MSE News
Coronavirus Travel Rights
Holiday refunds, what lockdown restrictions mean and travel insurance help
Holidays are currently banned for those living in much of the UK due to tough lockdown rules. And while it's hoped that travel will resume later this year, the Government's said overseas holidays won't restart until 17 May at the earliest. Amid the turmoil, we answer your questions on travel insurance, cancellations, refunds and more.
Important: This is a fast-changing situation. The info below is the best we have currently, but we'll be updating this guide. If you've a question that isn't covered below, please let us know at news@moneysavingexpert.com (though unfortunately we can't respond to every email).
Looking for other help? This guide focuses on travel, but also see:
- Coronavirus employees' help for the latest on the furlough scheme.
- Coronavirus self-employed help for the latest on support schemes.
- Coronavirus universal credit & benefits for info on help available.
- Coronavirus finance & bills for help with mortgages, rent, debts and bills.
- Coronavirus life in lockdown for help with shopping, weddings, MOTs etc.
Plus we've specific info on: Wedding cancellation rights & WFH tax reclaiming
Holidays are now banned outright for many in the UK, thanks to tough lockdown restrictions - to find out what rules apply in a given area, see the following Government websites for: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In addition, some countries have also put a blanket ban on Brits visiting.
The key in both situations is often whether your travel provider has cancelled your booking. If it has, full refunds will largely be due. If it hasn't, but you can't travel (due to lockdown restrictions, for example) or no longer want to travel, it's less clear-cut.
You can jump to your refund rights if your trip is cancelled or your refund rights if you can't, or no longer want to, go away – or read on.
Separately, all UK residents arriving in or returning to the UK from overseas now need to quarantine for 10 days on arrival and negative coronavirus test results also need to be submitted. Some arriving from countries deemed a high coronavirus risk must also undergo an expensive 10-day compulsory hotel quarantine.
But even when the Government does say it's okay to go abroad, there's no guarantee your destination will let you in and there's still a huge amount of uncertainty. So before booking anything it's crucial to fully understand the financial risk. Last year, when overseas travel restarted and was then curtailed again, we sadly saw many lose out because they had non-refundable bookings. So if you are determined to book, make sure you're fully aware of and comfortable with the risk and book flexibly wherever possible.
England: Self-contained holiday lets now open and overseas travel could be allowed from 17 May
When it comes to domestic holidays in England, self-contained accommodation for single households reopened on 12 April. This includes campsites, caravans, boats, and second homes. Hotels, as well as holiday lets for multiple households, are scheduled to reopen on 17 May as long as certain coronavirus criteria are met.
You no longer need a reasonable excuse to leave England to travel to other parts of the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland - but this does rely on the rules in these regions allowing people from England to enter.
Travel overseas is mostly banned except where you have a valid reason to do so (see below for more on the requirements in place if you are allowed to travel at present). The Government has said international holidays for those in England could resume from 17 May, although a final decision will be made on this by 10 May. When overseas holidays are allowed, countries will be placed in one of three categories:
- Green countries - you'll be tested but there's no quarantine: When travelling back to England you'll need to take a pre-departure test as well as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on or before day two of your arrival back into the UK. But you won't need to quarantine on return (unless you receive a positive result) or take any additional tests.
- Amber countries - you'll face an additional test and must self-isolate: When travelling back to England you'll need to take a pre-departure test and a PCR test on day two and day eight after arriving. You'll also need to self-isolate for 10 days after arrival - this can be at home, and you may be able to end self-isolation early on day five if you take an additional test on day five.
- Red countries - you'll be tested and must pay to quarantine in a hotel: When travelling back to England you'll be tested pre-departure and must have a PCR test on day two and eight. But you'll also have to undergo 10 days of managed quarantine in a hotel, which may be pricey. (Currently, in England arriving single adult travellers are charged £1,750 for their stay.)
Arrivals travelling from red list countries will have to book a quarantine package before departure, while arrivals from amber and green countries will be required to book test packages before travelling from one of the Government’s approved list of providers.
