ABD just cancelled my Portugal trip that's been sold out practically since opening day

[DCLMP]

I always take Chase Rewards as a cash credit to my balance. Yes, you may get better deals on using points, but there always seems to be some kinda of gotcha or problem. Cash applied to the balance always works!


-Paul

There's no gotcha or problems when you transfer to a partner its almost always instant, and it's a much better use of the points. 12k points transferred to Hyatt may get me a 300-400 dollar a night room. My flights from Rome to Frankfurt were only 6k points the cash price would have been 150.00.

 

[Lewisc]

There's no gotcha or problems when you transfer to a partner its almost always instant, and it's a much better use of the points. 12k points transferred to Hyatt may get me a 300-400 dollar a night room. My flights from Rome to Frankfurt were only 6k points the cash price would have been 150.00.

Better use of the points is definitely YMMV. Hotel chains such as Marriott have gone to dynamic pricing. Expensive rooms means more points. Best use might be with hotel chains which waive the resort fee on reward bookings. Airlines such as SW have point based programs. The number of points you need is directly related to the fare. Transferring UR to SW rapid rewards works best if you're topping of your balance to book a flight.
The gurus still claim transferring to a partner airline and booking business class airfare, international, is the best use of points. Gives you the most dollar value.

 

[onewishupon]

.

 

[sayhello]

Small update: Travel Insurance was confirmed to definitely not be an option here. Since the trip was not cancelled due to a covered reason ["Financial Insolvency or Financial Default
of an entity that directly provides Travel Arrangements, including Travel Supplier, a Common Carrier, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel entity that cause a complete cessation of travel services if the Financial Insolvency or Financial Default occurs more than thirty (30) days following Your Effective Date for Trip Interruption."] none of my potential losses are covered by my policy. Pretty much what I expected. I *can* transfer the policy to another trip as long as I start the trip at the latest 2 years after I purchased the insurance, so there is that.

Sayhello

 

[DCLMP]

Better use of the points is definitely YMMV. Hotel chains such as Marriott have gone to dynamic pricing. Expensive rooms means more points. Best use might be with hotel chains which waive the resort fee on reward bookings. Airlines such as SW have point based programs. The number of points you need is directly related to the fare. Transferring UR to SW rapid rewards works best if you're topping of your balance to book a flight.
The gurus still claim transferring to a partner airline and booking business class airfare, international, is the best use of points. Gives you the most dollar value.

Hyatt still has very good redemptions. When I use points I use it for hotels I couldn't afford to pay for with cash like the Waldorf in London or the Park Hyatt in Paris. I've never liked Marriott point redemptions, but I did just blow all my points on the Dolphin. The price has gone up a lot since I booked so I'm actually getting a very good value for my points. Southwest has always had dynamic pricing. AA offers web specials, You can find some great deals, but you really have to search everyday, and yes international business class is by far the best use of airline miles.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

I know this in my head. I just have loved the trips I've taken with ABD so much, it's hard to give up on them, but I think I'm there. I am not re-booking with ABD for 2023, and it's highly likely that unless I hear there's been a BIG turnaround (unlikely at this point) that I'll be booking with them again. I'm starting to look at Tauck and a few other companies to see what they offer.

This is such a bummer. I’ve yet to take my first ABD. Four have been booked and cancelled. I was so excited for them. Now I’m struggling to re-book. The multiple accounts of poor and worsening customer service make me question why I even look at the itineraries at this point.

 

[Mathmagicland]

Small update: Travel Insurance was confirmed to definitely not be an option here. Since the trip was not cancelled due to a covered reason ["Financial Insolvency or Financial Default
of an entity that directly provides Travel Arrangements, including Travel Supplier, a Common Carrier, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel entity that cause a complete cessation of travel services if the Financial Insolvency or Financial Default occurs more than thirty (30) days following Your Effective Date for Trip Interruption."] none of my potential losses are covered by my policy. Pretty much what I expected. I *can* transfer the policy to another trip as long as I start the trip at the latest 2 years after I purchased the insurance, so there is that.

