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Winter Storm Blankets US With Ice and Snow, Canceling and Delaying Flights
JT is a location-independent digital nomad traveling 250,000+ miles each year with his wife Katie.
January 16, 2018 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
A major winter storm is causing widespread flight cancellations and delays, especially in Texas, with impacts expected to spread across the eastern US.
Airlines have issued travel waivers allowing affected travelers to reschedule flights without standard change fees, though specific rules and covered dates vary by carrier and region.
Travelers should note that airlines are not responsible for meals or hotels during weather-related disruptions, but some travel cards may offer reimbursement for such expenses.
Some offers or policies mentioned in the article may no longer be available.
What to consider
Eligibility for waivers typically requires tickets to have been purchased by a certain date and rescheduled travel to occur within a specified window.
Waivers often restrict changes to the same origin and destination cities and may require rebooking in the same cabin, with fare differences potentially applying.
Travelers should check each airline's specific waiver terms, as some allow changes to city pairs or extended rebooking periods.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of each airline's waiver policies, covered airports, and important deadlines for rescheduling or canceling affected flights.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
It seems every day we have another winter storm snarling air travel, and Tuesday and Wednesday are shaping up to be no exception. The winter storm — nicknamed "Inga" by The Weather Channel — is causing major travel headaches in Texas by depositing a thick layer of ice on roads, and airplane wings.
Affects will spread east as the band of winter weather sweeps across the eastern US:
FlightAware's records already show IAH accounting for 502 of the 702 US flight cancellations so far Tuesday. However, we can expect both numbers to increase through Tuesday and into Wednesday as the winter storm moves eastward. So, airlines have issued travel waivers for Tuesday and Wednesday from Texas all the way up to Maine.
Remember, if you can’t delay your itinerary, airlines aren’t going to be responsible for paying for your meals or hotels in the case of weather-related delays/cancellations. But some top cards have flight delay/cancellation insurance that can reimburse you for weather issues, including the Citi Prestige ($500 per passenger for 3+ hour delay), the Chase Sapphire Reserve ($500 per ticket for 6+ hour or overnight delay) and Chase Sapphire Preferred ($500 per ticket for 12+ hour or overnight delay).
As of 9am Eastern, the following airlines have released weather waivers for this storm:
Rebooked travel must begin no later than: January 20
When rescheduled travel occurs beyond January 20, the change fee will be waived. However, a difference in fare may apply. Final travel must be completed by end of ticket validity, one year from date of original issue.
If travel is not able to be rescheduled within these guidelines, customers may cancel their reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance. Applicable change fee and fare difference will apply for new travel dates.
Customers who purchased tickets on or before Monday, January 15, may make one itinerary change – rules/restrictions regarding standard change fees, advance purchase, day or time applications, blackouts, and minimum or maximum stay requirements will be waived.
Travel must be completed no later than Monday, January 29.
Airports covered: Austin (AUS); Dallas (DAL); San Antonio (SAT)
Travel date: January 16-17
Airport covered: Houston (HOU)
Customers who are holding reservations at the times indicated above, and want to alter their travel plans may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city-pairs and in accordance with Southwest's accommodation procedures) without paying any additional charge.
Airports covered: Houston, TX (IAH) and Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (DFW)
Modification Charge/Fare Difference waived through: January 20
After this date, the modification charge is waived, but a fare difference may apply.
Customers can make changes to their reservations affected by this event by going to Spirit's Manage Travel page, or by calling the Spirit Reservations Center at 801-401-2222 to make their flight changes. To make changes to Spirit Vacation packages contact Spirit Vacations at 954-698-0125.
The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new United flights departing on or before January 20, as long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed.
Airports covered: Albany, New York (ALB); Bangor, Maine (BGR); Boston, Massachusetts (BOS); Burlington, Vermont (BTV); Hartford, Connecticut (BDL); Islip, New York (ISP); Manchester, New Hampshire (MHT); Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts (MVY); New Haven, Connecticut (HVN); New York Kennedy, New York (JFK); New York LaGuardia, New York (LGA); Newark, New Jersey (EWR); Portland, Maine (PWM); Providence, Rhode Island (PVD); Stewart Newburgh, New York (SWF); White Plains / Westchester County, New York (HPN)
Rebook travel between January 15-20
Must have purchased your ticket by January 15
You can't change your origin or destination city, and you must rebook in the same cabin or pay a fare difference.
Airports covered: Boston, MA (BOS); Hartford, CT (BDL); New York – Kennedy, NY (JFK); New York – LaGuardia, NY (LGA); Newark, NJ (EWR); Newburgh, NY (SWF); Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Providence, RI (PVD); White Plains, NY (HPN)
Ticket must be reissued on or before: January 20
Rebooked travel must begin no later than: January 20
When rescheduled travel occurs beyond January 20, the change fee will be waived. However, a difference in fare may apply. Final travel must be completed by end of ticket validity, one year from date of original issue.
If travel is not able to be rescheduled within these guidelines, customers may cancel their reservation and apply any unused value of the ticket toward the purchase of a new ticket for a period of one year from the original ticket issuance. Applicable change fee and fare difference will apply for new travel dates.
Airports covered: New York Islip/MacArthur, NY (ISP); New York LaGuardia, NY (LGA); Providence, RI (PVD); Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Trenton, NJ (TTN)
Customers who purchased tickets on or before Monday, January 15, may make one itinerary change – rules/restrictions regarding standard change fees, advance purchase, day or time applications, blackouts, and minimum or maximum stay requirements will be waived.
Travel must be completed no later than Monday, January 29.
Airports covered: Boston (BOS); Hartford/Bradley (BDL); Long Island — Islip (ISP); Manchester (MHT); New York — LaGuardia (LGA); Newark (EWR); Philadelphia (PHL); Portland (PWM); Providence (PVD)
Customers who are holding reservations at the times indicated above, and want to alter their travel plans may rebook in the original class of service or travel standby (within 14 days of their original date of travel between the original city-pairs and in accordance with Southwest's accommodation procedures) without paying any additional charge.
Airports covered: Boston, MA (BOS); Burlington, VT (BTV); Hartford, CT (BDL); Manchester, NH (MHT); New York/Newark, NJ (EWR); New York-Kennedy, NY (JFK); New York-LaGuardia, NY (LGA); Philadelphia, PA (PHL); Portland, ME (PWM); Providence, RI (PVD); White Plains, NY (HPN)
The change fee and any difference in fare will be waived for new United flights departing on or before January 20, as long as travel is rescheduled in the originally ticketed cabin (any fare class) and between the same cities as originally ticketed.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
