Travel Changes?

We cancelled Italy/Switzerland and Scotland. And, yes, I understand that they might cancel eventually.

The reason we cancelled is because our trips begin at the end of June. Based on Disney's poor approach and stringing everyone along IF they cancel it probably won't be until the end of April. And they may just try to do these trips, we just don't know. And we are most definitely not interested in going anywhere near Italy anytime soon. By using our CFAR insurance we'll lose about $9,000 on the whole trip (flights, etc.) and just be done with it and hopefully get our money back a bit sooner. The longer we wait and Disney doesn't cancel, the less money we get back, too. Our trips don't fall into the longer cancellation period - YET. They might eventually, who knows.

That's why I'm so angry, they're just going with the corporate line in the face of a historic pandemic. I expected more. If they let us cancel now and get our money back they would certainly get it back in spades over the next 20 years. We sent an email...crickets. Our TA talked to them...got nowhere. If Disney looked up our accounts for the last 20 years (as with most of you folks I'm sure) they would realize that we like Disney, we spend the vast majority of our travel dollars with them, and that we are REALLY GOOD customers. I guess that doesn't matter to Disney. Guess that's how they roll.

Of course, other folks are going through MUCH MUCH bigger problems than us. People are DYING. Losing a few grand is NOTHING compared to that. And to all you doctor folks on the front lines, you are HEROES. Truly. As I've said, right now heroes don't wear capes, they wear scrubs.

Thanks for listening to my TED TALK. 😁

We’re in a similar position. Our back to back trips are Southeast Asia and China. We’re just stuck in limbo. We can’t buy flights or get approved for visas even if we wanted to. If they don’t cancel by final payment we will have to move our deposits, which we can only do one time, and are then ineligible for any discounts, even if they later decide to cancel these trips. Not comfortable going anywhere near China currently. It’s definitely a frustrating situation.
 
Well, we just cancelled our 2 back-to-back trips today. No flexibility, no coolness from Disney. No nothing. We get 50% back and Disney just gets to keep $17,000 of our money. Sure, we'll use our CFAR insurance to get some more back, but geesh, come on!

And Disney and British Airways are the only companies we did NOT receive ANY notice from during the coronavirus crisis. Heck, we got emails from hair salons, restaurants, and every travel company we ever used over the last 10 years!

But here's the deal. We are done with Disney for travel. Period. We're going with Tauck and Universal now. You hearing that Disney execs? For us, Tauck is replacing ABD and Universal, your arch enemy, has our theme park business now. We've spent over $100,000 with you over the last 20 years. You are not getting another dime.

Sorry to rant. I'm mad, sad, and disappointed all at the same time.
Carry on...

I sincerely hope that someone at ABD has been reading this thread because we are the most loyal fanbase for ABD and a lot of us have completely lost our trust with them. Its so sad to see someone like @E-Ticket say that they are done with ABD after spending so much money over the last 20 years, but I think after this current crisis we all understand.

BA is even worse, IMO. They won't waive my cancellation/change fees because I booked "before march 3"...so they're penalizing people that booked flights right before a global pandemic hit. Unbelievable.
 
I sincerely hope that someone at ABD has been reading this thread because we are the most loyal fanbase for ABD and a lot of us have completely lost our trust with them. Its so sad to see someone like @E-Ticket say that they are done with ABD after spending so much money over the last 20 years, but I think after this current crisis we all understand.

BA is even worse, IMO. They won't waive my cancellation/change fees because I booked "before march 3"...so they're penalizing people that booked flights right before a global pandemic hit. Unbelievable.

That policy has got to be the STUPIDEST one ever! They are giving priority to people who (stupidly) booked tickets DURING a pandemic! If anything, those are the people who shouldn't be getting their money back, knowing what risk they were taking!
 
We cancelled Italy/Switzerland and Scotland. And, yes, I understand that they might cancel eventually.

The reason we cancelled is because our trips begin at the end of June. Based on Disney's poor approach and stringing everyone along IF they cancel it probably won't be until the end of April. And they may just try to do these trips, we just don't know. And we are most definitely not interested in going anywhere near Italy anytime soon. By using our CFAR insurance we'll lose about $9,000 on the whole trip (flights, etc.) and just be done with it and hopefully get our money back a bit sooner. The longer we wait and Disney doesn't cancel, the less money we get back, too. Our trips don't fall into the longer cancellation period - YET. They might eventually, who knows.

That's why I'm so angry, they're just going with the corporate line in the face of a historic pandemic. I expected more. If they let us cancel now and get our money back they would certainly get it back in spades over the next 20 years. We sent an email...crickets. Our TA talked to them...got nowhere. If Disney looked up our accounts for the last 20 years (as with most of you folks I'm sure) they would realize that we like Disney, we spend the vast majority of our travel dollars with them, and that we are REALLY GOOD customers. I guess that doesn't matter to Disney. Guess that's how they roll.

Of course, other folks are going through MUCH MUCH bigger problems than us. People are DYING. Losing a few grand is NOTHING compared to that. And to all you doctor folks on the front lines, you are HEROES. Truly. As I've said, right now heroes don't wear capes, they wear scrubs.