Sayhello

I’m sorry to hear your insurance won’t kick in at all. I was hoping for you that it might help out a bit.

 

[Mathmagicland]

This is such a bummer. I’ve yet to take my first ABD. Four have been booked and cancelled. I was so excited for them. Now I’m struggling to re-book. The multiple accounts of poor and worsening customer service make me question why I even look at the itineraries at this point.

I Think it depends on individual experiences, as while I’ve not yet had a bad experience with AbD on any of my trips, even with some Covid-related cancellations, I have had one with another smaller company… bad enough that I will never travel with that company again.

 

[sayhello]

This is such a bummer. I’ve yet to take my first ABD. Four have been booked and cancelled. I was so excited for them. Now I’m struggling to re-book. The multiple accounts of poor and worsening customer service make me question why I even look at the itineraries at this point.

Their itineraries are great. The trips are great. The Adventure Guides are fantastic. It's all the "back office" stuff that has gone seriously downhill and just does not provide the good customer service any more. But you can't have one without the other. More's the pity.

I’m sorry to hear your insurance won’t kick in at all. I was hoping for you that it might help out a bit.

Thanks. I wasn't too hopeful, but you just don't know. At least now I know.

I Think it depends on individual experiences, as while I’ve not yet had a bad experience with AbD on any of my trips, even with some Covid-related cancellations, I have had one with another smaller company… bad enough that I will never travel with that company again.

Very true.

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

Small update: Travel Insurance was confirmed to definitely not be an option here. Since the trip was not cancelled due to a covered reason ["Financial Insolvency or Financial Default
of an entity that directly provides Travel Arrangements, including Travel Supplier, a Common Carrier, cruise line, tour operator, or other travel entity that cause a complete cessation of travel services if the Financial Insolvency or Financial Default occurs more than thirty (30) days following Your Effective Date for Trip Interruption."] none of my potential losses are covered by my policy. Pretty much what I expected. I *can* transfer the policy to another trip as long as I start the trip at the latest 2 years after I purchased the insurance, so there is that.

Sayhello

That’s such a bummer, on both fronts. While it’s nice ABD is being proactive, it sucks that you really can’t count on a booked ABD going being a sure thing now. When I called ABD a couple months ago to see if my December NZ ABD was going, the vacationista said all the 2022 trips (with a couple of exceptions) were going regardless of size. I wonder how much this decision is impacting the 2023 itineraries and how many people who may have booked a 2023 ABD have rethought that decision given that Covid is still alive and kicking.

Unfortunately, for those of us who always buy travel insurance you find out that it really doesn’t cover much when a trip is cancelled. I cancelled a cruise I planned to take this year because I wasn’t comfortable cruising with the Covid numbers at the time. Fortunately, I had only put down a small deposit and had not paid in full. However, when I called the travel insurance to see what they would cover if I paid in full, they said nothing would be covered as long as the cruise line gave me a credit. If I had purchased CFAR, it would only cover 75% of the cost as long as the cruise line didn’t give me a credit. If they did, insurance wouldn’t cover anything. Same thing with airline tickets—credit from company, no insurance, no option for a refund.

For those of us who are used to planning way ahead, it looks like we’re going to have to start booking only fully refundable options or waiting until the last minute to book—which would throw my OCD and Type A personality in a tizzy. I have three ABDs (NZ, Danube River Cruise, Egypt) booked currently between 2022 and 2023. Whether or not they go as planned will determine how long I’ll wait until I try to book another ABD.

 

[Mathmagicland]

For those of us who are used to planning way ahead, it looks like we’re going to have to start booking only fully refundable options or waiting until the last minute to book—which would throw my OCD and Type A personality in a tizzy. I have three ABDs (NZ, Danube River Cruise, Egypt) booked currently between 2022 and 2023. Whether or not they go as planned will determine how long I’ll wait until I try to book another ABD.