The Government says it will set out by 10 May which countries will fall into which category. This will be based on factors including the percentage of the country's population which has been vaccinated, the rate of infection, the prevalence of variants of concern, and the country’s access to reliable scientific data. A green watchlist will also be introduced to help identify countries most at risk of moving from green to amber.
The Government adds that its restrictions will be formally reviewed on 28 June and then again no later than 31 July and 1 October, although the Government has also said it "will not hesitate to act immediately" should the data show that countries risk ratings have changed.
Scotland: Holiday lets to reopen from 26 April, but no news on overseas travel
In Scotland, a ‘stay at home’ requirement was lifted on 2 April and replaced with a ‘stay local’ message. This has now also been lifted as of 16 April – so you can travel anywhere within Scotland for outdoor socialising, recreation, or informal exercise. Travel around the mainland for holidays will be allowed from 26 April, while holiday lets and hotels are planned to reopen from the same date in line with rules on indoor gatherings.
It is currently illegal to leave (or enter) Scotland unless you have a reasonable excuse but this will be lifted from 26 April for travel to England and Wales. Travel to Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands is still under review. It's also unclear at this stage when overseas travel may be allowed, although the Scottish Government says it hopes to agree rules on a four nations basis.
Wales: Holiday lets now open, but no set date for overseas travel
In Wales, as of 12 April, residents are allowed to travel around the country and to the 'Common Travel Area (CTA)' of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland - provided those regions allow entry.
Meanwhile, self-contained holiday accommodation in Wales, including hotels with en-suite facilities and room service (or that aren't serving food), were able to reopen to people from the same household or support bubble from 27 March. The Welsh Government is yet to confirm when further overseas travel will be allowed.
Northern Ireland: No news on when domestic or overseas holidays can resume
As of 12 April, a ‘stay at home’ provision has been removed from legislation in Northern Ireland and replaced with a ‘stay local’ and ‘work from home’ message. But overnight stays away from home for most are not allowed and there's no update yet on when holiday lets and hotels can reopen for non-essential visitors. You can only travel within the CTA or outside of it if you qualify for an exemption.
The Northern Irish government has yet to confirm whether it plans to follow the English Government's plans for overseas travel.
At the moment all travellers arriving in the UK must take a Covid test and self-isolate - and some face hotel quarantine
If you've an exception that means you're allowed to travel internationally, and if you've been outside the Common Travel Area of the UK, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man or Ireland in the previous 10 days, then you must undertake the following precautions:
- Take a pre-departure Covid-19 test up to 72 hours before you begin your journey to the UK. You'll need to show proof of your negative test to your airline, boat or train firm along with your passenger locator form. If your trip is cancelled then contact the provider who you ordered the test from to see if it'll refund you. Some may do so if you haven't taken the test yet.
- Self-isolate for 10 days when you arrive in the UK (with a few exceptions).
- Take two coronavirus tests during self-isolation. People isolating at home or in hotels (see below for more on this) must get a test at two and eight days into their 10-day quarantine period (even if they also take a private test five days after arrival to end isolation on day five - note that this 'Test to Release' scheme is only available in England though). You can book these tests on the Government website. You can be fined and have your self-isolation extended if you fail to comply.
- Some travellers may need to quarantine in hotels. In addition to the requirements above, UK or Irish citizens arriving in England, Northern Ireland or Wales from certain countries with known coronavirus variants must now quarantine in Government-provided accommodation, such as hotels, for 10 days. Travellers from these countries who are not UK or Irish citizens will be refused entry. ALL travellers arriving in Scotland must also quarantine in hotels.
In England, arriving single adult travellers are charged £1,750 for their stay, which includes the cost of hotels, transfers and testing. Additional adults sharing the room are charged an extra £650, while additional children are charged £325. You have to book your stay before arrival - this can be done on the Government website.
For those facing significant financial hardship as a result of this charge, there will be an opportunity to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking. This is only available if you already receive income-related benefits, and you will be required to pay back your debt to the Government in 12 monthly instalments.
If you don't quarantine in a hotel in England when you should, you'll be fined a fixed penalty of £5,000 - potentially rising to £10,000 - while if you lie on your passenger locator form and claim you've not been to one of the countries where arrivals are required to quarantine from, you could face up to ten years in prison.
