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I could not believe my ears. The rep actually told me it would take up to one year until I get credit back to my credit card for my canceled flight.
One year!
Ugh.
A little back story on this one. I have an AeroMexico flight (well, had) that was departing around 3 PM. The flight was canceled and they rebooked me on one departing at — get this — around 1 AM. That was not gonna work and there were no other flights with open seats. (BTW, AeroMexico is somewhat known for their flight schedule changes. The good folks at Juicy Miles keep an eye on these for their clients.)
On the plus side, I was allowed to cancel and get a full refund.
The US Department of Transportation tells us that if you have a flight departing from the US and paid with a credit card the airline is required to get you your money back within 7 days.
That has not happened.
So I called AeroMexico back this week to see what was up. That is when the rep told me that there is no way I should have received my money back yet — and that it will take up to a full year to see the credit.
Sigh…
So what are my options to get this going faster and what hope do I have that anything I do will speed the refund process up? The Washington Post had a good article with some ideas. For example, Chris Elliott, maintains a page with contact numbers and addresses.
I have started a case but who knows if that will speed things up or not. I have a sinking feeling that I will not get a response for a very long time.
That leaves me with only a few choices left. I can file a complaint with the US DOT and see if that helps as well as start a chargeback with Amex but I would like to avoid the latter as I did buy the ticket and would rather just have AeroMexico give me the refund they have promised.
What do you think about all of this? Have you had something similar with AeroMexico or other airlines? Are you still waiting for money back? Have you found anything that speeds up the refund process more than others? Let me know! – René
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You can initiate the chargeback, then cancel it, then choose to reopen at a later date which can extend the standard dispute timeframe if it does end up taking a year.
@Leo – Interesting. Thanks!
many airlines have no assets at all. Many lease their aircraft. Banks, who control most if not all credit card transactions, are not going to refund anyone, unless they get funds back first.
I did a chargeback in April of 2020 with Aeromexico on a canceled flight. They fought and fought it, and Amex basically didn’t care. I kept citing the law in Mexico and USA and Aeromexico kept saying “no” and Amex finally said “okay, well I guess we can’t do anything.” Super frustrating since clearly Aeromexico/Delta/Amex have a relationship that is important than my dispute.
Airlines look only after themselves. Don’t believe me.. look at their conditions of carriage. Don’t forget airlines have gotten tax payer bailouts. Sorry, not sorry, the knife cuts both ways… CHARGEBACK!
Initiating a complaint with the DOT AND request a chargeback. That got me my money back with Skyteam partner Air France when they refused to refund.
I booked 2 tickets and cancelled under 24 hrs. I had to call to cancel and specifically asked to cancel under the 24 hr rule. The agent confirmed I was eligible and told me the same thing-it could take up to a year to receive the refund. Did I still want to cancel? I said yes under the 24 hr rule and I wanted a refund. I received the cancel confirmation noting the 24 hr rule. No refund! Called again and was told it would credit 1 year from the date of purchase. I disputed the charges with my credit card company and filed a DOT complaint. AM responded to the DOT complaint with their covid cancellation policy which does state it will be a year to receive your refund. I sent them back an email detailing the DOT 24 hr and told them I expected a prompt refund. Not a word since. I have 3 weeks left on my credit dispute.
I bet it was JFK to Quito. I have the exact same thing going on. Departure time totally different. Arrival in Quito 18 hours later than planned for a mileage-run/short getaway. Same response for AeroMexico via Expedia (who claims no responsibility). Same plan of action….dispute with AmEx.
I had two similar experiences earlier this year with AM, and I was successful getting money back with AmEx chargebacks. One of these was for a cancellation within 24 hours of booking, and I was told that it could take up to a year for a refund. The other was for a change fee that was imposed when I needed to make a change – twice – to a reservation within 24 hours of booking. The first change was free, but the second cost something like $200. I wasn’t informed of the change fee until after the agent made the change, and he said he couldn’t reverse the change. I could find no notice on AM’s site that only one change to a ticket is free.
In both cases, disputes were resolved in my favor with no argument from AM – apparently.
I flew the first half, then Amex canceled my return — in April of 2020. They kept disputing, though I couldn’t figure out how much to dispute since I was happily willing to pay for the flight they didn’t cancel. I finally lost because Aeromexico kept saying “he flew the outbound” and I kept saying “here’s the law, and you canceled the return.” I finally just ate the cost because Amex didn’t really seem to advocate for me. Good luck w/ that chargeback…