Thanks for listening to my TED TALK. 😁

I completely understand your decision. We were also booked in June and cancelled on our PIF date. We called ABD to see if PIF dates would be extended due to COVID and heard crickets. They acted like nothing was going on and said Coronavirus would not affect trips. Italy was starting and we were already hearing in Canada that doctors might not be allowed to travel if things became worse which meant we would not be able to go at all.

We have also spent a fortune with Disney between ABD, DCL, WDW. I wouldn’t even want to add it all up and we’re very disappointed with them.

I’m extremely frustrated that they still have our deposits because we no longer trust them. Plus, the fact that we won’t qualify for a discount now - even though our original booking was done with an EBD - is terrible. We will probably just throw away our 4 deposits at this point.

I am still glad we cancelled earlier though rather than wait on the edge of our seats for them to finally do the right thing (or not). Plus, it worked out better for our airfare to cancel when we did.
 


Of course, other folks are going through MUCH MUCH bigger problems than us. People are DYING. Losing a few grand is NOTHING compared to that. And to all you doctor folks on the front lines, you are HEROES. Truly. As I've said, right now heroes don't wear capes, they wear scrubs.

Thanks for listening to my TED TALK. 😁
THIS. I so agree with you. We are SO SO indebted to the medical professionals of the world. They are AMAZING.
That policy has got to be the STUPIDEST one ever! They are giving priority to people who (stupidly) booked tickets DURING a pandemic! If anything, those are the people who shouldn't be getting their money back, knowing what risk they were taking!
Not that I agree with it in any shape or form, but what I've read is they are doing this to encourage people who are currently considering travel in the near future to buy airfare because they know they can easily cancel/reschedule it. They already *have* your money, so....

Sayhello
 
THIS. I so agree with you. We are SO SO indebted to the medical professionals of the world. They are AMAZING.
Not that I agree with it in any shape or form, but what I've read is they are doing this to encourage people who are currently considering travel in the near future to buy airfare because they know they can easily cancel/reschedule it. They already *have* your money, so....

Sayhello

Oh, I don't doubt it. They are all doing everything they can to stay liquid. But considering how ~much~ money I already have tied up in travel that IDK will even happen, I'm not giving any of these companies another dime right now!
 
So what are you guys doing about deposits you have for ABD's several months from now?
We have the Christmas market Danube cruise on hold for this December. I'm almost certain we aren't going on that because I don't feel comfortable going to Europe this year. Period. Even if things get better by then which I hope to god they do.
We are planning on moving the deposit to something in 2021 when new schedules come out in May. On that note, I wonder if anything new in May will come out to begin with.
 


So what are you guys doing about deposits you have for ABD's several months from now?
We have the Christmas market Danube cruise on hold for this December. I'm almost certain we aren't going on that because I don't feel comfortable going to Europe this year. Period. Even if things get better by then which I hope to god they do.
We are planning on moving the deposit to something in 2021 when new schedules come out in May. On that note, I wonder if anything new in May will come out to begin with.
If you move the deposit, don't you loose the EBD?
 
So what are you guys doing about deposits you have for ABD's several months from now?
We have the Christmas market Danube cruise on hold for this December. I'm almost certain we aren't going on that because I don't feel comfortable going to Europe this year. Period. Even if things get better by then which I hope to god they do.
We are planning on moving the deposit to something in 2021 when new schedules come out in May. On that note, I wonder if anything new in May will come out to begin with.

We're in this position too. We have an Italy/Switzerland booked for September but won't feel comfortable going to Italy (or all of Europe) anytime this year. Our PIF date is in early May but we don't intend to pay it.

--Will we be able to move the deposit to next year even if trips haven't been announced? Are they letting all trips this year move the deposit to next year?
--Can someone explain the DVC pricing thing to me? Do you ALWAYS get opening day pricing whenever you book--would we get opening day pricing for the trip we would eventually pick for next year?
 
So what are you guys doing about deposits you have for ABD's several months from now?
We have the Christmas market Danube cruise on hold for this December. I'm almost certain we aren't going on that because I don't feel comfortable going to Europe this year. Period. Even if things get better by then which I hope to god they do.
We are planning on moving the deposit to something in 2021 when new schedules come out in May. On that note, I wonder if anything new in May will come out to begin with.
I have booked Egypt booked for October and definitely don't feel comfortable traveling there this year. We will use our deposit as a placeholder for a 2021 trip unless they offer a refund.
 
We're in this position too. We have an Italy/Switzerland booked for September but won't feel comfortable going to Italy (or all of Europe) anytime this year. Our PIF date is in early May but we don't intend to pay it.

--Will we be able to move the deposit to next year even if trips haven't been announced? Are they letting all trips this year move the deposit to next year?
--Can someone explain the DVC pricing thing to me? Do you ALWAYS get opening day pricing whenever you book--would we get opening day pricing for the trip we would eventually pick for next year?