A full list of red-rated countries is as follows: Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guyana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Suriname, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
See below for your holiday rights if you're worried about quarantining on return to the UK.
You need to complete a form to leave England and Wales
- If you're allowed to travel, you must carry a declaration form with you. People travelling internationally from England and Wales need to complete and carry a declaration to travel document downloaded from the Government’s website. You face being fined £200 if you turn up at an airport or other point of departure without the form or if the form is incorrect. The form can be printed or stored on a mobile phone.
Travellers from Scotland and Northern Ireland don't currently have to fill in the form.
- You can be fined £5,000 if you travel abroad without a valid reason. As of 29 March 2021, people in England can be fined £5,000 if they travel outside of the country for non-essential purposes or if they're found at an embarkment point with the intention of travelling internationally without a legal reason to do so. This doesn't apply elsewhere across the UK.
Many countries have also banned Brits
Countries across the globe have imposed bans on Britons arriving from the UK after news of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain. You may also find Brits are banned from returning to the UK from certain countries, such as passengers arriving in England from South Africa, amid new coronavirus strain fears.
Separately, other countries, such as Australia, have had a ban on travellers from the UK since the start of pandemic.
In other cases, the UK's Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to many countries – that doesn't stop you going, but it can invalidate travel insurance. Check the Foreign Office website, as well as directly with the country itself for the latest before travelling – you can usually do this via its UK embassy website.
Coronavirus has resulted in millions of cancelled holidays – and airlines and travel firms are still cancelling many overseas trips.
For example, where countries aren't accepting Brits, if you have a flight, ferry or train booked to that destination, there's a good chance it will be cancelled.
If you trip does get cancelled, we round up your refund rights below. Or if you've booked a trip to another part of the UK, see our targeted UK holiday bookings section for your rights.
Travel firms SHOULD refund you for cancelled trips – though many have been dragging their feet
As a general rule, if you've paid for a trip and then the travel firm cancels, you should be due a refund. Yet that hasn't always proved easy with cancellations due to the pandemic. While coronavirus has been devastating across the travel industry, firms have been treating customers in very different ways – as shown by several major MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) surveys we're run this year.
Even if some firms are being slow to refund customers though, your right to a refund is clear:
- With most cancelled flights, you're due a full refund within seven days. Most cancelled flights will fall under flight delay rules (which have been written into UK law, and cover all flights leaving the UK or EU as well as flights to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline). These state you're entitled to choose between:
- EITHER a refund for the flight that was cancelled.
- OR an alternative flight (airlines call this re-routing) to your destination.
We've seen some airlines pushing customers towards getting a voucher instead, but you are absolutely entitled to a refund in this situation. In theory and according to the law this should also be paid in seven days, though aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has acknowledged current circumstances are making it "very challenging" for airlines to sort it that quickly – and in practice, it's likely to take longer right now.
- With cancelled package holidays, you're due a full refund with 14 days. Package holidaymakers whose trips are cancelled are also entitled to all their money back under the Package Travel Regulations.
Technically you're due this refund within two weeks, but in practice at the moment it's likely to take longer – and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has told us insisting on a 14-day turnaround may be tricky at the moment, given the volume of refunds travel firms are grappling with at the moment. So it may be advisable to show forbearance and not push the law as far as it can technically go on the timescale. But the important thing is that you are due a refund.
With other travel bookings (hotels, car hire etc), the rules are less clear-cut but you SHOULD still get a refund. Generally speaking, if the service you have booked isn't provided, you should be refunded – and that's a principle the UK competition watchdog has clearly supported. Enforcing it may be tricky though, especially if the firm is abroad where local laws may be different to those in the UK – so there are no guarantees.
Some countries may require you to show a negative test result on arrival. If you've taken the test but the trip is then cancelled, you need to contact the provider you ordered the test from to see if it'll refund you - but there are no guarantees. If you've paid for the test but not yet taken it as your trip was cancelled, you may find providers are more willing to give refunds.
Struggling to get a refund? You can also try your card firm or insurer – though there are no guarantees
If you're having real difficulties getting the refund you're owed for a cancelled trip, there are other avenues you can try – though none are guaranteed to work:
- You may be able to claim from your card firm. If you paid by debit or credit card, you can also try getting money back via your card firm. Try claiming from your card provider under chargeback (or Section 75).