This is so true. It is my new approach for the most part. I’m booking much closer to departure dates than I would have before, and always refundable when possible. I feel more comfortable and am willing to forgo bit cheaper pricing for a bit more reassurance the trip might actually happen. It has taken some adjustment for sure, to change from starting so far in advance. And there can be some scrambling at times, too, or at least it feels like i!

 

[CaliKris]

This is beyond disappointing to read! I have not been on these boards in a while because I am so frustrated with ABD and their policies. Then, I come back on see this. I encourage your TA to work with ABD management for some resolution, especially considering you booked the river cruise right after Portugal.

We unfortunately had to cancel what was to be our final trip with ABD to SE Asia in 2023. We have a $1200 deposit that we can move to another trip once. Now, I am wondering if we should just walk away from our money and call it a loss. Why should I move my deposit to a trip that could be cancelled on me for any reason at any time??

Let's face it those of us that book ABDs love all aspects of travel. However, travel requires planning, booking flights, taking valuable vacation days off from work, etc. When we plan trips, it involves a lot of moving parts and logistics that are hard or impossible to change. One of the best parts of travel is the anticipation and excitement leading up to the trip. It is hard to get excited for a trip when there is a nagging feeling it could be cancelled on you at any time.

So, we are safer booking our flights through ABD in case it is cancelled (which is sometimes more costly). But who wants to book a trip that is not guaranteed? The thought that it may be cancelled remains with me until we receive the ABD box in the mail.

We have switched over to Tauck and I encourage you to give them a try. Their policies are more than fair and they have run international trips with as little as 5 people.

Their guides are not the same (although our last two Tauck guides have been fabulous), but their trips run smoothly, safely and effortlessly. We have met the nicest people on these trips whom we plan to travel with again. Plus, we can plan our trip and know that it is guaranteed to go barring some unforeseen act of God.

So sorry this has happened to you. I thank you for posting this as a reminder that these trips are not guaranteed and that should be a warning to us all.

 

[cedricandsophie]

Portugal is quite easy to get around on your own. Driving on your own is a good way to do it, you schedule your own time the way you want it. Rick Steves has great guide books with hotels and restaurants recommendations. . And Frommers has guide books showing drive yourself routes.

 

[laceltris3]

So, we are safer booking our flights through ABD in case it is cancelled (which is sometimes more costly). But who wants to book a trip that is not guaranteed? The thought that it may be cancelled remains with me until we receive the ABD box in the mail.

A reminder that there were some things posted here (perhaps not applicable any more), but if you had purchased your air through ABD, but were able to cancel and get a refund for your trip, they said the airfare was non-refundable and that you also would not receive a credit.

Just terrible policies and customer service all around form ABD during Covid. I had my Siene river cruise canceled by Tauck in 2020, and I opted to keep my money there because they offered a financial incentive to do so. You can always move deposits on land trips (though not river cruises), and you can even book before they have pricing out to book your stateroom (we need a suite and no single supplement room) and you can cancel once the pricing comes in, which saves you from the hours on hold for the limited discounts Disney offers on Day 1.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

After paying about $2k in bills today. I definitely need a new MSR (or 2) to be working on. I can lower CL by SM, I have to call to cancel, right?

This is beyond disappointing to read! I have not been on these boards in a while because I am so frustrated with ABD and their policies. Then, I come back on see this. I encourage your TA to work with ABD management for some resolution, especially considering you booked the river cruise right after Portugal.

We unfortunately had to cancel what was to be our final trip with ABD to SE Asia in 2023. We have a $1200 deposit that we can move to another trip once. Now, I am wondering if we should just walk away from our money and call it a loss. Why should I move my deposit to a trip that could be cancelled on me for any reason at any time??

Let's face it those of us that book ABDs love all aspects of travel. However, travel requires planning, booking flights, taking valuable vacation days off from work, etc. When we plan trips, it involves a lot of moving parts and logistics that are hard or impossible to change. One of the best parts of travel is the anticipation and excitement leading up to the trip. It is hard to get excited for a trip when there is a nagging feeling it could be cancelled on you at any time.