My TA at dreams is planning on moving the danube deposit to something in 2021, maybe Egypt. From my understanding you can only move it once, but given everything that's happened I'm not sure if they will revisit that policy.

Yes I believe DVC always gets opening day pricing.
 
We are on the Egypt ABD in October. I am thinking of moving the deposit to a trip in 2021 since I won't be comfortable traveling in the fall. I already had ABD Air Department do our flights. Does anyone know what will happen with those?
 
Austin Adventures is starting a virtual adventures for kids webinar series at 2pm ET tomorrow. Yellowstone is the first adventure.

Thanks for posting this info! I signed my DS12 up for the webinar and it was excellent! The woman who ran it (Kasey, who I believe is the Director of the company) mentioned there were thousands of participants! It was very well done. Austin Adventures is now on my radar for a future trip!
 
So what are you guys doing about deposits you have for ABD's several months from now?
We have the Christmas market Danube cruise on hold for this December. I'm almost certain we aren't going on that because I don't feel comfortable going to Europe this year. Period. Even if things get better by then which I hope to god they do.
We are planning on moving the deposit to something in 2021 when new schedules come out in May. On that note, I wonder if anything new in May will come out to begin with.

We are booked on Italy/Switzerland for 7/31/20. We have no intention of paying the balance (PIF). I fully expect that Disney will eventually these trips either for health reasons or because there will be so few customers on the trip.

We can’t travel overseas in 2021so I have no interest in using the deposit in 2021.

We also have 3 round trip first class seats on Delta. If they don’t cancel our flights, then we will cancel and pay the penalty.

Yes, I do believe Disney has handled this horribly and has been way too silent. I am not going to go crazy about it because there are likely a lot that we don’t know.

I work in a Michigan school district and the state has been so slow in giving guidance for staff, parents and students. That’s a real world problem that’s affecting millions of children.
 
Thanks for posting this info! I signed my DS12 up for the webinar and it was excellent! The woman who ran it (Kasey, who I believe is the Director of the company) mentioned there were thousands of participants! It was very well done. Austin Adventures is now on my radar for a future trip!
Glad you enjoyed it! Alaska is up next.

We’ve done 2 trips with them - highly recommend. It’s a family-owned company and Kasey is beginning to take over the reins from her dad. Our Yellowstone trip with AA was magical.
 
2.5 hours on hold with Chase yesterday only to be disconnected without ever speaking to someone. Thankfully, I can just put my phone on speaker and let it sit while I work.

Actually got someone this morning after about 30 min on hold, but I could barely hear/understand the guy, and now he's put me back on hold again (without giving me any useful information).

Edited to add: I finally got through. Here is how they are handling vouchers/credits.

Chase is not giving any refunds of rewards points.

For the trips booked on points, I get vouchers on United and Delta for the $ value of the flights at the time I booked.

New reservations must be made by Dec. 31.

If the new flights that I book cost less, I forfeit the difference.

Each voucher includes two tickets (my son was booked with me). If I try to rebook a ticket just for myself, I forfeit his half of the credit. So, if I try to use a $400 credit, I can only use $200 if it to book my ticket.

Alaska Airlines policy is a little different. I get a voucher for the $ of the flights, but I have to travel by Feb 2021 (At least I think that's what I was told. The connection was bad, and I could barely understand the guy I was talking to).

Also, none of the cancellations or rebookings can be done online. I have to call Chase anytime I want to change something or use the voucher.
 
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Second update: called my expedition manager at Nat Geo this morning. Like ABD, they have cancelled all trips through May (they are just notifying travelers who are affected as they are affected, rather than sending out mass emails). He said they are trying to give travelers at least 5 weeks notice about cancellations. He was super nice and forthcoming with information. I don't get the impression at all that they are trying to put people off, and I have no issue with the fact that, at least for now, our trip is still scheduled to go.

He also confirmed I will get a full refund if they cancel. As much as I would love to rebook, we would not be able to do so this year, and I'm not going to leave $14k tied up for the next 12+ months.

Alaska has a mandatory 14 day quarantine for all incoming visitors that went into effect a few days ago, and our trip would not proceed if that's extended to a point where it would affect the trip.

Overall, it was a good/helpful conversation and affirms my decision to leave my plane tickets as-is for another month or so.
 
Update on my attempt to file a dispute against Scott Dunn with Chase. Called a few days ago and got through after a minimal wait. Spoke at length with the CSR -- she kept asking when I cancelled the trip. I told her that I hadn't cancelled the trip yet because the PIF has been moved to April 24th. I am not sure if she understood what I was saying -- she wasn't much help. After trying to talk with her for almost 15 minutes, I told her that I would wait until I speak with Scott Dunn around April 24th to file a dispute (if they don't cancel and offer a refund I will cancel at that point). She agreed that was a better idea (to wait until I've cancelled) and we disconnected the call. Yesterday I got a notice from Chase in the mail that said that my dispute with Scott Dunn has been resolved and I agreed that the charge was valid :headache:>:(. Umm, I asked that they not open a dispute. I hope this won't affect my future chance at filing a claim again Scott Dunn. So frustrating.
 

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