Under chargeback, which isn't a legal requirement, just a customer service promise, your bank will try to get money back from the bank of the firm you bought from – you can try it on debit card purchases and those which are less than £100. Alternatively, under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, if you pay for something costing between £100 and £30,000 on a credit card, the card firm's equally liable if something goes wrong, so you may be able to claim. See full Section 75 and Chargeback info.
MSE founder Martin Lewis suggests you try chargeback first though: "Even if you actually have a credit card and qualify for Section 75, I wouldn't ask for that at this stage. I would ask for a chargeback. That's because under the chargeback process, which is part of the Visa, Mastercard or Amex rules, your bank is asking for money back from the holiday firm's bank, which your bank is unlikely to have an issue doing."
You can try speaking to your insurer... but it's tricky. Most travel insurers have told us if you're entitled to a refund from a firm you've booked with, you'll need to chase that firm for a refund rather than claim on your insurance. This also applies if you're offered a voucher when you're legally entitled to a cash refund.
Just because insurers say they won't accept your claims though, that doesn't mean there's no point trying. Insurers want to avoid paying out when they can and while you should seek a refund from the provider first when you're legally owed one, if you're really struggling ask your insurer if it can help – even if it's by goodwill. Plus if you are unhappy with your insurer's decision you can also take it to the independent arbitrator, the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
If all else fails, there's the legal route. Even though some insurers say you must do this before going to them, in practice this is probably the last resort – we've put it last because it could cost money, may be time-consuming and you'll need to weigh up seriously whether the sum you're chasing is worth it. How you do it will depend on what you're claiming for. A good first step may be to threaten court action in a letter – then you could end up having to file a county court claim online. See our Small Claims Court guide for full help.
How to get a refund for a cancelled booking – firm-by-firm help for those that have been poor at paying out
While the steps above give general guidance, if you're struggling to get your money back there are different tactics you can use.
To help, we've some guidance below on some of the big firms where people have struggled to get refunds:
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NB: Here we're only talking about trips which HAVEN'T been cancelled by the firm you booked with. If your trip has been cancelled, see above for full help on how to get a refund.
Important. Check refund policies and DON'T automatically rush to cancel your trip yourself
The table below goes through different airline, tour operator etc refund policies. If you can't go and you can get a refund, then simply claim that money back and you're done.
But if you're not certain to get a refund, and your trip has NOT been cancelled by the firm you booked with, don't make a rash decision and automatically cancel the trip yourself. That's because if it later cancels it (given how fluid the situation is, that may yet happen) you're due a refund so it's a bit of cat and mouse.
However, don't leave it too late and miss out on a voucher or the ability to change the ticket as there are often deadlines to invoke these policies. Even if there's a fee, that's better than losing all your money.
Remember, though – if you booked a cancellable hotel, or your airline lets you cancel for no charge, then you can cancel at will.
Unable to travel due to lockdown restrictions or is a border you want to cross closed? You may get a refund
We've an overview of the different scenarios, and what your travel firm or airline should do for you in each:
- Your trip's still going ahead but your tier/lockdown status doesn't allow you to travel. General guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) states that you should get a full refund if it would be illegal for you to use a booking - which would be the case if you'd booked a holiday but live in England, Scotland or Wales under current restrictions. In theory in this situation you should get your money back if you've booked travel that originates in or is entirely within the UK.
Yet this isn't a definitive interpretation of the law, and the CMA recently launched an investigation into airlines only offering vouchers not refunds in this scenario, so getting a refund may not always be plain sailing. Plus if you've flights that start in other countries, or hotels booked there, you're at the mercy of your travel provider and the country it's governed by.
- You can go on the trip but the country you're travelling to won't let you in. If your trip is still going ahead AND you can leave your region BUT the country you're going to won't let you in, then you're also at the mercy of your travel provider, although some are offering refunds (see the table below for more information).
Plus package travel regulations state if "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" occur which "significantly affect the performance of the package," you're due a full refund even if YOU cancel. So this may offer some protection if you can't get to your destination.