So, we are safer booking our flights through ABD in case it is cancelled (which is sometimes more costly). But who wants to book a trip that is not guaranteed? The thought that it may be cancelled remains with me until we receive the ABD box in the mail.

We have switched over to Tauck and I encourage you to give them a try. Their policies are more than fair and they have run international trips with as little as 5 people.

Their guides are not the same (although our last two Tauck guides have been fabulous), but their trips run smoothly, safely and effortlessly. We have met the nicest people on these trips whom we plan to travel with again. Plus, we can plan our trip and know that it is guaranteed to go barring some unforeseen act of God.

So sorry this has happened to you. I thank you for posting this as a reminder that these trips are not guaranteed and that should be a warning to us all.

So well said.

I prefer to travel solo now; I book flights on points, which can be cancelled at any time up to 2 hours prior to takeoff and refundable hotels (with the only exception being Ashford Castle in May).

I won't rule out group travel, but at this time I prefer traveling on my own (either with or without one of both of my kids) where I/we set the schedule and itinerary.

@sayhello I know that you said you prefer group travel, but if you want to use up your airfare credit, Italy is SO easy to do on your own and most people in the main cities speak English. I'm going solo to Milan, Florence and Rome in March and will take the HS TranItalia between cities. Just a thought. Or Scandinavia -- also super easy to do solo and English shouldn't be a problem in the large cities (though I will either hike a guide or join a group for some of my hikes in Norway).

 

[Eastridge]

A reminder that there were some things posted here (perhaps not applicable any more), but if you had purchased your air through ABD, but were able to cancel and get a refund for your trip, they said the airfare was non-refundable and that you also would not receive a credit.

I'm confused by this. If you purchase your flights through ABD for an ABD trip, and later on ABD cancels the trip, ABD also refunds the flights, correct? I've asked this specifically to the ABD air department multiple times and they say my understanding is correct.

 

[sayhello]

That’s such a bummer, on both fronts. While it’s nice ABD is being proactive, it sucks that you really can’t count on a booked ABD going being a sure thing now. When I called ABD a couple months ago to see if my December NZ ABD was going, the vacationista said all the 2022 trips (with a couple of exceptions) were going regardless of size. I wonder how much this decision is impacting the 2023 itineraries and how many people who may have booked a 2023 ABD have rethought that decision given that Covid is still alive and kicking.

Unfortunately, for those of us who always buy travel insurance you find out that it really doesn’t cover much when a trip is cancelled. I cancelled a cruise I planned to take this year because I wasn’t comfortable cruising with the Covid numbers at the time. Fortunately, I had only put down a small deposit and had not paid in full. However, when I called the travel insurance to see what they would cover if I paid in full, they said nothing would be covered as long as the cruise line gave me a credit. If I had purchased CFAR, it would only cover 75% of the cost as long as the cruise line didn’t give me a credit. If they did, insurance wouldn’t cover anything. Same thing with airline tickets—credit from company, no insurance, no option for a refund.

For those of us who are used to planning way ahead, it looks like we’re going to have to start booking only fully refundable options or waiting until the last minute to book—which would throw my OCD and Type A personality in a tizzy. I have three ABDs (NZ, Danube River Cruise, Egypt) booked currently between 2022 and 2023. Whether or not they go as planned will determine how long I’ll wait until I try to book another ABD.

Yep. This is all so true. While it kills me to pay the extra for fully refundable, it certainly is less stressful. But it really sucks that that should be necessary. But it's pretty much always been true that "I don't feel safe going on this trip so I want to cancel" or "The provider just cancelled the trip because it wasn't in their best financial interest to run the trip" are not covered by travel insurance. If you look at the list of covered reasons on most policies, they are mostly acts of god, and 99.9% of them are things that happen to you or to the place you're going. The only one covering the provider is financial default. And I don't see that happening with Disney...

