If youâve been given a voucher or a credit for cancelled travel plans, and you are happy with that, itâs important to understand the rules in BC when it comes to expiry dates. Hereâs what you need to know. BCâs gift card laws speak to when a gift card (or voucher) can expire and when it canât. These rules apply if you live in BC or if the business you dealt with is in BC.
Can my travel voucher or credit have an expiry date?
Vouchers or credits that have a specific dollar amount on them are not allowed to expire. For example, a $850 voucher towards an airline or hotel cannot expire. However, these types of vouchers/credits are allowed to expire:
- Vouchers that are for a specific good or service. For example, a voucher for one flight to Calgary or a two-night stay at a hotel.
- Vouchers that were sold at a discount. For example, if the voucher was given as a promotion or at a discounted rate.
Does your voucher have an expiry date when it shouldnât?
If your voucher/credit with a dollar value on it has an expiry date, we recommend the following steps:
- Go back to the business and inform them that your voucher canât expire using this form. Ask the business to reissue you a voucher/credit without an expiry date.
- If you still canât resolve the expiry date issue with the business, you can file a complaint with us. Please try to work it out with the business first before coming to our office.
Looking for a refund instead of a voucher?
As a BC regulator, one of the other laws we oversee gives you cancellation and refund rights when you donât receive the services you paid for online or over the phone. If youâre eligible, you may be owed a full refund (instead of a voucher/credit) under BC law. Not everyone will be eligible to go through the process for a refund.
About Consumer Protection BC
We are not-for-profit regulator responsible for overseeing certain industries and specific consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we canât help you directly, we will try to offer a referral to a relevant organization, if one exists. Other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.
We canceled due to omicron..booking went back to westjet money bank, I upgraded with my visa, how do I get that part back
Hi Barbara, I am not sure if I understand your situation fully. Do you want to contact us by submitting a complaint form? Perhaps you can include more details so we can properly understand what has happened with your booking. You can start the process by visiting our complaint assistant page.
WestJet only refund on credit that expires in 2 years. How can we make it non-expirable? I am only asking for flight that i cancelled myself.
Hi Tian, as the article mentions, you can use one of our forms to ask Westjet to reissue you a voucher/credit without an expiry date. Take a look at the header under “Does your voucher have an expiry date when it shouldnât?” and follow the link to fill out a form. I hope this helps!
Hi there, we cancelled a flight because the government was telling us not to travel as per Covid. We booked through a travel company and they told us we had a credit, but we would have to book a flight by December to be used no later than April of this year! We still did not feel confident to travel as omicron was circulating and also our travel plans included our daughter who is in nursing school and cannot just travel anytime? So therefor we have lost $400 per person! And I also thought credits didnât expire? Also part of our travel included another airline and a cruise and we received monies back from both of them, so what is Westjets problem? I will never fly that airline!!
Hi Anna, thank you for leaving a comment on our article. If your dollar-value-based travel voucher from Westjet has an expiry date, you can send in our form to them. You can find it in the article you read (the one this comment is attached to) under the heading of “Does your voucher have an expiry date when it shouldnât?”. I hope you will be able to get them to remove the expiry date soon!
My suit case was destroyed few years back , They offered $75. Not cash to use on another flight , was told had to use in 1 year , trouble is the company I worked for paid for my flights , I paid for luggage which I wanted to put the $75. Towards another suitcase they would not give had to be used for travel , I ended up buying another suitcase and it made it one way to Calgary from Kelowna, then had to buy another suitcase
Hi Wayne, thank you for sharing your experience here. It doesn’t sound like your voucher was a “travel credit” because it wasn’t for a flight/cruise that got cancelled. I’m not familiar with this particular case but perhaps these kinds of “credits” can expire as they were issued to cover the damage of goods.
Is this true if I was not using a Canadian airline? I booked a trip with Delta pre-pandemic and I have credit that is set to expire next year. The flights were between Vancouver and LA but Iâm wondering if the credit doesnât fall under BC consumer protection laws because Delta is an American airline.
Hi Keira, thank you for contacting us. As long as you live in BC, BC’s consumer protection laws apply and you can use our forms to send to companies. If you would like to request Delta to eliminate the expiry date, you can use the form that is listed in the article. Please read through the information completely so you don’t miss any important details. Thank you and good luck!
Do I understand this to mean only in circumstances where the company is located in BC? My personal situation involves air bnb credit received in April 2020. Canada lifted its âdo not travelâ orders in the last couple weeks and I went to use my credit, to find belatedly that it expired December 2021. Iâm a BC resident, and, I suppose carried out the transaction in BC, but it was all done online. Iâve messaged the company but have been declined to have it reinstated and âm feeling a bit powerless at the moment.
I just commented above and have taken a deeper look at the comments made prior to my own (I should know betterđ€Šââïž). thanks for the information and providing this service!
No worries Jill, thank you for taking the time to read comments from others. I’m glad it was helpful!