- You can leave the UK, and the overseas destination will let you in, but you simply don't want to travel. You're unlikely to get your money back as the provider is still offering the service you booked, unless you have a flexible flight and/or flexible or cancellable hotel booking.
If your flight or holiday is still running and you have travel insurance, it might cover you for trips where it's illegal for you to travel – but only if your policy covers coronavirus cancellation – this will usually only be the case if you took out the insurance and booked the trip before mid-March, but check. If the trip or hotel was booked later, travel insurance is very unlikely to help you.
The same goes for those who simply change their mind – travel insurance is highly unlikely to cover this scenario regardless of when you took out the policy or booked the trip. See more in I've bought travel insurance – am I covered? below.
What are travel providers' cancellation and rebooking policies?
The table below covers the cancellation policies of major travel firms split into your rights when the firm cancels, your rights when you cancel due to travel restrictions, or your rights when you cancel despite being able to travel – this applies for usually inflexible tickets.
Be aware though that the situation is changing fast, so it's best to double-check with your travel provider directly before making any decisions:
Travel firm cancellation and rebooking rights
| Travel firm | Refund policy if firm cancels | Refund policy if you cancel due to travel restrictions | Refund policy if you cancel but no restrictions in place |
| Airbnb | Full refund | Full refund if you cancel 24hrs+ before check-in if host has 'flexible' policy or 5 days+ before check-in if 'moderate flexibility' | |
| British Airways | Full refund, voucher or rebooking | Some flights cancelled until late summer (check yours here). Until check-in closes you can claim voucher valid until Apr 23 if you booked from 3 Mar 20 for flights before Apr 22 | |
| Easyjet | Full refund, voucher or rebooking | All flights and hols cancelled until mid-May with customers offered a full refund | Flight change fees waived for rebookings at least 14 days before departure |
| Eurostar | Full refund | You can rearrange your trip without paying an exchange fee up to 7 full days before departure | |
| Hoseasons | Refund or voucher where accommodation must close | Refund or voucher where accommodation must close | Will contact custs with bookings for later in the year to discuss options |
| Jet2 | Full refund | All flights and hols up to 16 May 21 cancelled with full refund | Cancellation fees apply |
| Logan Air | Full refund or rebooking | We've asked and will update when we know more | We've asked and will update when we know more |
| Loveholidays | Full refund, credit note or trip amendment | If country is closed, full refund, credit note or trip amendment due. If you cancel due to quarantining on return cancellation fees may apply | Changes and cancellations subject to usual T&Cs. |
| Ryanair | Full refund or rebooking | We've asked and will update when we know more | We've asked and will update when we know more |
| Tui | Full refund, refund credit note or rebooking | Not operating holidays departing from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland up to and including 16 May. Full refund, credit note or rebooking | Change fee-free up until 28 days before original departure date if the booking is due to take place before 30 June 2021 OR between 1 July 2021 and 31 October 2021, and you book it on or after 10 February 2021 |
| Virgin Atlantic | Full refund, voucher or rebooking | Custs who booked up to and including 5 Feb 21 have the option to two free date changes and one free name change. For new bookings, or if you are affected by a cancelled flight up until 31 Aug 21, you can make as many date changes as necessary with no service fee, all the way until 30 Apr 23. | |
The information in this table is constantly changing. This was the situation when we last checked on 22 March 2021.
When it comes to car hire, we checked the websites of several major car hire firms and saw that Avis and Budget say that bookings can be cancelled for free. If you've already paid, you can get a full refund if you cancel up to 24 hours before the day your rental was due to begin (though fees will be deducted from your refund if you cancel within 24 hours or don't show up). If you were due to pay on collection, you can cancel right up to the time your rental was set to start.
What if the Foreign Office has advised against travel?
Between March and July 2020, the Foreign Office had warned against all non-essential travel overseas. That blanket warning has now been lifted for some countries, but it remains in place for most others – though this won't make a difference for most at the moment, as lockdown restrictions across most of the UK ban travel for holidays.
