I never cancel trips… so I’ll book things that are non-refundable on occasion, since the savings usually end up being worth it to me. Well, for a recent trip planned with a friend, something came up and he is unable to go. I went into Damage Control Mode to salvage as many points and miles and as much money as possible.

Cancelled Trip

Part 1: Salvaging Money and Points from a Cancelled Trip: Hotels

Part 2: Salvaging Money and Points from a Cancelled Trip: Flights

Part 3: Salvaging Money and Points from a Cancelled Trip: Summary and Lessons Learned

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Six total hotel nights had been booked for this trip. Four nights were in sets of two, and two nights were individual. I hadn’t gotten around to booking one night before the outbound of the trip yet, luckily this was one less room to worry about cancelling.

1. The Willard Washington D.C. booked with free night from the IHG credit card.

Cancelled with full refund. Still have free night to use later.

2. Two nights booked at the Radisson Blu in Copenhagen with points.

Cancelled with full refund. 50,000 Club Carlson points returned for future use. I was able to book two nights for only 50,000 points because I have the Club Carlson Visa.

3. Two nights booked at a Radisson Blu in Stockholm with points.

Cancelled with full refund. This one was a little annoying to cancel, because for some reason I couldn’t do it online! I got in contact with the twitter team and they made it happen though. 50,000 Club Carlson points returned for future use. I was able to book two nights for only 50,000 points because I have the Club Carlson Visa.

3. Radisson Blu SkyCity at ARN (because of an early flight out on the way home) booked with a non-refundable rate for $135.21, refunded $138.22

Cancelled and refunded $138.22. This could probably use its own post, but is maybe not my proudest moment so I will stick it in here. First I tried to get them to refund the night (or give me a voucher for a future stay) because of medical reasons. They said no. Then I maybe pulled a little DYKWHA (Do You Know Who I Am?) about making a blog post about it. They said they couldn’t outright cancel it, but would give me the courtesy of letting me book a a night for some date in the future, and refunding me the originally booked rate. So, of course, I made a refundable reservation. I still currently have it booked and will continue to move it around until I know when I will be able to reschedule the trip for, and I will definitely stay at this hotel when I visit. Note, I actually made $3.01 on this booking because of the difference in exchange rate from booking until refund.

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Paid:

  • 1 IHG Free Anniversary Night from Credit Card
  • 100,000 Club Carlson Points
  • $135.21

Refunded:

  • 1 IHG Free Anniversary Night from Credit Card
  • 100,000 Club Carlson Points
  • $138.22

Net:

  • $3.01