Airlines, cruises and tours waive change and cancellation fees due to coronavirus [Updated]

Qantas, Virgin Australia, Royal Caribbean and Contiki are among those letting you change your travel plans for free.

International travel restrictions are tightening by the day. So far, the government has enforced a 14-day self-isolation policy for overseas arrivals and has upgraded all destinations to "do not travel".

It's also calling for all citizens and permanent residents to return to Australia as soon as possible. From 9pm on 20 March, all non-residents and non-citizens were denied entry into the country. A domestic travel ban has been put into place with some states and territories enforcing a 14 day-self isolation policy on all non-essential entrants.

With borders closing rapidly and airlines are planning to ground both international and domestic flights.

Of the Australian airlines:

• Virgin Australia: From 31 March to 14 June 2020 all international flights are temporarily suspended. Domestic flights have been reduced.
• Qantas and Jetstar: 31 March - 31 May, all regularly scheduled international flights are temporarily suspended. Domestic flights are also being reduced for the same dates.
• Tigerair: As of 5 August 2020, Tigerair Australia has unfortunately been discontinued. If you had an existing flight booked, you'll be given a credit for Virgin Australia.

In response to these drastic changes, travel companies are easing the stress of travel and lost finances by offering penalty-free changes and cancellations on upcoming trips.

Mind you, when they say cancellations, this doesn't necessarily mean refunds. More likely, they're providing flight credit to be used within 12 months of issue. This is similar to their fee-free change waivers, only you'll have a voucher that lets you to rebook rather than having to rebook on-site or through your booking agent.

Qantas and Jetstar passengers that are impacted by the cancellations will be contacted with recovery options, including travel credit to the full value of the untravelled journey. You can also cancel or reschedule your flight online.

Virgin Australia established an online booking cancellation request form for any guests travelling before 30 June 2020 wishing to cancel for travel credit.

All this is in line with the ACCC advice on event and travel cancellation due to COVID-19. Provided on 18 March 2020 it states: "If events, flights or other travel services such as cruises are cancelled, the ACCC expects refunds or other remedy such as a credit note or voucher will be offered in most circumstances.

"However, if the event, flight or travel service is cancelled due to government restrictions, consumer rights under the consumer guarantees may be impacted. In these situations consumers may be entitled to a refund under the terms and conditions of their ticket, or potentially may make a claim under a travel insurance policy."

Of the airlines that depart our shores, Emirates, Qatar, Air New Zealand, Etihad, United Airlines, American Airlines, LATAM, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Scoot are all offering some level of flexibility.

Cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruises are letting cruisers cancel for a full future cruise credit (FCC). For Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Silversea, MSC, Holland America Line, Regent Seven Seas and Celebrity Cruises, this is valid 48 hours prior to departure.

Of the tour companies, Contiki, Trafalgar and Topdeck are among many allowing fee-free reschedules.

Flights

Under the new policies, travel booked in the near future may be eligible for date or destination changes. Cancellation for travel credit is also available for some airlines.

Changes and credit are typically valid for a year from the ticket issue date with Qatar, Qantas and Virgin Australia.

If you're changing your flight, your new travel plans must be for the same booking class and must be made at least a few days in advance of the date of your flight. Generally, you'll only be given one change per booking. The exception is with Air New Zealand, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines, where the change penalties are waived regardless of the number of changes made.

While you'll avoid change fees or ticket reissue fees, you won't be able to avoid price difference charges if your flight costs more for the new date or if you're upgrading your flight class.

If your new flight costs less than what you originally paid, no refund of the difference will be given either.

Domestic and international flight services with Qantas and Jetstar have been cut by up to 95%. As at 5 May, the majority of domestic and trans-Tasman flights are suspended until end-June while international services are suspended until end-July.

If your service is cut you'll be contacted by the airline for options to either reschedule or cancel, likely for a travel credit voucher.

Booked through an online travel agent? You'll likely be able to cancel or amend your booking as well. As at 3 May all Flight Centre bookings, including those with Aunt Betty, Travel Associates, Student Universe, Universal Traveller and Jetescape Travel (Byojet Travel) cancelled due to COVID-19 will be refunded without penalty.

Any future travel booked with a travel agent will however be subject to its terms and conditions.