As well as being a useful safety guide, Foreign Office warnings are important in the following scenarios:
- Package holiday firms should refund you if there's a Foreign Office warning. If a Foreign Office warning is put in place under the Package Travel Regulations, you SHOULD be able to get a refund within 14 days – even if the trip's not been cancelled – but always check first with the firm before you cancel.
- If you travel when there is a Foreign Office warning, most travel insurance becomes totally invalid. This applies even for non-Covid issues as the whole policy is usually invalid. As there are some exceptions, do check.
What if I'm stuck abroad?
With countries around the world banning Brits and operators cancelling travel services, it may mean some UK households have been stranded abroad. We round up your rights in this scenario.
How do I get home?
If your flight home is cancelled and it's leaving from the UK or an EU country or it's to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline, then the operator must get you home by any means at the earliest opportunity. If your flight doesn't fall within this scope, you're at the mercy of the rules of your flight operator.
For those on a package holiday, there is also an obligation on providers to arrange for you to get home, but this won't necessarily be as soon as possible.
For travel by any other means, contact your provider. If you're struggling to get help, you can also try contacting the UK embassy in the country for assistance.
Will free accommodation be provided?
If you're stranded due to a cancelled flight which is leaving a UK or EU country or it's to the UK/EU on a UK/EU airline then your airline must pay to put you up in the meantime, although you may need to pay and later claim this back. Keep hold of receipts and only expect reasonable costs to be reimbursed. If your flight doesn't fall within this scope, check with the airline if it's responsible.
For package holidays, trade body ABTA says providers are only obliged to put you up for three nights if your return trip is cancelled.
For travel by any other means, contact your provider. If you're struggling to get help, you can also try contacting the UK embassy in the country for assistance.
Can I claim these costs on my insurance?
If you're abroad for longer than planned due to your return journey being disrupted by travel bans, insurers we spoke to said your cover would be extended.
But while this means you'll continue to be covered under the usual terms of your insurance – so for example, you should be able to claim for emergency medical expenses – insurers we spoke to said you won't be covered for extra costs incurred by having to stay longer, such as extra accommodation or travel.
It's still worth checking with your insurer – but most policies won't cover you for coronavirus-related cancellation if you took out the insurance and booked your trip after mid-March 2020. As insurance only covers unknown events, that's the period most classed the pandemic as a known event.
With overseas travel significantly disrupted, many will have chosen to book a holiday within the UK.
But with some restrictions still in place across the UK many are wondering if they can still travel and, if not, what their rights to a refund are.
Important. The situation in different areas is changing rapidly and at short notice, so it's good practice to check the latest rules for yourself before taking any action.
Holiday firm cancelled your trip? You're likely due a full refund
As with overseas holidays, a key factor in whether you're owed a refund for a UK trip is whether your holiday firm has cancelled your booking. If yours does, then in simple terms you're likely due a full refund – and if you don't get one, you should fight for it.
When the pandemic first hit, this wasn't always the case – we had 100s of complaints from holidaymakers who said they were only offered a new booking or voucher instead. However some of the big firms which initially refused to pay out, such as UK holiday providers Hoseasons and Sykes Cottages, have now backtracked and changed their coronavirus booking policies.
If you've booked a package holiday then under the Package Travel Regulations you are entitled to get all your money back within two weeks of any cancellation. But even if it's not a package, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says as a general rule firms MUST offer cash refunds for cancellations due to coronavirus. So if your holiday or accommodation booking is cancelled, you're likely due a full refund and should ask for one if it's not offered.
We've asked the Government if firms are obliged to proactively cancel bookings in areas where holidays are against the law, such as tier four in England – it hasn't yet given us a clear answer, but says it's in the process of updating guidance. In the meantime, check with your firm directly. Hoseasons, for example, says it'll give a full refund if you're unable to travel due to Government restrictions, while Airbnb says you can get a full refund so long as you cancel at least 24 hours ahead if your host has a flexible policy, or at least five days ahead if they have a moderate cancellation policy.
Do check the small print of your contract for any specific exclusions though, and you may also want to consider showing forbearance if you can – if you're offered a rebooking instead of a refund and are happy to take it, it helps at a time when the travel industry is struggling as never before.