This is so true. It is my new approach for the most part. I’m booking much closer to departure dates than I would have before, and always refundable when possible. I feel more comfortable and am willing to forgo bit cheaper pricing for a bit more reassurance the trip might actually happen. It has taken some adjustment for sure, to change from starting so far in advance. And there can be some scrambling at times, too, or at least it feels like i!

I still haven't gotten to this 'booking much closer to departure' zen yet. I'm traveling to Hawaii in October, and am really bummed because flights aren't even out for October yet. And I just found out that the daughter of a dear friend of mine is getting married in Cancun in August, but they haven't set any details except for the actual date of the wedding, so I can't purchase airfare for that yet, either. I bought flights for my nephew's wedding in April as soon as they went on sale, but that's Southwest, so I don't feel bad booking with them with their great policies. It's really going to take a lot for me to break this habit (although you'd think what just happened to me with Portugal would have been enough!!! )

This is beyond disappointing to read! I have not been on these boards in a while because I am so frustrated with ABD and their policies. Then, I come back on see this. I encourage your TA to work with ABD management for some resolution, especially considering you booked the river cruise right after Portugal.

We unfortunately had to cancel what was to be our final trip with ABD to SE Asia in 2023. We have a $1200 deposit that we can move to another trip once. Now, I am wondering if we should just walk away from our money and call it a loss. Why should I move my deposit to a trip that could be cancelled on me for any reason at any time??

Let's face it those of us that book ABDs love all aspects of travel. However, travel requires planning, booking flights, taking valuable vacation days off from work, etc. When we plan trips, it involves a lot of moving parts and logistics that are hard or impossible to change. One of the best parts of travel is the anticipation and excitement leading up to the trip. It is hard to get excited for a trip when there is a nagging feeling it could be cancelled on you at any time.

So, we are safer booking our flights through ABD in case it is cancelled (which is sometimes more costly). But who wants to book a trip that is not guaranteed? The thought that it may be cancelled remains with me until we receive the ABD box in the mail.

We have switched over to Tauck and I encourage you to give them a try. Their policies are more than fair and they have run international trips with as little as 5 people.

Their guides are not the same (although our last two Tauck guides have been fabulous), but their trips run smoothly, safely and effortlessly. We have met the nicest people on these trips whom we plan to travel with again. Plus, we can plan our trip and know that it is guaranteed to go barring some unforeseen act of God.

So sorry this has happened to you. I thank you for posting this as a reminder that these trips are not guaranteed and that should be a warning to us all.

Thanks. And I totally understand where you are coming from. The whole concept of re-booking Portugal to another date with ABD after they just cancelled this one was pretty ludicrous. There wasn't really a date that worked, but I just can't see me doing it even if there was. I'm not booking anything with ABD for 2003 (I decided to plus up my trip to Hawaii - maybe Aulani and a couple of way more expensive excursions?) and now that Cancun is in the mix, I'll probably plus that one up, too -- and hopefully use the credit with United for that.

I will definitely be looking at Tauck. Several people here and on fb have suggested it to me, and said how much they enjoyed traveling with them. They may not have Adventure Guides, but there's a lot to be said for the enhanced customer service everyone says Tauck has.

@sayhello I know that you said you prefer group travel, but if you want to use up your airfare credit, Italy is SO easy to do on your own and most people in the main cities speak English. I'm going solo to Milan, Florence and Rome in March and will take the HS TranItalia between cities. Just a thought. Or Scandinavia -- also super easy to do solo and English shouldn't be a problem in the large cities (though I will either hike a guide or join a group for some of my hikes in Norway).

Thanks. I'm really not up for all the planning necessary for a solo trip for next year. It was all settled, and now it's not, so I'm just going to go in a different direction. As I commented above, I'm staying at a friend's timeshare in Hawaii in October, so I may just add some days at Aulani to that, and maybe do a really expensive excursion or two or three. Plus, I'm now going to Cancun for a Destination Wedding, so I'll probably use the United credit for that. But thanks for the suggestions!

