King's Ransom Airfare for June.

[Andrea J.]

We booked air on SWA using miles for our son, daughter in law and the boys to join us in Aruba in June when school lets out.
The miles, 144,000+ covered 1 way for the 4 of them and $$$$ covered the return. Yikes.
(All refundable so if the fares go on sale we can cancel and rebook)

On Tuesday we booked our air on AA from mid June to July 2 (flying home on a Saturday eeee gads)

We stay for 16 days and the kids stay for 8!

If you are planning Summer travel, keep an eye on the airfares and when you are comfortable, hit BUY.
Don't wait too long though.

[Alan r]

We booked air on SWA using miles for our son, daughter in law and the boys to join us in Aruba in June when school lets out.
The miles, 144,000+ covered 1 way for the 4 of them and $$$$ covered the return. Yikes.
(All refundable so if the fares go on sale we can cancel and rebook)

On Tuesday we booked our air on AA from mid June to July 2 (flying home on a Saturday eeee gads)

We stay for 16 days and the kids stay for 8!

If you are planning Summer travel, keep an eye on the airfares and when you are comfortable, hit BUY.
Don't wait too long though.

I would recommend keeping a eye on the southwest fares almost daily if you have the time. Many, many times southwest fares change before you take a flight that was booked in advance. We have put tens of thousands of point back into our accounts by rebooking when the fares drop, and it's very easy to do. You don't have to cancel flight, choose change flight and then pick the same flight. it will credit your account and you will keep the same confirmation number. We booked flights to Aruba a couple months ago when they first came out for travel at the end of February for 7 of us. One way from MKE-AUA was 34,000 points. They eventually dropped to 22,000 - rebooked. Then to 16,000- rebooked. Then 14,000- rebooked. We now have them way less than half of our original booking for a few minutes of out time.

[Andrea J.]

thanks Alan that is my plan!!!

I would recommend keeping a eye on the southwest fares almost daily if you have the time. Many, many times southwest fares change before you take a flight that was booked in advance. We have put tens of thousands of point back into our accounts by rebooking when the fares drop, and it's very easy to do. You don't have to cancel flight, choose change flight and then pick the same flight. it will credit your account and you will keep the same confirmation number. We booked flights to Aruba a couple months ago when they first came out for travel at the end of February for 7 of us. One way from MKE-AUA was 34,000 points. They eventually dropped to 22,000 - rebooked. Then to 16,000- rebooked. Then 14,000- rebooked. We now have them way less than half of our original booking for a few minutes of out time.

[hmitchell_travelplanner]

We are booked for June 5-12. I purchased airfare with United over a month ago, and fares have dropped $17 per person. Unfortunately, I did not book the fully refundable air, so boo to me! It will be interesting to see if prices dip down to where they usually are (pre-covid). I used to be able to fly non-stop from Houston for $430 round trip per person, but cost is now almost $200 more pp. I just won't tell my husband if the price dips down much more. He kept telling me to wait- but I just wanted to get it booked and taken care of.

[Pegmeister]

Out of curiosity I checked JetBlue from Boston for May as that’s when we usually go. It was in the range at $550 per person roundtrip, not including the fee for extra room. Prepandemic we paid anywhere from $450 to $685 for May.

[Carol386]

It see from some of the comments above that I should have booked refundable flights. Sadly, I did not. I do keep an eye on pricing and try to book at the best time. I’ve been vacationing in Aruba annually for more than 15 years. I hated to do it, but last week I canceled my January 9 trip. I have to be back at work and could not take the chance of having to stay longer in Aruba because of Covid or due to airline cancellations. I had booked my Business Class ticket using Amex points on American Airlines in June for travel this month. When I cancelled, the airline gave me a credit but says I must use the credit to TRAVEL by the date I bought the ticket. I don’t know that I’ll be ready to travel by June 2 and had hoped the airline will extend the time to use the credit. So far, all inquiries have met with “sorry, that is the policy.” Any suggestions on this? My friend had to cancel a Delta ticket and was told the same thing.

[WaltVB]

Welcome to the forum Carol386. If you bought tickets on points, they should be returned to your account once the trip is cancelled. Are you dealing with AMEX or AA when cancelling? Some light reading: Complete guide to changing or canceling American Airlines flights (thepointsguy.com) and COVID-19 Cancellation and Change Policies for Credit Card Travel Portals - NerdWallet

[Andrea J.]

welcome to the forum carol

trip insurance (over and above the aruba mandatory insurance may solve your issue.
if you cancel because you are sick, and have dr verification to prove it all monies refunded.
(I do not know about airline points. SWA refunds airline. points)

good luck and let us know how it all goes if you proceed further.

It see from some of the comments above that I should have booked refundable flights. Sadly, I did not. I do keep an eye on pricing and try to book at the best time. I’ve been vacationing in Aruba annually for more than 15 years. I hated to do it, but last week I canceled my January 9 trip. I have to be back at work and could not take the chance of having to stay longer in Aruba because of Covid or due to airline cancellations. I had booked my Business Class ticket using Amex points on American Airlines in June for travel this month. When I cancelled, the airline gave me a credit but says I must use the credit to TRAVEL by the date I bought the ticket. I don’t know that I’ll be ready to travel by June 2 and had hoped the airline will extend the time to use the credit. So far, all inquiries have met with “sorry, that is the policy.” Any suggestions on this? My friend had to cancel a Delta ticket and was told the same thing.

[stoney4555]

We purchased our business class tickets on United Nov. 2019 for travel to Aruba in March 2020. Well, since we cancelled United issued a credit. They then extended when the credit must be used by. We now have to book a trip by 03/31/22 with travel completed by 12/31/22. I guess it’s fair and we hope to book for March. I keep checking fares ( will have to add $$ ) and watching COVID #’s. I feel it’s a crap shoot right now.

[Pegmeister]

It see from some of the comments above that I should have booked refundable flights. Sadly, I did not. I do keep an eye on pricing and try to book at the best time. I’ve been vacationing in Aruba annually for more than 15 years. I hated to do it, but last week I canceled my January 9 trip. I have to be back at work and could not take the chance of having to stay longer in Aruba because of Covid or due to airline cancellations. I had booked my Business Class ticket using Amex points on American Airlines in June for travel this month. When I cancelled, the airline gave me a credit but says I must use the credit to TRAVEL by the date I bought the ticket. I don’t know that I’ll be ready to travel by June 2 and had hoped the airline will extend the time to use the credit. So far, all inquiries have met with “sorry, that is the policy.” Any suggestions on this? My friend had to cancel a Delta ticket and was told the same thing.

You should check with the airlines about your credit. Is it possible that you need to book something by the date rather than travel by the date? We use JetBlue and while their policy says credit is good for so many months, it just requires you to book something by that date for future travel.