Holiday not cancelled? Your refund rights depend on what lockdown rules are in place at the time of your trip
Things are more complex if your holiday is running and your accommodation is open but you're unable to go due to lockdown restrictions either at your holiday destination or in your local area. The key to your rights here is the legal status of the restrictions which are stopping you travelling:
If travel's illegal under coronavirus rules, you're likely due a full refund
The good news is in this situation the CMA says you should expect a full refund. Its guidance states that consumers should get their money back if they're not provided with a service due to lockdown laws, or can't access what they paid for "because, for example, lockdown laws in the UK or abroad have made it illegal to receive or use the goods or service". This would apply both to not being able to leave their area or to get to an area where the accommodation is based - and it will apply in the majority of cases due to current lockdown restrictions across different areas of the UK.
It's important to note however that CMA guidance isn't a definitive interpretation of the law, and this is a new scenario which hasn't been tested – so while you can direct your holiday accommodation provider to the guidance, complain to the CMA or even pursue legal action, there are no guarantees.
If travel's advised against but not illegal, your refund rights are less clear
If your trip is to or from a part of the UK where travel is advised against but not illegal, things could be more complicated.
Unfortunately, in this situation you may find it more difficult to get your money back if you decide not to travel. The CMA's guidance says if the restrictions which prevent a service being used aren't legal restrictions, it's not clear whether a consumer would be entitled to a full refund.
This doesn't mean you're definitely not entitled to a refund. The CMA says if a consumer would be at serious risk if they went ahead with a contract (such as a holiday booking) against Government guidance, the contract could be deemed to have been "frustrated" – in which case you could be owed a full refund. But it's much murkier – and again, you need to remember these are untested situations and ultimately only a court can decide how the law applies in different scenarios.
The best bet is to speak to your holiday or accommodation provider and ask what it'll offer. You may be able to cancel under your usual terms and conditions, or ask for more flexibility such as a date change. If you can't come to an agreement you're both happy with, you'll need to weigh up how hard to push for a refund. You can try the steps we outline above, but there are no guarantees and you may be less likely to have success if your trip isn't technically forbidden by law.
If you're still allowed to travel but decide not to go, you've no automatic right to a refund
If you are still permitted to go on your holiday under official restrictions and guidance, it's important to understand you don't have any automatic right to a refund if you choose not to go.
If your holiday's still on or the hotel's still open, your refund rights will simply depend on the terms and conditions you agreed to when you booked. Of course, these may still let you cancel for free or move your trip, and some firms are also offering extra flexibility to all their customers at the moment due to coronavirus, so it's still worth checking what your options are.
What if I've booked a trip for multiple households?
Travellers who've booked trips where multiple households are due to stay together have faced increasing restrictions in recent months. For example, in England the Government initially said a maximum of two households could go on holiday together, then introduced the "rule of six", which means if guests are from multiple households, only six can stay together in total. And of course now holidays are largely banned across much of the UK regardless of how many households were set to travel. See the following government websites for the full details: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Though this is a less pressing issue for many at the moment, given other travel restrictions, some may still be concerned about their rights for past planned holidays. If your holiday was to and from a permitted area, but would break the rules because the travellers are from multiple households, CMA guidance suggests you'd be owed a refund (though it's not completely clear-cut and there are no guarantees).
When we checked back in September, all the major UK firms we've spoken to said they would pay out – see more details in our Social gatherings of more than six banned – your refund rights MSE News story.
The long and the short of it is that if you've booked a holiday, or taken out travel insurance since March 2020, then you're almost certainly not covered if your holiday's cancelled due to coronavirus. This is because coronavirus became a "known event" and insurance is usually only there to protect from unexpected events.
So whether you need to cancel because you can't legally travel due to a local tier restriction or lockdown, or whether the Foreign Office has banned travel to your intended destination, the result is the same – you're very unlikely to be able to claim on your travel insurance.
However, there are still a couple of scenarios where your travel insurer may still offer some level of cover:
- You or a family member get coronavirus before you're due to go. Some policies still cover coronavirus medically, and will pay out if you (or a family member or travelling companion) catch coronavirus and therefore can't go on holiday.
- You booked both the holiday and the insurance before March 2020. If this is the case, your travel insurance should still cover you, as both were booked before the pandemic was deemed a known event. However, you will be expected to seek refunds from your airline or travel firm first.
