How to get $ back from American Airlines Vac. & Couples?

[rwray11@cox.net]

Can any of you frequent travelers give me advice as to how to get my money back? We had to cancel a 25th Wedding Anniversary trip to Jamaica due to a sudden surgery by my husband. We purchased the trip insurance in advance and thought that was all we had to do. Well our January 14 trip has still not been refunded from American Airline Vacations and it is April 20. I've contacted them every week since February 27 and hear the same thing from them, "your file is under review and we will get back to you." I told them that if they didn't return my $ I would post on every website I could think of their customer service policy.

[saskgoddess]

I cant help you much with this problem but one thing I have learned is to buy cancellation and travel insurance through secondary company like CAA or your credit card company, then they will help you fight and usually win with much faster results. the airline is obligated to offer you the insurance but not forcered to pay it out in any amount of time that we would call reasonable.

[kirbychristian]

The lesson here, which unfortunately you've discovered, is that not all trip insurance is created equal. A good trip insurance company should be handling your refund for you. I had purchased trip insurance for a trip last Thanksgiving; the hotel turned out to be a nightmare and I contacted my "insurance" company who said there was nothing they could do because the trip was already started...they could ask the hotel if they would refund my money but I had to check out first and it would be up to the hotel. So I might have wound up with nothing...no place to stay, no refund...and it cost me $40 for a 3 minute call to get this information, by the way! (I decided to deal directly with the hotel and did wind up getting mored to a more habitable location) I learned that you have to read those million page documents that come with the insurance policy and understand exactly what you are getting before you purchase the insurance.
Now, none of the above information helps you now, so my advice: if you booked your trip through a travel agent, see if you can have the agent write a letter. If you booked online, you will have a more difficult time getting resolution (the incident I mentioned above was booked with an online trip booker and it was their insurance that fell flat and they were absolutely no help). Good Luck!

[Tricia]

As an attorney, I can advise you to consult one! It may just take a letter from an attorney to get your issue resolved.