We’ve all tried to send a dish back to a restaurant or return an item of clothing we bought, realizing once we brought it home that it just wasn’t what we wanted. The “return” trip that you have booked is often more difficult.

Hotels can be forgiving: give them plenty of time to make another reservation for you, and they’re usually good to let you go. Airlines are required by law in the United States to give you 24 hours after purchasing a ticket to make sure your purchase is what you want. After that? Cancellations can become costly, charged with fees that are not necessarily transparent.

If you redeem miles or points for a trip, a cancellation becomes even more inconvenient. Not only are there fees, but you could also lose your hard-earned rewards.

Can you get them back? Here are your options.

Important note: The policies described below reflect the airlines’ current policies and do not take into account the temporary changes they have made in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Most Airline company and Hotel companies have alternative cancellation policies currently in effect.

When canceling a flight purchased with miles, most airlines charge a cancellation fee, unless you have Elite status with the airline. Here’s what you can expect on these US-based airlines:

Southwest Rapid Rewards will return your points to you free of charge, even if you do not show up for your flight.

JetBlue won’t just charge you if your ticket is a Blue Flex fare, which means paying a fairly high premium to buy the ticket in the first place. Otherwise, JetBlue isn’t as forgiving, charging up to $ 200 to cancel your award ticket without waiver.

International airlines: Other airlines with fees between $ 25 and $ 150 will waive these fees for Elite members. International carriers can be a little nicer. British Airways, for example, will charge up to $ 55 for flights departing from North America, at no charge for Gold members, while Virgin will charge $ 50 (with no waiver available) for flights canceled up to 24 hours. before leaving.

Cancellation periods also vary for US airlines. If you cancel your flight on American within 72 hours of departure, your miles will not be refunded. You will also lose your miles if you do not show up on a Frontier flight. No-shows on United must pay a deposit fee of $ 125 to retain unused miles.

With advance planning, some airlines will allow you to change your flight at no cost, even if you’ve booked with points. While not as flexible as the ability to outright cancel, this policy can prove to be a reprieve on your wallet if your travel plans go wrong.

American: In August 2020, American Airlines introduced a new no-change charge policy for flights to any of the 50 U.S. states as well as certain international destinations for all fare classes except Basic Economy. The policy allows US customers to retain the full value of their original tickets if they change their flight prior to take-off. This policy applies to both cash and award tickets.

South West : Southwest does not charge a cancellation fee, so it naturally does not charge a change fee either. But if you change your booking which costs more points than what you originally paid for, you’ll have to pay the difference with Rapid Rewards points. If you don’t have enough points to cover the difference, you will need to either earn more points quickly, or you’ll have to use a credit card to purchase more points, which often turns out to be a bad deal.

United: In August 2020, United removed the change fee for award travel, provided the ticket was for travel within the United States and in economy class or premium cabin. United is also now waiving deposit fees on all award travel canceled or rescheduled at least 30 days prior to your scheduled flight.

Getting miles redeposited into your hotel loyalty program is fairly easy at all US hotel chains if you cancel your reservation before the date provided by the hotel. Generally speaking, the individual hotel (not the chain) determines their own cancellation policies, which are detailed in the fine print of your reservation. As long as you cancel before the deadline, you will not be charged any fees and your points will be refunded.

Cut it close to the deadline and that’s a different story. You may be charged a full night if you cancel too late or don’t show up. Some properties openly specify a cancellation fee, such as the Wyndham Reef Resort Grand Cayman, which charges a two-night penalty if a reservation is canceled within a week of stay.

Wyndham is the most direct and strict when it comes to cancellations. Go Free rewards will be forfeited if cancellation is not made within the time limit set by the establishment. Here’s what you can expect from US hotel chains:

Travel insurance will help you recover all personal expenses if you need to cancel a trip. This is very useful if an illness or emergency causes you to miss an airline or hotel deadline.

Travel insurance is unfortunately not that useful when it comes to miles and points. In general, if you have used miles and points for a ticket, you are only eligible for reimbursement for costs you incur, such as point deposit fees. It’s fine if you also get your points back, but otherwise the insurance won’t get them back for you.

Hotels are another story. Insurance will cover all charges charged to your credit card, including full night charges charged by some hotels. But the insurance will not return the points redeemed to your hotel, if it retains your points as part of its cancellation policy.

Overall, however, travel insurance is always a good idea if you are taking a long trip. A good rule of thumb is to consider the cost of your trip when booking: does it cost more than you would be willing to lose? If so, purchase insurance. Otherwise, you might want to ignore it.

Whether or not you get your points and miles back depends on the type of points and miles you book with and the cancellation policies of the program you book with. Whenever you plan to book a ticket or hotel with points and miles, check the cancellation policy.

Some credit cards, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, offer travel insurance as a cardholder’s benefit. Under the terms of the included insurance, you can usually be reimbursed for non-refundable expenses if you have to cancel your trip for a reason that is included in the terms and conditions.

Travel cards that will help you cover the reimbursable expenses of your canceled trip include Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®, with up to $ 10,000 covered per trip; the United Club Infinite Card℠, providing up to $ 20,000 per trip; As of 2020, American Express is offering travel insurance up to $ 10,000 on the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, Hilton Honors Aspire and Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express.

The only safe way to get your points and miles back if you need to cancel your trip is to pay attention to airline and hotel cancellation policies and follow them as closely as possible – knowing that you may need to incur a cash penalty to recover your miles.

To consult the rates and costs of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant ™ American Express® Card, see this page.

All information on the Aspire Hilton Honors American Express Card was independently collected by NerdWallet. the Aspire Hilton Honors American Express Card is no longer available through NerdWallet.

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