If you do have insurance, it's really only the coronavirus cover that has changed. Normal reasons to cancel a holiday, such as bereavement, illness, accident or redundancy, for example, should still be covered as normal (provided you're legally allowed to travel to your chosen destination).
If you're not sure what you're covered for, read your policy and ask your insurer. It should be able to advise you if you have a claim or not. If you're convinced you do, but it's turned down your claim or not treated you fairly, we've help in the questions below about what you can do.
Need travel insurance for an upcoming trip?
In the short term, travelling anywhere from the UK will be very difficult. But if you're booking trips for the future, see our Cheap Travel Insurance guide.
All our current top picks cover you if you catch coronavirus on holiday and need medical help, and many cover cancellation if you can't go because you catch it in the days before your trip. We also have a few picks which let you add cover to travel against Foreign Office advice.
Quick travel insurance questions
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If you are one of the many who had to postpone your 2020 holiday and rearrange it for 2021, you might find that you can still use your current travel insurance policy. To move the insurance dates, or extend your annual travel insurance policy, you will need get in touch with your insurer. But in short:
- If you have a single trip policy, you may still be covered if you take the holiday within a year of the original travel date. For single-trip policies, the rearranged holiday would need to be within 365 days of the original departure date to do this.
- Got an annual policy? You might be able to extend it by up to three months. There is some flexibility for annual travel insurance policies, with many insurers giving the option to suspend the policy for three months, or get an extra three months of cover. For example, if you moved your holiday to February next year, and your travel insurance policy ends December 2020, you might be able to extend it to March next year.
- It won't cost you anything as long as your holiday is like-for-like, just at a different date. If your rearranged holiday is to a new destination seen as 'riskier', or for a longer trip, it is likely you will be asked to pay extra, eg, if you decide to swap your week in Spain for 10 days in South Africa.
- Your cover stays the same except for the coronavirus cover. While your original travel insurance policy might have included cancellation cover if the Foreign Office advice was not to travel due to coronavirus, it is likely you will lose this cover for any extension period of an annual policy or a rearranged single-trip policy. But you should still be covered if you need to cancel because you or a family member is diagnosed with coronavirus before you go (many give this, but not all). Plus when you are on holiday, you will still have medical cover, including repatriation, if you need medical help abroad due to coronavirus.
Everything else will stay the same – so, for instance, if you were to break your arm, be made redundant or suffer a bereavement before travel, your usual cover will remain in place.
- You can ONLY move your policy if it's due to Foreign Office advice or travel disruptions (eg, local lockdown). If your holiday has been rearranged because you no longer want to go this year, it may not be possible to change the insurance dates (as it will be viewed as disinclination to travel), but it is always worth asking.
- If you can't extend it, you might be able to get a refund instead. Many travel insurers are now offering pro-rata refunds to customers who've ruled out travelling due to coronavirus and want to cancel their policy. But you'll need to request a refund to get one – and should only do this if you're certain you no longer need the cover. Importantly, you can only do this if you haven't already made a claim on your policy. For more, see our Can I get a refund? section.
Here is a table showing what some insurers will let you do if you need to move your holiday because your original holiday has been cancelled. If your insurer is not listed, and you have feedback to share, let us know.
Which insurers will let you change your policy to your new travel dates?
Single-trip policy Annual-trip policy AllClear Yes Yes (1) Axa Yes No Churchill Yes No Cover4You Yes Yes (2) Coverwise Yes No Direct Line Yes No Insurefor.com Yes Yes Leisure Guard (3) Yes Yes LV Yes No Saga
Yes Yes Trailfinders Yes Yes (1) If purchased from 1 Jan - 14 Jul 2020, a three-month extension is added. The extension will also apply for renewing customers up until 10 Aug 2020.
(2) Three-month extension request ends 31 Jul 2020.(3) Applicable to Leisure Guard policies purchased before 18 Jun 2020.
- If you have a single trip policy, you may still be covered if you take the holiday within a year of the original travel date. For single-trip policies, the rearranged holiday would need to be within 365 days of the original departure date to do this.
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