can combine up to 10 travel certificates for one booking. Can you use it for bag fees and other extras, or just the fare? Can you use it on partner airlines? For example, on United, travel certificates can only be used to book United/United Express flights, while a future flight credit can be used on Star Alliance partner flights. (e.g. a United/ANA flight to Bangkok booked through United.)

When your voucher is close to expiration, but you’re not ready to commit, you have options.

You can ask for extension

First, there’s the easiest option. Simply call and ask for your expiration date to be extended.

Airlines have been much more accommodating than usual—we’re in a pandemic, after all — but generally you’ll still need to proactively ask. If that doesn’t work and you know where you want to go but aren’t sure when you’ll want to travel, you can book a flight that offers free changes.

The major U.S. airlines are still offering free changes on all fares for a few more weeks, and then beyond that, free changes on flights above basic economy. While you’ll have to pay the difference if the fare rises, you’ll be able to change dates without an extra fee and you won’t lose the value of your voucher.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vgeas on Twitter.