Frontier Airline just cancelled our flight on 2/11 out of Miami

[Bo1953]

So lets understand this latest comment. Suppose I pay $400 for some kind of insurance, and that insurance ultimately saves me $200 for increased airline fees (not sure most insurance will pay for this situation). So then I have only paid a net of $200 for insurance? Sounds like a bargain :). But I am not even sure that most trip insurance would pay off for a canceled airline flight, when it happens months prior to a cruise. They would simply say to book a new flight.

 

And by the way, in interests of full disclosure we do not buy trip insurance! After far more then 100 cruises (many of them lengthy cruises of weeks or months) we calculate we have saved approximately $100,000 by not buying trip insurance (we do have an excellent annual travel medical policy).

 

Hank

 

h - I recommend you look into it or post to the insurance board here... in effect, if the policy purchased covered a loss due to changes to or missing a part of the covered trip or needing evacuation, then you are re-imbursed for any losses incurred.

 

This is the purpose of having the insurance. Yes, there are a few companies who try not to pay, yet if it is clear that the T & C's are met, then no problem. There are a few policies and sources to get travel insurance.

 

bon voyage

[Hlitner]

The need to buy travel insurance is as soon as you have paid some money on the booking whether it be a cruise deposit or airline, accommodation or whatever. This is because many most insurance companies will not pay out if a problem is forseen in advance and the closer one gets to departure date the more likely an insurance company could use this as an excuse. If one pays a deposit and then takes out travel insurance say 12 months out from departure one would be covered for death in the family preventing departure, airline going bust just before departure, partner got ill and unable to travel just before departure and the list could go on. I have never had to claim after leaving the country but I have had to claim because of a hospitalisation preventing me from travelling. We are off to Europe again next year and I would hate to think the cost of repatriation if I took seriously ill on board ship, had to be flown off, followed by a lengthy stay in hospital and then a medical escort home to New Zealand. $700 insures me, my wife all our belongings, delays cancellations and full medical plus many more benefits. We consider it just part of the travel costs and whilst we can still get insurance we will continue to travel

 

I think you missed the point of my post. Not everyone buys travel/trip insurance and its for a good reason. Trip insurance is simply not for everyone as each person has their own risk tolerance and needs. In our case we travel outside of the country 6-7 months per year of which over 100 days (in 2016) are on cruises. The cost of buying trip insurance is staggering...if we want policies to cover all of our trips and potential losses. So we choose to self-insure all the costs associated with cancellation. We also choose to purchase an excellent Annual Travel Medical Policy (with $250,000 of medical coverage and $500,000 of evacuation) which only costs us about $450 a year (total cost for a couple).

 

So you might ask, "why don't you buy trip insurance?" And our answer is that by self insuring we save thousands of dollars every year from not paying for that insurance. Since we have been traveling for over forty years we are currently over $100,000 ahead of the game because of all the money we have saved by NOT buying travel insurance. If we now had to cancel a trip and lose all of our money, we would still be far ahead (financially).

 

And by the way, some major credit cards include cancellation insurance as a benefit. For example, the high-end Chase Sapphire Reserve card gives $10,000 of trip cancellation insurance on any trip charged to the card. For some this is a terrific option as they purchase an annual trip medical policy and use their credit card to take care of some cancellation risk.

 

Hank

[Cruise Raider]

I think you missed the point of my post. Not everyone buys travel/trip insurance and its for a good reason. Trip insurance is simply not for everyone as each person has their own risk tolerance and needs. In our case we travel outside of the country 6-7 months per year of which over 100 days (in 2016) are on cruises. The cost of buying trip insurance is staggering...if we want policies to cover all of our trips and potential losses. So we choose to self-insure all the costs associated with cancellation. We also choose to purchase an excellent Annual Travel Medical Policy (with $250,000 of medical coverage and $500,000 of evacuation) which only costs us about $450 a year (total cost for a couple).

 

So you might ask, "why don't you buy trip insurance?" And our answer is that by self insuring we save thousands of dollars every year from not paying for that insurance. Since we have been traveling for over forty years we are currently over $100,000 ahead of the game because of all the money we have saved by NOT buying travel insurance. If we now had to cancel a trip and lose all of our money, we would still be far ahead (financially).

 

And by the way, some major credit cards include cancellation insurance as a benefit. For example, the high-end Chase Sapphire Reserve card gives $10,000 of trip cancellation insurance on any trip charged to the card. For some this is a terrific option as they purchase an annual trip medical policy and use their credit card to take care of some cancellation risk.

 

Hank

 

This is an excellent suggestion, Hank. Would you mind telling me what insurance company you use for your Annual Travel Medical Policy. I would be interested in running the numbers for my family to see if it would benefit us.

[xmarksx]

Cubswin,

 

As you are checking Southwest from Midway also see if Indy has anything comparable (if it is in your driving range) along with Milwaukee. You might also check West Palm Beach instead of Fort Lauderdale but you have to get lucky with the time/prices when running the comparison. We are in central Illinois so I feel your pain.

[cubswin2016]

Lots of good suggestions/comments. I have tried all of these options, renting a car, flying out of different locations, etc. need to fly into O'hare as we originate there and our car at the park and fly will be waiting for us. We also have trip insurance (which I normally don't purchase) but the fine print seems to exclude airline cancellations unless day of. A little limited on departure times too. I'll figure it out, American flys out of Miami at 10:06AM, which I should be able to make. Again, thanks all for your input

[pedidoc1]

Frontier may have done you a favor by cancelling your flight in advance-

when they cancel on the day of your flight (not an uncommon event) they will do nothing to help you-they do not rebook you on a different carrier or provide compensation or help of any kind. The best you can hope for is a refund--but only if you pay in advance for the "privilege" (same for seat selection, carry-on and checked luggage)--otherwise you get a Frontier voucher so that you get an opportunity to be mistreated again. I would not trust any of my vacation plans to them.

[janrey1234]

Of course the OP would have arranged appropriate travel insurance as soon as they made the cruise and flight bookings. By doing so they would have been recompensed for the cancelled flight less any reimbursement from the airline. Not sure that they took out travel insurance I heard someone say, then I am willing to bet they will next time

 

Not necessary with some credit cards. Check out your credit card company as many offer limited travel insurance including reimbursing you for unused vouchers. Most don't cover if you cancel a trip for personal reasons like work or you just decide not to go. Citibank is up to $3,000 no cost to you.

Edited December 20, 2016 by janrey1234

[Hlitner]

This is an excellent suggestion, Hank. Would you mind telling me what insurance company you use for your Annual Travel Medical Policy. I would be interested in running the numbers for my family to see if it would benefit us.

 

We use GeoBlue (part of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Network who charges approximately $450 a year (t can vary depending on where you live and age) for a couple. Google them and look on their web site for info. The plan you want is called "Trekker Choice" and it covers each (and every) trip you take for the entire policy year.....up to 70 days per trip. While they do not sell this in every state, you are fine if you are in CA :). One interesting thing with GeoBlue is that they actually a have a network of enrolled hospitals and physicians around the world. If you use one of their network providers they will likely accept the insurance without you having to pay upfront (the norm for most international policies).

 

Hank

Edited December 20, 2016 by Hlitner