Getting Screwed by Hawaiian Airlines, 101

[CalGalTraveler]

Glad this worked out for you and that DOT did the right thing. We only used HA for inter-island and I always thought they overcharged for such flights and then charged for baggage fees on top of that. I hope Southwest stays in Hawaii for the long haul.

 

[bnoble]

You might look to see if that six hour wording is a recent change. If it was different when you bought your ticket, the other interval is the one you could argue for. Check FlyerTalk maybe?

Hawaiian changed their definition of a "canceled "flight April 21, so if you purchased your tickets before that date, the old rule applies.

I'm glad that turned out to be the case.

 

[csodjd]

I'm glad that turned out to be the case.

Thx. Of course, it is only because the DOT is twisting arms and threatening them. And I have not called yet to see if HA is complying! I've never been impressed when someone does the "right thing" only because they were forced to. I always taught my kids that they should do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and that's all the reason needed.

 

[LisaH]

Glad it has worked out in your favor. I have canceled both United and Delta flights and in all cases, a credit is due for the full amount. I am OK with that since I am sure that I will fly with them once the quarantine is over. Just keep my fingers crossed that these airlines won't go belly up before my credits are used up.

 

[brianfox]

I just cancelled a HA flight that was purchased in an entirely different manner. Hoping I don't run into any problems.

Purchased in February using Hawaiian Miles for travel June 29, 2020. Four one-way tickets purchased for a total of 105,000 miles.
Paid obligatory taxes ($22.50) and upgraded to Extra Comfort (4 seats - $320)
Also paid for Allianz insurance, which of course is not Cancel for any Reason, so I will attempt to cancel that policy separately.

Chatted with Hawaiian online - very quick response.
Because my ticket was purchased before March 1, it is NOT eligible for a Covid19 Waiver.
They said they could cancel the flight for free, but any rebooking I did would have to be at the same mileage value per seat. Meaning 26,250 points or lower.
Rebooking could take place even into 2022.
But I am assuming mileage points will be devalued as a result of this whole lockdown mess, and any seat would cost more miles.
They said I would NOT be able to add extra miles to rebook, which really sucked.
So I asked if I had the option to cancel flight and redeposit points for a fee.
They said it would cost $150 for the entire itinerary to redeposit points. I triple asked that it wouldn't be $150 per passenger.
I took them up on it, and for the $150 I will supposedly:

• Have 105,000 points added back to my account
• Receive a refund of $22.50 for taxes
• Receive a refund of $320 for the seat upgrade (I honestly thought that was gone with the wind)

Really hoping this works out well. Will post update when it happens.
$150 is worth this hassle, especially because I never expected to get the seat upgrade money back.
Even if I get the points back and "all goes well", hoping HA doesn't go out of business, thus erasing my points.

 

[Tamaradarann]

I just cancelled a HA flight that was purchased in an entirely different manner. Hoping I don't run into any problems.

Purchased in February using Hawaiian Miles for travel June 29, 2020. Four one-way tickets purchased for a total of 105,000 miles.
Paid obligatory taxes ($22.50) and upgraded to Extra Comfort (4 seats - $320)
Also paid for Allianz insurance, which of course is not Cancel for any Reason, so I will attempt to cancel that policy separately.

Chatted with Hawaiian online - very quick response.
Because my ticket was purchased before March 1, it is NOT eligible for a Covid19 Waiver.
They said they could cancel the flight for free, but any rebooking I did would have to be at the same mileage value per seat. Meaning 26,250 points or lower.
Rebooking could take place even into 2022.
But I am assuming mileage points will be devalued as a result of this whole lockdown mess, and any seat would cost more miles.
They said I would NOT be able to add extra miles to rebook, which really sucked.
So I asked if I had the option to cancel flight and redeposit points for a fee.
They said it would cost $150 for the entire itinerary to redeposit points. I triple asked that it wouldn't be $150 per passenger.
I took them up on it, and for the $150 I will supposedly:

• Have 105,000 points added back to my account
• Receive a refund of $22.50 for taxes
• Receive a refund of $320 for the seat upgrade (I honestly thought that was gone with the wind)

Really hoping this works out well. Will post update when it happens.
$150 is worth this hassle, especially because I never expected to get the seat upgrade money back.
Even if I get the points back and "all goes well", hoping HA doesn't go out of business, thus erasing my points.

