How do you insure trip paid with Dream vouchers?

[Spotthecat]

Airmiles could insure your airmiles used for a vacation/cruise package before. Now that we have to cash in the airmiles for vouchers, and use those vouchers - how do we safeguard our airmiles if something happens???

 

[Donald - my hero]

Once you use your Airmiles to get the vouchers, that's it .. miles are gone. I've copied info from the very fine print on the Airmiles site :

Full value of the Certificate must be used in a single transaction. Unused balances will have no stored value; certificates are one-time use only. Certificate may not be returned, cancelled, or exchanged for cash or Reward Miles after it is issued

That makes sense to me since you can't return any other Dream Reward. BUT this is more concerning to me:

If a booking is cancelled, any Certificate used for the original travel purchase is non-refundable and non-transferable.

I'm not sure how ANY form of trip insurance would cover this?

 

[Spotthecat]

Yeah that's my worry. Why would I use these vouchers to book something, and then if I switch due to circumstances beyond my control I get squat? Would buying the Disney insurance at least let you switch to a different disney cruise?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I just asked this yesterday.

No insurance on vouchers. Now, maybe the travel agency you use might have a thing where you could obtain a credit if you had to cancel your trip?

 

[Donald - my hero]

Don't know about the rest of you but suddenly I'm not as excited to be saving my miles for Travel Vouchers! I've noticed there are other places i can get packages for a very reasonable cost and then use our miles for the flights so that might be the route we go instead. If i have to pay the taxes, insurance and all of the other sundry costs I might as well book the main part elsewhere, have more control over the reservations AND a wider selection of resorts.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

Donald, I was thinking the same thing! I'm thinking of switching back to cash miles. What I might start doing is once I have the miles I need for flights/hotels and they are booked, switch over to cash miles so I can use that would-be money towards another part of the trip. 909 vs 950 isn't that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

ALSO, if you needed to cancel your trip, you'd be out those vouchers vs getting money back!

 

[Spotthecat]

I know, this is what has me worried. Is this a scam? There's got to be a way to safeguard those gift certificates. I'm sorry, if I'm at the travel agency and I present my trip payment as 1000$ through gift certificates, and the rest through credit card, Ihave paid the whole thing. So my insurance should be for the whole thing, right?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I know, this is what has me worried. Is this a scam? There's got to be a way to safeguard those gift certificates. I'm sorry, if I'm at the travel agency and I present my trip payment as 1000$ through gift certificates, and the rest through credit card, Ihave paid the whole thing. So my insurance should be for the whole thing, right?

From what I understand, no. Because the vouchers didn't cost you any money, just miles.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I know, this is what has me worried. Is this a scam? There's got to be a way to safeguard those gift certificates. I'm sorry, if I'm at the travel agency and I present my trip payment as 1000$ through gift certificates, and the rest through credit card, Ihave paid the whole thing. So my insurance should be for the whole thing, right?

On the flip side to this, at Trip Central, you pay for the entire trip IN FULL at the time of booking. Then you mail in the certificates and get a refund cheque for the value of the vouchers.

 

[Donald - my hero]

On the flip side to this, at Trip Central, you pay for the entire trip IN FULL at the time of booking. Then you mail in the certificates and get a refund cheque for the value of the vouchers.

I noticed that which, IMHO sucks for those who live in the provinces that are forced to use that method! The more i look at this whole travel booking we must now use, the less i like it. You used to be able to use the insurance AM offered (which is really $$ if you ask me .. for giggles i thought i would see how much it would cost for tomorrow's booking of a single night in Toronto. Would you believe they would have charged me over $150 to cover only a portion of $210 worth of miles )

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I noticed that which, IMHO sucks for those who live in the provinces that are forced to use that method! The more i look at this whole travel booking we must now use, the less i like it. You used to be able to use the insurance AM offered (which is really $$ if you ask me .. for giggles i thought i would see how much it would cost for tomorrow's booking of a single night in Toronto. Would you believe they would have charged me over $150 to cover only a portion of $210 worth of miles )

I actually switched my preferences for mine and DH's accounts to Cash miles yesterday after these posts. I have 9676 miles and DH has 4107 all in Dream miles, so we are good for flights, hotel and will have to buy a around $600 worth of vouchers this time around if we cruise in October, but going forward, we will do the "use cash miles and keep that money in the travel fund" method LOL

It's getting harder to find the lowest miles for flights now too that aren't 2 stops, etc.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Good stinkin' grief that is a ridiculous switch on the policy, AM.

I wonder if the "cost savings" on not having to offer trip insurance or credit on the AM-funded trips, is why they switched over to Travel Vouchers?

Well this is why I am saving for tickets only! I figure there will be SOME way to get a hotel discount and I'll bet we will be able to have some further offsite Good Neighbor Hotel privileges by then with FP+ and such... Flight will be taken care of by Avion points. Ah well we are not even halfway there so I am sure I will figure out a plan of attack in the next few months LOL and I have all you awesome peeps to help me figure it out! YAY