There are many reasons you might need to cancel your Priceline reservations even when you have travel insurance, but not all of these reasons are covered under Priceline's policies, their insurance carrier's policies or those of the airline with whom you booked your tickets. No matter how unfortunate the circumstance, plane tickets cannot often be returned, exchanged or altered without incurring sizeable fees. However, if your reason for cancellation is covered under Priceline's insurance policy, you might be able to salvage some of your fees.
Outline your exact reason for cancellation. If it has to do with unforeseen health problems, or if the airline canceled your flight, you might be reimbursed for most of or all of your money paid or be given the opportunity to reschedule.
Visit Priceline's insurance agency "Description of Coverage" page and look for your cancellation reason in their list of coverages. They are currently with Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company. Priceline only applies coverage for insurance through Stonebridge; if you have other travel insurance, especial with an overseas company, coverage isn't available through Priceline. You also must have purchased your insurance at the time you made the reservation.
You can potentially receive your reservation costs back in full if you needed to cancel your trip due to a covered emergency, such as death or hospitalization. This requires that you purchased flight-plan insurance in addition to your travel insurance.
In the event that the airline cancelled or rescheduled your flight, the travel insurance you purchased for the original reservation will be applied in full toward the rescheduled reservation. However, if you decide to make a change in your schedule, priceline.com says your insurance coverage is consumed and will not apply toward your new scheduled reservation.
Keep in mind that priceline.com cannot dictate how the airline handles insurance. Their customer service disclaimer states that changes to reservations are often denied or heavily restricted based on airline policy, which varies from company to company.
Contact Priceline with any questions you might have and any cancellation requests. According to Contacthelp.com, Priceline's toll-free number is (877) 850-9658. You can also visit Priceline.com's contact page, but there is currently no phone number listed; you only have the option of sending an email, which is rarely the quickest way of getting through.
Many consumers complain about Priceline's customer service and reputation; some of these complaints are listed on Contacthelp.com. Read some of these reviews to see if your situation fits their description to know what you might be up against when trying to cancel. As Priceline honors whatever policies their affiliate airline, hotel or rental car companies require, don't expect them to be flexible about giving your money back if the cancellation is not the fault of the company.
Contact the airline, hotel or other reservation provider if you cannot get through with Priceline. Although airlines, especially, are rigid about changing a reservation, it's possible some hotels will let you reschedule your stay or cancel for a nominal fee to salvage at least a portion of the original money you spent.