For example, Expedia was offering penalty-free cancellations on full-service flights scheduled to depart before 30 April 2020. These could be refunded in the form of credit with the airline. There's no details yet on whether these flexibile cancellations will continue for future bookings. Check the Expedia Customer Support Portal for more details.

A breakdown of each airline's conditions

Cruises

On 15 March, Prime Minister Scott Morrison banned cruise ships that had sailed from foreign ports from docking in Australia for 30 days.

Since then the ban has been extended until 17 September. In compliance, luxury liners including P&O and Carnival Cruises have suspended their operations until 2 December.

Travellers who are impacted by these cancellations are being compensated with future cruise credit. This can be used on cruises as far into the future as 2022.

Bookings for travel beyond the suspension dates are still available, and many fee waivers are still in place. This means that some future bookings can be cancelled up to 48 hours prior to sailing. And if you choose to rebook, generally, any decrease in price will be refunded to the traveller in the form of credit. If the new cruise cost is higher, travellers will have to pay the difference.

A breakdown of each cruise liner's conditions

See here for a full list of cruises, their suspension dates and change or refund options.

Tours

Worldwide, tours tour companies have cancelled and rescheduled many of their expeditions. However, the effect this has had on cancellation and rescheduling policies has been minimal.

Of note, Contiki has announced flexible deposits and no change fees when you cancel at least 30 days before departure. Your deposit will be held as credit to use on future trips. If Contiki cancels the trip you'll be offered a credit. If you booked your trip before 8 April however, you may be eligible for a refund.

Trafalgar has suspended all journeys up until 30 November 2020 with monies paid toward cancelled trips reimbursed as future credit. The tour company has issued a temporary fee-free cancellation policy for bookings departing from December 2020. Cancellations must be made 30 days before departure and are on land journeys. An exception is New Zealand road trips which recommence on 1 November 2020.

Intrepid has cancelled all tours until 30 September and has issued travel credits for anyone booked on these. If your tour departs on after 30 September June, you can cancel or delay it and travel anytime before 30 September 2022.

Topdeck has similarly offering credit for any cancelled tours, either on their part of yours. This credit includes an additional $100 and must be used by December 2021.

To stamp out the spread of coronavirus, G Adventures, Intrepid and Topdeck are among those who have suspended all or most of their tours until 30 September. Those booked on affected tours will not be given a refund. Instead, travel credit will be given to customers to use on future tours.

A breakdown of each tour company's conditions

These cancellation and change waivers are temporary and can be removed or altered at any time, particularly as the COVID-19 situation evolves. They are for direct bookings, so travel agencies may have varying policies.

Hotels

Although many hotels allow you to cancel for free, this is usually for select bookings only. Typically, you'll find non-refundable bookings have the cheapest rates. In light of the pandemic, hotels and homeshare are now offering more flexible arrangements for anyone who purchased a non-refundable stay.

For example, the Marriott allowed fee-free changes or cancellations on existing pre-paid bookings made before 30 June 2020. It's since updated this to include new reservations made on or after 6 July for arrivals until 30 September. Changes can be made 24 hours in advance.

Hilton is waiving cancellation and change fees on bookings made before 12 March for arrivals no later than 31 August 2020. This must be done at least 24 hours prior to arrival.

On 14 March, Airbnb activated an extenuating circumstances policy that allows fee-free cancellations on experiences and stays. Eligible bookings must have a check-in date between 14 March and 14 April, and the policy is valid for trips worldwide, excluding domestic travel in mainland China, which is due to resume from 1 April.

Something to keep in mind is that these penalty-free cancellations are available for both guests and hosts. So if you're planning on staying in an Airbnb, it's a good idea to contact your host to confirm that the booking still remains.

Online booking agent Expedia is allowing customers booked on non-redundable rates before 19 March 2020 the ability to cancel their stay in exchange for a refund or travel voucher. Stays must have been between 20 March - 30 April 2020. Non-refundable stays after 30 April aren't currently available for free cancellations however this may change as the crisis evolves.

Before you book any kind of trip, be sure to verse yourself on the terms and conditions, and check Smartraveller for updates and travel advice on your destination.

Even though coronavirus is now a known event and you won't be covered for any COVID-19 related incidences, it is still worth considering travel insurance for your future trip. If you decide to delay or alter your itinerary, it is possible to update your policy with the new dates, provided you haven't started your trip yet.

This story was updated on 27 October 2020 with cancellation fee waiver date changes on P&O Cruises.

Picture: GettyImages