Frequent fliers share clever tricks on how to get compensation if your flight is delayed or canceled
- READ MORE: Frequent fliers share their top travel hacks
Fliers unlucky enough to be booked on a delayed or canceled flight may wish to pay attention to the tricks of these savvy travelers.
Mike Kelly, a frequent flier, says he regularly springs to the assistance of people experiencing travel nightmares.
Recently he helped a friend after they were stranded in Europe following the Microsoft CrowdStrike outage, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Kelly gave his friend advice on what to do next.
Here is a summary of the key things he says to remember along with suggestions from other travel pros:
Frequent fliers have shared tips on how to get compensated for delayed or canceled flights
Document Details
Frequent flier Mike Kelly advised his friend to document every detail of his itinerary
Kelly advised his friend to document every detail of the flight he initially planned to go on through phone screenshots.
He first told the stranded flier to create a PDF file and attach it to their reimbursement request for compensation.
These screenshots can be of anything from plane technicians working on the aircraft, to text alerts confirming a flight is delayed or canceled.
Besides screenshots, Kelly told his friend to write down any of what an airline official says during announcements to submit for proof of the trouble.
Remember the Law
A new law that started on July 25 requires airlines to provide refunds to all passengers who booked for flights that were delayed or canceled
The Biden-Harris administration announced the US Department of Transportation (DOT) issued ruling regarding refunds for fliers whose flights were delayed or canceled last April.
'Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them - without headaches or haggling,' said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
'Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.'
The new ruling allows fliers to receive a refund if their flight is canceled or 'significantly changed' if they opt to not use other transportation or offered travel credits.
This is still a new rule that only came into force a month ago.
It applies to fliers who suffer difficulties such as canceled flights, or delayed departure and arrival times that are more than three hours domestically or six hours internationally.
'To be compensated quickly and for there to be a transparent way to take care of that, I think it’s a real win for the consumer,' frequent flier Kristen Feavel told KSBY last April.
Credit Cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred card owners can receive up to $500 to cover unreimbursed expenses if their flights are delayed or canceled
Most credit card companies offer trip delay insurance - a travel insurance benefit that helps cover related financial losses.
Fliers who purchase their plane tickets with an eligible credit card will automatically be refunded money if a trip is delayed for a significant amount of time.
Some of them could also prefer obtaining travel credit cards, in which owners can earn points or miles for travel expenses through purchases.
Frequent flier and founder of Points by J, Jess Bohorquez, praised her Chase Sapphire Preferred card for helping her.
'The fact that the points are flexible and you can use them with a ton of different airlines and hotels gives the average traveler a lot better chance of finding an amazing deal for how they're going to redeem our points,' she told Travel + Leisure this month.
Bohorquez and other fliers who own those cards are covered for unreimbursed expenses if their trip is delayed more than 12 hours or requires them to stay somewhere overnight.
These expenses can be used for meals and hotels and could be up to $500 per ticket.
Have a Backup Plan
A columnist was in a hurry to find her mom a hotel room earlier this month after her connecting flight was canceled
Backup plans could help in making sure a flier can get something off an imperfect situation regarding their flight.
Columnist Dawn Gilbertson found herself in a hectic situation when making sure her mom could fly out to Connecticut earlier this month.
Gilbertson revealed that she rebooked her mom's United Airlines flight twice in two days due to crew and weather conditions.
Unfortunately, the elderly flier's connecting flight was also canceled, and after there was no backup plan, Gilbertson scrambled to find a hotel for her mom to stay in.
Her mother was lucky enough to be refunded for the flight mayhem, but Gilbertson was forced to use loyalty points to pay for the hotel room.
