JetBlue Canceled Your Flight? Here’s How to Get Compensation

When you book with a smaller airline like JetBlue, you might expect the bare minimum when it comes to customer service during travel interruptions. 

You might be surprised, then, to learn that JetBlue offers compensation that’s on par or better than most of the major carriers!

What JetBlue Owes You for a Cancellation

Your rights as a passenger are outlined in JetBlue’s contract of carriage. For a smaller airline, they boast some pretty big compensation when your flight was canceled and it was their fault.

Rebooking

If your flight has been canceled, JetBlue should automatically rebook you for free on their next available flight. 

If that new flight doesn’t work for you, JetBlue allows you to rebook a new flight within 5 days at no additional cost. 

Vouchers

When your flight has been canceled because of a controllable issue and the new flight is expected to land more than 3 hours later than the original, JetBlue says you are entitled to a meal voucher.

If they’re unable to provide a voucher, JetBlue’s fine print says they will make “every reasonable effort” to reimburse passengers for meals. This isn’t a promise they can be held to, but it’s worth mentioning.

Complimentary accommodations

JetBlue says they will provide overnight accommodations if your arrival time has been delayed by 3 hours and you’re stuck overnight in a city that isn’t your home. This includes the associated ground transportation.

The airline should book you a room in one of their partner hotels, but sometimes those have no availability. In that scenario, JetBlue has committed to reimbursing passengers who book their own reasonable accommodations, including ground transportation to get there and back.

So keep those receipts (and maybe don’t book the penthouse suite)!

TravelBank compensation

Not every airline offers inconvenience compensation, but JetBlue does! 

If your flight was canceled because of a controllable issue and they don’t get you on a new flight that departs within an hour of the original flight, JetBlue says you are entitled to a travel credit.

The only catch is how late they canceled your flight. If it was canceled within 4 hours of departure, you’re owed a $50 credit. If the flight was canceled after the scheduled departure time, they owe you $100 in travel credit.

Refunds

If JetBlue reschedules you but you decide not to accept the rebooking (essentially canceling your trip and not flying), you are entitled to a full refund of your unused ticket.

Be careful, because the airline may try to convince you to accept a travel credit instead of a refund. This is a great deal for the airline because the odds of you remembering to come back and spend the travel credit with them is fairly low.

Unless you’re certain you’re going to use it for something specific, decline the travel credit and just ask for your money back as a plain old refund!

Understanding Your Rights When JetBlue Cancels Your Flight

Not all cancellations are created equal and your rights to compensation don’t apply across all categories of cancellations. 

Here’s how to tell what you are entitled to.

What makes an eligible cancellation

To qualify for compensation, your flight must be canceled because of a “controllable irregularity.” This means the reason was within the airline’s control. Examples are crew delays, baggage loading issues, and mechanical problems. 

If your flight was canceled because of something outside the airline’s control, like weather, safety and security concerns, or air traffic control issues, the airline is not responsible for caring for you.

However, a regulation from the Department of Transportation entitles passengers to a full refund if their flight has been canceled, regardless of the reason, and the passenger chooses not to continue their trip. 

So, if your flight was canceled because of an extreme snowstorm and you decide not to take the rebooking, the airline owes you a full refund!

How the Department of Transportation fits in

Within the last few years, the Department of Transportation has improved its process for holding airlines accountable when they don’t treat customers right.

Technically, the DOT actually doesn’t have any of their own specific requirements for airlines related to customer care during travel interruptions, besides the refund regulation. 

However, the DOT does enforce the promises that airlines have made to their customers, which are specific and include amenities and services for customers experiencing controllable cancellations.

The DOT has created an Airline Cancellation and Delay Dashboard that details what each airline has committed to providing for customers in the instance of flight delays and cancellations. 

I highly recommend you check it out and have it handy whenever you’re flying — it’s a fantastic resource!

If JetBlue doesn’t offer you all the services they’ve promised they will, you can file a complaint with the DOT, which will ensure you receive your compensation. 

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Claiming Compensation

So how do you actually get the care you’re entitled to when your flight gets canceled?

Rebook like a pro

When your JetBlue flight gets canceled, they should automatically rebook you on the next available flight. If that new flight doesn’t work for you, you can manage your trip online or on the JetBlue app.  

You can also cancel your flight online for an automatic refund. 

If no upcoming JetBlue flights work for you and you’re at the airport, ask the gate agent about booking you on a partner airline. It’s promised in their contract of carriage, and it won’t cost you a dime. 

Documentation is your best friend

Always, always keep your receipts! Whether it's for a hotel, meal, or ground transportation, these are your tickets to reimbursement. 

It’s unclear in their contract or on their website about how you submit receipts for reimbursement, so ask the gate agent before you leave the airport. 

If they give you an email to send receipts to, try it right there while the airline representative is in front of you to make sure it works.

Other Compensation Options

Travel insurance policies and credit card benefits can both provide compensation when your flight gets canceled — and in most cases, it’s more generous than what airlines provide.

Travel insurance

If your flight gets interrupted for any reason, your travel insurance policy can provide additional compensation, like a larger meal budget or lounge access. You’ll also receive booking support to get you back en route ASAP. 

Your accommodations and other prepaid activities are also reimbursable. So, if you ended up stuck somewhere overnight because your connection was canceled, you wouldn’t be out money for the suite and dinner reservation you booked at your destination.

READ MORE: Which Situations Are Covered by Trip Cancellation Insurance?

Credit card benefits

Lots of top credit cards come with travel insurance as a benefit. So, if you used that credit card to book the trip, you might already be covered. 

For example, if you booked your flight with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you could receive up to $500 in compensation per ticket if it takes longer than 6-12 hours for the airline to book you on a new flight.

If your trip is totally canceled (say, if bad weather or a strike means no flights are available at all and you need to forfeit the whole thing), you could get up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip to cover any prepaid, nonrefundable costs. 

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TL;DR: How To Get JetBlue Flight Cancellation Compensation

Getting stuck during travel is no fun, period. But when you know your rights, you can advocate for yourself and receive all the benefits you’re entitled to as a customer.

If you’ve been delayed over 3 hours because of a controllable issue, JetBlue owes you a meal voucher. And if you’ll be stuck in the airport all night, they need to provide you with overnight accommodations and the associated ground transportation. 

Knowledge is your greatest travel companion!

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.