More Airlines Are Issuing Waivers In Preparation for Hurricane Harvey
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With Hurricane Harvey increasing in strength, travel to Texas and parts of Louisiana may be affected severely. On Thursday, we alerted you to travel waivers from American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United. And today, even more airlines and travel companies are issuing waivers and notices for travel to the area.
Forecasters are saying that Harvey, which was originally Tropical Storm Harvey, will eventually become a Category 3 hurricane. Winds of 111 mph are expected by the time the hurricane makes landfall around Corpus Christi (CRP in the map of affected airports below) on late Friday, and the region is bracing for severe flooding.
Among the airlines issuing new waivers today include Alaska and Spirit. Virgin America tweeted that it's offering a travel waiver to Austin (AUS), however, its Travel Alerts page doesn't detail any waiver information.
If you're flying to/from the affected airports, you can take advantage of these change fee waivers to rebook yourself on a different date. Or, if you're just connecting through the area, you can use these change fee waivers to reroute yourself through different airports or on different dates.
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 6+ 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).
Alaska Airlines
- Travel dates: August 25-27
- Airports affected: Austin (AUS), Houston (IAH), San Antonio (SAT)
- Tickets purchased on/before: August 24
- Change fees and the difference in the price of the ticket if the new travel is booked to or from the affected cities in the same cabin and completed on or before September 3, 2017 is waived. You may request a refund if you choose not to travel at all. Tickets must be exchanged or refunded on or before August 28, 2017.
Spirit Airlines
- Travel dates: August 25-27
- Airports affected: Houston (IAH)
- Modification charge/fare difference waived through: August 30
- Customers can make changes to their reservations by going to the Manage Travel page or calling Spirit at 801-401-2222.
As of this writing, Houston's two airports are also bracing for Hurricane Harvey. While the airports (IAH and HOU) plan to remain open during the storm, severe delays and cancellations are expected. As of this writing, there have been 37 cancellations and 16 delays at IAH and 33 cancellations and 15 delays at HOU.
In addition to airlines offering travel waivers, other travel companies are doing their part in storm preparation. Airbnb is also waiving service fees and enabling hosts to list their places for free. In addition, Airbnb is allowing hosts to open their doors at no cost and still cover them with the company's insurance.
If you have travel planned to the region for the dates included in the waivers, it could be a good idea to change your plans. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a State of Disaster for 30 counties in anticipation of heavy damages, and residents are being encouraged to evacuate.
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