Voucher-to-Cash Conversion Demand Letter (DOT 2024 Refund Rule)

[Your Full Name]
[Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Phone] [Email]

[Date]

[Airline Name — Customer Relations / Refunds]
[Address from contract of carriage]

Sent via certified mail, return receipt requested

Re: Demand to Convert Voucher to Cash Refund Under 14 CFR § 260.7 — Confirmation [PNR]

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to demand conversion of the travel voucher described below to a cash refund to the original form of payment, pursuant to the DOT 2024 final rule "Refunds and Other Consumer Protections" (89 Fed. Reg. 32760), codified at 14 CFR Part 260.

Booking facts:
  • Confirmation / PNR: [Number]
  • Original ticket purchase date: [Date]
  • Original payment method: [Credit card last 4 / cash / other]
  • Total paid: $[Amount]
  • Flight: [Number / Routing / Original Date]

Triggering event:
  [Pick one.]
  [ ] The airline cancelled the flight on [Date].
  [ ] The airline made a significant change (3+ hr domestic / 6+ hr international delay; airport change; added connection; downgrade in class).

Voucher facts:
  • Date voucher issued: [Date]
  • Voucher / eCredit / Travel Credit / Trip Credit identifier: [Number]
  • Amount: $[Amount]
  • Channel through which voucher was accepted: [chatbot / web form / phone agent / email]
  • Material disclosures made at acceptance: [Were you told you could choose cash instead? Was the cash-refund right disclosed at all?]

Legal basis:

Under 14 CFR § 260.7, the airline may not deem the passenger to have accepted alternative compensation (voucher, credit, miles) absent the passenger's affirmative acceptance. Default-voucher, dark-pattern, or chatbot-funneled acceptances do not satisfy this requirement. Under §§ 260.6 and 260.10, where a covered carrier cancels or significantly changes a flight and the passenger does not affirmatively accept alternative compensation, the airline must refund the fare to the original form of payment within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days (other), in the full amount.

In my case, the cash-refund right was [never disclosed before the voucher was offered / disclosed only after I accepted / disclosed in non-conspicuous fine print]. My acceptance was therefore not affirmative or informed under § 260.7.

Demand:

Within [14] days of receipt of this letter, please:

  1. Convert the voucher to a cash refund of $[Voucher amount] (or, where the voucher has been partially used, the unused balance of $[Amount]) to the original form of payment;
  2. Confirm in writing.

If you do not, I will pursue:
  • FCBA chargeback under 15 U.S.C. § 1666 with my card issuer (within the 60-day window of the original ticket charge, if still available);
  • DOT complaint at transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint;
  • State Attorney General complaint;
  • Breach-of-contract-of-carriage action in [state] small claims court.

Please preserve all records relating to this booking, including chat transcripts, IVR logs, and consent screens, pending resolution.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]

Enclosures: [original booking confirmation; cancellation/change notice; voucher email; screenshots of the consent screen or chatbot flow if available; billing statement showing the original ticket charge]