Wisdom from the Road #56

On flight schedule changes

Changes to flight schedules can be a pain.

But it can also be a blessing.

It can be a pain when the flight is moved hours late and there is only one flight per day and you have a strict schedule/itinerary to follow, a meeting to attend, etc, and don't want to go to your destination a day earlier or your personal schedule/budget does not allow you to spend an extra night there.

It can be a blessing if the flight change is more than an hour and you have the option to rebook or have it refunded. Why? Because...

• if you have no plans of pushing through with the trip, you can get a refund!
• if want to stay more days, you can have it rebooked to another date!

TIP! If you receive a notification that your flight has been changed and you have the option to rebook/refund, and you are still in the process of applying for a visa to that destination, wait until you know the result of your application. Case in point: My friend bought a promo ticket to South Korea. When she received a notification that her flight has been changed, in her excitement for her upcoming trip, she immediately called the airline and confirmed a new date. Months after this confirmation, she applied for a visa but was refused a visa. Had she not confirmed/rebooked until after her visa result, she could have had the ticket refunded.