I'll still be traveling, just not where or how I thought I would be...

Sayhello

 

[White_Rabbit18]

I don’t know your situation and perhaps you were using ABD because there might be a mobility situation in your group but traveling to Portugal is super easy because the vast majority of people speak English there. (They grew up watching tv in English. Unlike in Spain where all the tv is dubbed in Spanish and it is harder to find an English speaker there).

My parents went to Portugal over the summer and had a great time. Their only issue is when they did book a tour instead of going alone to visit one of the palaces and they had an absolutely miserable time because they were forced to move at the speed of the group compared to what they were comfortable with.

 

[calypso726]

No, Chase can only issue a monetary credit and in our experience you have to call Chase travel to rebook using the credit. And for me it was always an hour on the phone while the agent kept putting me on hold to 'read the rules'. So frustrating rebooking the flights we cancelled from December 2020 that I have not used Chase URs to book a flight since.

I booked Ashford Castle for 2020 with Chase UR points only and then had to cancel because we were entering the zombie apocalypse and no one was traveling. Chase had to reach out to Ashford Castle and we went back and forth for about a weeks or so. Chase wound up depositing all of the UR points I had used back into my account. There was no monetary credit. Maybe it is different with airline purchases through the UR portal vs hotel bookings though

There's no gotcha or problems when you transfer to a partner its almost always instant, and it's a much better use of the points. 12k points transferred to Hyatt may get me a 300-400 dollar a night room. My flights from Rome to Frankfurt were only 6k points the cash price would have been 150.00.

True. However, once transferred to a partner, that is where they stay. You cannot transfer them back to variable points once transferred to a partner. I also agree that Hyatt is the best redemption option for Chase UR points. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai for 5 nights in September using Hyatt points for 25K points per night. Cash price was over $800 per night.

Better use of the points is definitely YMMV. Hotel chains such as Marriott have gone to dynamic pricing. Expensive rooms means more points. Best use might be with hotel chains which waive the resort fee on reward bookings. Airlines such as SW have point based programs. The number of points you need is directly related to the fare. Transferring UR to SW rapid rewards works best if you're topping of your balance to book a flight.
The gurus still claim transferring to a partner airline and booking business class airfare, international, is the best use of points. Gives you the most dollar value.

Hyatt still has very good redemptions. When I use points I use it for hotels I couldn't afford to pay for with cash like the Waldorf in London or the Park Hyatt in Paris. I've never liked Marriott point redemptions, but I did just blow all my points on the Dolphin. The price has gone up a lot since I booked so I'm actually getting a very good value for my points. Southwest has always had dynamic pricing. AA offers web specials, You can find some great deals, but you really have to search everyday, and yes international business class is by far the best use of airline miles.

Yes, once a transfer partner goes dynamic the value of the points is very YMMV. When Marriott announced they were going dynamic, I immediately booked 5 nights at the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa so I could get one last decent value for Marriott points and blew my stash on that booking. Leaving next week! Hyatt has peak awards now but they have not gone dynamic.

Transferring to partners for international flights is also still a great use of points but usually for seats in first or business. I recently booked a one flight to Barcelona for a Med cruise on Iberia, a Chase transfer partner. Pricing for economy was $564 cash or 34.5K Avios miles plus $105 in taxes and fees per person. This isn't a good redemption. However, business class lie flat seats were $4,443 cash or 51.5K Avios miles and $140 in taxes and fees per person. That is a good redemption so I booked that.


@sayhello - I am so sorry about your cancellation. I like to think that everything happens for a reason and when one door closes another opens. Although the circumstances are frustrating, I would hope that once you are over the shock and dismay, you will find yourself booking another amazing trip! Your TA is an awesome trip planner and I am sure she will help you navigate these turbulent waters into an unexpected and memorable future trip! I know that is what I would be doing in your shoes. I enjoy looking forward to travel, so if something got canceled unexpectedly, I'd be coordinating with my TA on how to get refunded/credited and what's my next best adventure. Bonus if I am able to use those credits on said trip!