I asked for a refund in early April for a May 13 flight for my husband and I from Lihue to JFK that Hawaiian Airlines cancelled. I received an e-mail about a week ago saying that my 52,000 points will be restored and my account credited with the 11.25 + $320 for the seat upgrades.

However, now I am seeing that if I used my credited points to book a flight for two next year from Honolulu to JFK it will cost more than the 52,000 points. So perhaps I should have taken a credit. Of course if Hawaiian goes out of business a credit would be worthless so maybe the cash is King.

 

[csodjd]

They gave me points back without any fight. But, TODAY, STILL, Hawaiian refuses to comply with the DOT orders, even the latest orders, and they are refusing to provide me a refund for my flights purchased last year for May of this year. I cited the DOT orders and rulings. I gave a link to the DOT document. No luck. The "Chat" customer "service" person refused a refund and said I'd have to email HA and take it up with them. And this is after all the bad PR they are getting.

This is what the DOT says: "The Aviation Enforcement Office would consider a practice of retroactively applying a new definition of cancellation or significant change that disadvantages passengers who purchased tickets under a more generous cancellation or significant change definition to be unfair and deceptive."

My tickets were purchased in October. On April 24 I believe it is they changed their policy. But they won't budge. I've emailed their next level up, including a highlighted copy of the DOT enforcement (attached). We'll see. I'm not optimistic that a bad customer service airline will change its tune.

 

[dioxide45]

They gave me points back without any fight. But, TODAY, STILL, Hawaiian refuses to comply with the DOT orders, even the latest orders, and they are refusing to provide me a refund for my flights purchased last year for May of this year. I cited the DOT orders and rulings. I gave a link to the DOT document. No luck. The "Chat" customer "service" person refused a refund and said I'd have to email HA and take it up with them. And this is after all the bad PR they are getting.

This is what the DOT says: "The Aviation Enforcement Office would consider a practice of retroactively applying a new definition of cancellation or significant change that disadvantages passengers who purchased tickets under a more generous cancellation or significant change definition to be unfair and deceptive."

My tickets were purchased in October. On April 24 I believe it is they changed their policy. But they won't budge. I've emailed their next level up, including a highlighted copy of the DOT enforcement (attached). We'll see. I'm not optimistic that a bad customer service airline will change its tune.

Have you opened a complaint with DOT.

 

[ba2471]

did/does southwest airlines fly inter-island?

 

[Luanne]

did/does southwest airlines fly inter-island?

Yes SW has inter-island flights.

 

[ba2471]

thank you. Will plan on that.

 

[csodjd]

Have you opened a complaint with DOT.

Yes. And I'll probably file a follow-up complaint since even after the latest DOT notice they are still doing it.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Looks like Hawaiian is finding more ways to tighten their belt:

 

[dioxide45]

Looks like Hawaiian is finding more ways to tighten their belt:

View attachment 20864

I have noticed a lot of companies pulling out of online "malls" like the Rapid Rewards Shopping and United Shopping. Best Buy used to be in them all. Along with Bed Bath & Beyond. Some others. Now those aren't in any of these malls. I think it is just another way of saving advertising dollars.

 

[bnoble]

It's also a way to preserve cash. The airlines have to pay cash money for things you buy with points in one of those marketplaces.

 

[dioxide45]

It's also a way to preserve cash. The airlines have to pay cash money for things you buy with points in one of those marketplaces.

I think the Hawaiian Airlines online mall is just a shopping portal where you shop at everyday online retailers and earn Hawaiian Airline miles in their program. Marriott had a portal many years ago and dumped it. Others like United, American, Southwest all have similar portals. Kind of like Ebates (some different stupid name now), which you earned cash back instead of points.

It doesn't sound like they are doing away with purchasing merchandise with points. Not sure if they ever had that.

 

[dioxide45]

These portals are actually a way to make money for the points programs. They sell the points to the vendor who gives them out to people who buy through their portal. The portal makes money by earning a commission % from all the retailers they sign up.

