Need Reassurance For Travel

Answer to question 3:
You would only have to pay to change the flight ($200 to $300) plus the fare difference if you have a ticket with restrictions. Tickets with no restrictions fully refundable and free to exchange usually cost a lot more.

Also the rules for testing positive are always changing no one can really factually say what they will be in Fall 2022. So your best bet is if you book anything in advance (flight hotel etc.) is to book only fully refundable

The short answer is- you’re paying for it. There is inherent risk in travel and either you’re ok with risk of staying on the required days and added costs or you’re not.

The information is changing all the time, and government websites are where you can read official rules and regulations.

This is why they sell "Trip Interruption" insurance. Do read the fine print because some insurance policies limit or excluded coverage Covid related delay. 1. You would have to delay till you tested negative but the precise requirements are constantly changing. 2. You would have to stay in a hotel at your expense. 3. You would pay to change your flight and it could be expensive. Earlier the airlines were pretty flexible on changes but they are revert to their previous policies.

We can only generalize on the current conditions. As others have pointed out, who knows what things will be like by Fall. My guess is that entry testing will be gone by then, but there really isn't anyway to predict with accuracy what the government will do.

Under current conditions you could possibly get back to the USA faster from the UK than from France. UK doesn't have a mandatory quarantine but asks people to self-isolate. France currently requests 7 days isolation. In either case you require either a negative covid test or a certificate of recovery to enter the USA. A certificate of recovery can be issued 5 days after a confirmed positive test for a person who is asymptomatic or having decreasing symptoms. Italy currently has the strictest requirements of all these countries in regard to quarantine.

If you have purchased travel insurance, many of the companies include quarantine coverage in their policies. You would need to do the research and make sure you were covered by the policy you purchased. This mitigates the financial risk by quite a bit.

I think the real issue here is the amount of stress that this might generate for your husband. It is not a vacation if you end up spending the entire time worried about what might happen at the end. There are certainly many, many places you could take a vacation to that would not involve this sort of stress for him.

I get your concerns. Not trying to minimize them at all. IMHO, take a deep breath and enjoy the planning process. It's fun to look forward to travel. Others have given good advice. You certainly could spend more money than expected due to unforeseen circumstances. But, autumn travel is a long way off in these COVID times. Things will likely change 2 or 3 times.....or even more. With any luck, for the better. Follow the advice on the travel boards. Log in once a week and review others experiences. Follow websites like Sherpa or your airline to see what requirements are present at any given time. I also found it useful to follow US Embassy websites in any given country. Do this understanding things are constantly in flux right now. We traveled to France and a bit of Switzerland during July 2021. Due to changing airplanes in the UK, we had to follow requirements for 4 different countries. Definitely a part time job. We are traveling again during July to SE France and NW Italy. Things seem to be much simpler.....at least at this point. Things were more complicated than right now. We had no issues. There are some horror stories out there. But, as long as you play not smart while traveling minimizing risk, chances are you should be fine.

Based on what I know about current rules and conditions, which could easily change before next fall:

1. You would need either a negative test or a certificate of recovery from a physician before you could board a flight back to the US. I think the minimum isolation period that would involve is five days, but it could be longer depending on the European country's rules and your own health condition.

2. You would pay for lodging, at a place designated by the health authorities of the country you're visiting. Most likely this would be a hotel.

3. If you bought refundable tickets (expensive) you'd get a refund (eventually), and have to buy new tickets when you know when you can fly. If you bought non-refundable tickets you could change them (maybe for a fee, maybe for no fee depending on the airline's policy when you first bought them) to a later date -- but you might pay a fare difference because your new flight wouldn't be far in the future.

4. Here is the CDC website showing the current rules for returning to the US. (By the way, the current requirement is a test either the day of or the day before your flight.) Your airline's website should have the policies it will follow (based on the CDC rules). The public health agencies in the countries you're visiting will have websites including their own rules for entry, and for what to do if you test positive at any time in that country, including before departure.

I'd strongly recommend travel insurance to cover the kinds of costs you're concerned about. Two good places to compare and buy policies are insuremytrip.com and squaremouth.com. You may also want to work with a travel agent to plan this trip.

I have a Chase Sapphire card and I spoke to them at length before departing on our last trip. Included in my card services is Covid insurance for trips paid for with the card. There are limits, of course, but I was told it applies to anyone in my party as well as myself in the event of a positive Covid test. It distinctly did not cover delays or cancellations due to Covid issues in general, closed borders, canceled events, etc…

I read the fine print but they were still fleshing out their definitions for the Covid portion of the policy so I asked a lot of questions.

May be worth a check? They specifically covered hotel and airfare changes.

I’ll just add one thing to the excellent advice you’ve been given and that is to book your airfare directly with the airline. Don’t use a 3rd party vendor because if you have to change your tickets you want to deal directly with the airline and not someone in the middle.

By Fall the requirement to have a Negative Covid test for return to the US may be a thing of the past. Or not…

You have received some sound advice above. Things are certain to change before your trip.

Covid won’t have disappeared, but we all have to learn to live with it and that will mean different things for different people, dependent on your risk profile and economic circumstances - are you prepared for the trip to be interrupted if either of you gets ill during the trip and you need to self isolate? If you are working, will your employer be flexible if you have to stay in Europe beyond your original return date?

Travelling to just one country will make it easier to keep updated on the various Covid requirements and reduce the stress caused.

1. I have known more people test positive for Covid in the past month than in the last 2 years, as Covid restrictions have generally been abolished. About half had no symptoms and half felt “very unwell” for 3-4 days. None needed medical intervention. All are in their 40s and 50s. Most had a clear Covid test after a week (none in 5 days), but one was positive for nearly 2 weeks. You currently need a fit to travel certificate saying you are clear. This may change before your trip.
2. The cost has already been covered. You usually have to organise your own accommodation and it must be somewhere where you can self isolate, so rental accommodation is a good option to minimise the contact with others.
3. Nothing to add to other comments.
4. The best information can be found on the various government websites for the countries you want to visit (and your own).

I have a Chase Sapphire card

Sleight, if I may ask, do you have Preferred or Reserve? ... I have Preferred, haven't read the terms since i got the card years ago (pre-Covid) and wasn't going anywhere ... thanks.

Thanks to everyone that had responded. Lots of great information.
We will continue to some research before deciding what to do.

We are planning to travel to Norway, Switzerland, and Italy in August and September (yay Rick Steves Southern Italy tour!). We decided many months ago to go ahead and make reservations, especially since RS tours got booked up quickly and we had to jump on it. And, with airline tickets going up every day we felt like we would miss out on decent fares if we waited any longer.

I read all the COVID information, but not putting any credence in any of it yet because we won't be returning to the US for five more months. As our trip gets closer I will get prepared, like buying the self tests ahead of time, but we plan to keep wearing our masks in crowded places and trying to stay safe.

@DQ

I don’t mind! It’s preferred. I was surprised they offered it with the “lower end” card.

@Tom I don’t know if you are referring to Covid related change fees, but change fees are very much alive and kicking on economy tickets. 200.00 per ticket, typically.

“above basic economy” is the key phrase there. Like I said… on economy.

That’s an interesting tidbit about being halfway through… wouldn’t have thought of that.