If Tauck cancels
Hello- forum members- I am sure there is an answer somewhere here - so pardon my inability to find it- how is money already given for reservations reimbursed if Tauck cancels the tour? Is it returned in the manner it was paid or only given in a voucher form for future travel? Also, if they cancel are airline costs to reinstate miles also reimbursed. Thanks again in advance for refreshing me on this process and policy.
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At the top of the Tauck home page there is a link to the policy, dated May 1, 2020.
I did see that post for May 1st- however I do not see any where what the reimbursement policy is if Tauck is the one that cancels the trip- it only mentions that they will call us if they cancel. I was hoping someone who has had a trip cancelled by Tauck could tell me if there are options to have money returned or is it voucher for rebooking only. Thanks.
I believe the policy is that you can get a refund minus money for trip insurance if you bought it. Trip insurance money can only go on the books for a future trip. A call to Tauck is your surest bet.
Yes, there is an option to get your money back, that is what we did. It just took a couple of days to appear back on our credit card. Our insurance went into a Dreamsaver account
JAS54:
If Tauck cancels the trip you will receive a refund by the method that you used to pay for the trip. I received a credit on my Credit Card for the land portion within 2 weeks of cancellation. If you purchased your air thru Tauck, you will receive a refund. If you purchased your air fare directly with the airlines or used points you will need to contact the airline for their procedures. I have seen many posts where airlines are reinstating miles but that is not always a given, you will need to check the individual airline site. I am going on week 9 from when I initiated a refund from Lufthansa for tickets I purchased last year. They were non-refundable tickets, however, Lufthansa canceled the trip and I am therefore due a refund. I allowed them 4 weeks in order to refund my money and numerous emails and calls. As of today, I have heard nothing or just a canned response that my request is in "cue". I initiated a charge back against my Credit Card on April 15 and was advised that I should receive a credit within 60 days or 2 billing periods. I received a "temporary" credit the next day. As of today, I have not yet received a full credit. I still have another 5 weeks to go so I will need to be patient. It is a very frustrating process. Good luck.
I forgot to mention, as British stated above, if you purchased your trip insurance thru Tauck, they will place it into a "Dreamsaver account" for future travel. I purchased my trip insurance thru Allianz and of course pandemics are not covered. However, for a certain time period, Allianz would refund the cost of your insurance policy if you did not issue any claims against it. I received my refund in 2 weeks time. I do not know how companies other than Tauck and Allianz are handling refunds. You would need to check the individual Company policies.
Thank you all so very much! These are the type of answers I was looking for - very helpful and alleviates some of my concerns. Best wishes.
Interesting about Tauck insurance and the Dream saver acct. We have a Sep trip about half paid for including the insurance but expecting it won't happen so we made a backup reservation for the same trip in 2021. Since this was a backup to the 2020 trip ( we'll only go on one of the two) I asked the Tauck agent whether we needed the insurance or could just move the one already paid to the 2021 trip if that became the final solution. Was told we should pay for the second one because of pre-existing condition protection.
So, if we end on with Tauck canceling 2020, what happens to the insurance paid for that trip? Can the money go to the balance on the 2021 trip or will it go into the Dream saver acct for a completely different trip and how long would we have to use it?
We were really confused when we asked this question. We thought the insurance could go for the insurance for another trip from what the agent said. We have our trips booked for next year so that posed a problem. She also told us we that we had to use it for a trip that we must book before the end of 2021 but the trip could be in 2022. We called back the next day as we were so confused and that agent, who had worked with Tauck for many years said we had not been told correctly. It could go towards paying off another trip, but only once so if that trip was cancelled, that was that. She recommended only adding it to the trip at the last minute for that reason. Anyway, that’s what I remembered for memory but I wrote it all down. We took the money back option for our tour. We have now traveled with two other tour companies and Tauck”s insurance is by far the cheapest. With the other companies, if you travel business class, the add on insurance for that is huge.
Thanx British. Will be interesting to see what happens.
Those of you receiving a refund from Tauck, was the entire amount credited at once? We received about a third of the refund authorized and wondered if the rest would be coming in a few days.
We received it all at once as a credit to our AMEX which is what we used to pay the deposit and balance, but I think it depends on the source of the funds- credit card = credit to your account, while a check = mailed refund check which will take longer, and a mix of the two - each to separate source. I think I read it here in another thread, but that is also how Rick Steves handles it.
Yes, entire amount credited at once, it ours was only the deposit amount and it went back to our Amex. If yours was all paid on credit card, I would call Tauck for clarification. Now, if you booked through a travel agent, you are at their mercy.
Since these are no longer accessible from the Homepage Update Banner I thought I would post them again. Some may have been modified or updated, so if you have any questions, it is best to call Tauck.
This paragraph is from the 15 March COVID-1 Update:
"As always, Tauck offers you one of the most customer-friendly protection plans in the industry, and we encourage you to take advantage of the great peace of mind these programs offer. Immediately following 9/11, Tauck created our “Dreamsaver” program which allows guests to transfer their land tour funds to any future tour or cruise (within one year of cancellation) should their plans change for any reason."
This from Dan Mahar's email/letter of March 13:
As per our recently relaxed policy pertaining to Tauck-cancelled departures, you will be receiving a full refund of your tour or cruise cost. Any Guest Protection Product premiums will be Dreamsaved (and any Cruise Protection Product premiums will be kept on account in voucher form) for use on future Tauck journeys. Most airlines are currently waiving change fees. However, if you booked your flights through Tauck, and any change fees are incurred, they will be covered by Tauck. (For Tauck-booked flights, reimbursement will arrive separately from any tour or cruise refund.) For non-Tauck flights, we will reimburse change fees up to $250 per person with the submission of a receipt. Please allow up to two weeks for any refunds to arrive.
We fully recognize that you want to travel with us – you’re just anxious about traveling now. With this in mind, we’re offering a $500 credit per traveler if you transfer to a new 2020 or 2021 reservation. If you are unsure of your future travel plans you can instead choose to leave the funds from your cancelled tour in a “Tauck Travel Wallet,” and receive the same $500 credit per traveler to be used toward your future reservation. For up-to-the minute availability on all of our land tours and cruises, please visit our website, www.tauck.com. (If you preemptively cancelled your journey on March 12, 2020, we will honor the above offer and reconcile your account within 30 days.)
To summarize, we’re providing you with the flexibility offered by two options; 1.) You may cancel and receive a refund, or 2.) receive a $500 credit by transferring to a new journey or leaving your tour funds in a Tauck Travel Wallet.
And, of course there is the 1 May Update at the homepage banner link.
I don’t think we ever got that email. It’s the first time I heard of a travel wallet.
Me too! Now we are all totally confused!
Most airlines have a similar concept to the Tauck Travel Wallet. It's the equivalent of a travel voucher. The money remains on Tauck's books.
There is now a May 11 update, cancelling all trips through July 15
The May 11 update appears to be just an extension of the cancellations date.
So is the Travel Wallet the same as the Dream-Saver account?
No it appears to be different
I submitted a question to Tauck asking them to explain the differences, if any, between the Tauck Travel Wallet and the Tauck Dream-Saver account. If/when I get a response I will post the details.
Thanks Sam