I suspect this decision to discontinue the mall is actually independent of COVID. Perhaps a decision was made months ago. Perhaps they were coming up on the end of their contract with whichever vendor they use to support the mall and couldn't come to a new agreement. Perhaps they wanted to charge more for the miles that they sold and the vendor balked. WHo knows. I suspect the margins are slim on the miles they sell with these partnerships and coming to a new agreement didn't happen.

 

[brianfox]

UPDATE:
Everything went well.

The date I spoke with HA and paid the $150 was 5/16

• 105,000 miles redeposited to my account - 5/22
• $22.50 in taxes refunded to CC - 5/22
• $320 seat upgrade refunded to CC - 6/2

Purchased in February using Hawaiian Miles for travel June 29, 2020. Four one-way tickets purchased for a total of 105,000 miles.
Paid obligatory taxes ($22.50) and upgraded to Extra Comfort (4 seats - $320)
Also paid for Allianz insurance, which of course is not Cancel for any Reason, so I will attempt to cancel that policy separately.

Chatted with Hawaiian online - very quick response.
Because my ticket was purchased before March 1, it is NOT eligible for a Covid19 Waiver.
They said they could cancel the flight for free, but any rebooking I did would have to be at the same mileage value per seat. Meaning 26,250 points or lower.
Rebooking could take place even into 2022.
But I am assuming mileage points will be devalued as a result of this whole lockdown mess, and any seat would cost more miles.
They said I would NOT be able to add extra miles to rebook, which really sucked.
So I asked if I had the option to cancel flight and redeposit points for a fee.
They said it would cost $150 for the entire itinerary to redeposit points. I triple asked that it wouldn't be $150 per passenger.
I took them up on it, and for the $150 I will supposedly:

• Have 105,000 points added back to my account
• Receive a refund of $22.50 for taxes
• Receive a refund of $320 for the seat upgrade (I honestly thought that was gone with the wind)

Really hoping this works out well. Will post update when it happens.
$150 is worth this hassle, especially because I never expected to get the seat upgrade money back.
Even if I get the points back and "all goes well", hoping HA doesn't go out of business, thus erasing my points.

 

[maui-or-bust]

UPDATE:
Everything went well.

The date I spoke with HA and paid the $150 was 5/16

• 105,000 miles redeposited to my account - 5/22
• $22.50 in taxes refunded to CC - 5/22
• $320 seat upgrade refunded to CC - 6/2

Basically same for me . A buddy and I sent this to customer_advocate@hawaiianair.com :
Description:
On the advice of our doctor, my wife and I are unable to travel this summer due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I’ve spoken to Hawaiian Airlines customer service department regarding our cancellation options. The first option is to receive vouchers for my wife and I, good until May 31, 2022. We can only use the vouchers for the same amount of points as our current reservation. This is not acceptable due to me making the reservation at a special point rate. This restriction makes it impossible to book the same flight at a later date. The second option is to return all of the points back to my Hawaiian Airlines account. However, I was told I would be charged a cancellation fee of $150. This too is unacceptable.

Response:
We apologize for the delayed response - as you can imagine, we're seeing unprecedented levels of contacts during this time.

As a one-time courtesy, we will redeposit the HawaiianMiles used to pay for your award tickets waiving the normal redeposit fees. Please allow up to 14 business days for these miles to be posted to your account.

We're also refunding your Extra Comfort fees of $356 (total). The refund will be credited to the original form of payment, credit cards ending in---- and ----. This transaction should appear on your next credit statement or the one thereafter. Please note, due to the overwhelming amount of refund requests there may be a delay in receiving your refund and miles. We certainly appreciate your patience in this matter.

Took about a week , All is fine. With a little persistence.
I always say: " You have to ASK to GET"
Sometimes more than once.
John

 

[csodjd]

It is sad, however, that they hide the good customer service behind the wall of a customer service department that will not help you get that refund. That, to me, is deceptive and not good customer service. Moreover, I suspect the reason you got it done as "easily" as that is because the DOT has come down on them along with multiple news reports, TPG, etc. Good customer service would empower the person you first spoke to to do what you eventually got done by being persistent.