Claiming a refund for cancelled travel

We know a lot of holiday plans are being disrupted right now. If your flight or holiday has been cancelled, you should get in touch with whoever you booked with, and give them the opportunity to offer you a refund, an alternative date or a voucher. If the airline or holiday provider has cancelled, they’re required to give you a full refund – but you should check their cancellation policy.

If your travel plans are all still in place, but you’ve decided you no longer want to go, you might not be entitled to a refund as you’ve opted to cancel. So before you do, you should check your holiday provider’s refund policy – and it’s also worth contacting them in case they might be willing to offer you something as a gesture of goodwill in the current climate.

If your date of travel is still some time away, you may want to wait before making a decision to cancel, and decide nearer the time.

If your flight has been cancelled/refunded, but your hotel booking is still available, you need to contact the hotel and/or your travel insurance provider to discuss a refund. Depending on the hotel’s policy, you might not be eligible for one so it’s best to check as soon as you can.

If they are not offering a refund, or you have been referred to your card issuer to make a claim, we may be able to reimburse you. Simply complete the dispute form below. You'll need to include any details you've already had with the merchant where you've tried to resolve this as we don't accept attachments.

If the government issues guidance advising against travel, then the airline will likely cancel your flight.

If that happens, you should first contact the airline or holiday provider to see if they’ll offer you a refund, alternative date or voucher. If they have cancelled, they’re required to give you a full refund – but you should check their cancellation policy.

If you’re still encountering difficulty getting a refund, and you have paid for the service using your Tesco Bank credit or debit card, you may be able to raise a dispute through us.

We might ask you to provide evidence that the airline, travel provider or event organiser has refused to comply with the terms of their cancellation policy.

If the merchant is offering a refund, we would first ask you to allow them an opportunity to refund your credit card before getting in touch.

If they are not offering a refund, or you have been referred to your card issuer to make a claim, we may be able to reimburse you.

There are a number of reasons you may be able to make a chargeback. For example, if you paid for a return flight but the merchant stops trading before the trip, or if the merchant cancels the service and only offers a voucher that is outwith the agreed terms and conditions.

However, if you see a transaction that you don’t recognise, please follow our advice for unrecognised transactions.

Make sure you’ve tried to sort the problem out with the retailer first. They can also challenge your claim which, if it’s valid, might mean we have to re-debit your account.

Have anything related to your purchase on hand while you fill out the form like receipts, a copy of the retailer’s terms and conditions and any emails or letters you’ve written or received.

There are some rules around asking for a chargeback. Check out these details:

You'll need a few things to hand:

When you submit a chargeback claim, we'll share the data you've provided with the relevant retailer and their bank. We'll share any information we receive in response from the retailer with you.

For further details on how Tesco Bank will use your personal data and for details of your rights please see our privacy notice

For any other types of disputes, please read our FAQs on disputed transactions and chargebacks.