 

[sayhello]

I don’t know your situation and perhaps you were using ABD because there might be a mobility situation in your group but traveling to Portugal is super easy because the vast majority of people speak English there. (They grew up watching tv in English. Unlike in Spain where all the tv is dubbed in Spanish and it is harder to find an English speaker there).

My parents went to Portugal over the summer and had a great time. Their only issue is when they did book a tour instead of going alone to visit one of the palaces and they had an absolutely miserable time because they were forced to move at the speed of the group compared to what they were comfortable with.

Besides really loving the trips/itineraries ABD does, I am a solo traveler, and I do ABDs because I don't particularly like taking really long trips all by myself. I'm fine for a few days (like pre- or post-days) but it gets a bit lonely/boring after a while and is not as much fun as having others around me that I'm traveling with. Plus, I like the safety of having someone who expects me to be somewhere at a particular time, and will come looking for me if I'm not there. It doesn't have a lot to do with "ease of travel" (although that does help when you're traveling solo). And I freely admit, I'm spoiled. I *LIKE* how the Adventure Guides take care of you. That's way more vacation-y to me than shlepping my own luggage everywhere, worrying about all the logistics, driving in a foreign country, etc. But that's just me. YMMV.

I booked Ashford Castle for 2020 with Chase UR points only and then had to cancel because we were entering the zombie apocalypse and no one was traveling. Chase had to reach out to Ashford Castle and we went back and forth for about a weeks or so. Chase wound up depositing all of the UR points I had used back into my account. There was no monetary credit. Maybe it is different with airline purchases through the UR portal vs hotel bookings though

I would have to assume it has to do with airfare vs. hotel bookings. It's definitely NOT ever going to be points returned to my Chase UR account. The best I can hope for at this point is somehow managing to get the travel credit transferred to be under United so that I don't have to go through Chase UR's ridiculous policies, like one-time use. If your ticket doesn't use up the credit, the rest is forfeit. I finally got a Supervisor to admit their system (at least as it interfaces with United) just isn't capable of carrying over a balance.

Transferring to partners for international flights is also still a great use of points but usually for seats in first or business. I recently booked a one flight to Barcelona for a Med cruise on Iberia, a Chase transfer partner. Pricing for economy was $564 cash or 34.5K Avios miles plus $105 in taxes and fees per person. This isn't a good redemption. However, business class lie flat seats were $4,443 cash or 51.5K Avios miles and $140 in taxes and fees per person. That is a good redemption so I booked that.

Wow, that is a great deal! Congrats!

@sayhello - I am so sorry about your cancellation. I like to think that everything happens for a reason and when one door closes another opens. Although the circumstances are frustrating, I would hope that once you are over the shock and dismay, you will find yourself booking another amazing trip! Your TA is an awesome trip planner and I am sure she will help you navigate these turbulent waters into an unexpected and memorable future trip! I know that is what I would be doing in your shoes. I enjoy looking forward to travel, so if something got canceled unexpectedly, I'd be coordinating with my TA on how to get refunded/credited and what's my next best adventure. Bonus if I am able to use those credits on said trip!

Well, I'm definitely not rebooking the Portugal trip for next year. In fact, I'm not re-booking with ABD at all for next year. 2024 is doubtful. We'll see what happens. It may be that stuff like this *does* happen for a reason, as I've decided to use the money I would have spent on the ABD to plus up a trip to Hawaii I have at a friend's timeshare. I'm hoping my TA can help me add a few days at Aulani to that trip. And I just found out the daughter of a dear friend of mine is having a Destination Wedding in Cancun in August, so I'll most likely use the credit (or at least a large chunk of it) on the airfare for that. Not what I had planned, but I still have plenty of travel to look forward to.

Sayhello