Expedia Refund Was a Nightmare. Here's How I Finally Won.

Expedia gave me the hardest time getting a refund for a cancelled vacation package. It took two months of fighting but I eventually got every penny back.

I booked a flight + hotel package to Cancun through Expedia for $1,800. Two weeks before departure, my airline cancelled the flight route entirely. Expedia offered to rebook me on a different airline but the alternative was a 14-hour layover each way.

I asked for a full refund. Expedia said the airline refunded the flight portion ($600) but the hotel portion ($1,200) was non-refundable. I pointed out that the hotel was booked as part of a package and without the flight the package was worthless.

Expedia did not care. I spent three weeks on phone calls and chats with agents who kept saying the same thing: hotel is non-refundable.

I filed a complaint with my credit card company. I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Two days after the BBB complaint, Expedia's executive support team contacted me. They approved a full refund within a week.

The lesson: Expedia's frontline support cannot authorize exceptions. You need to reach the executive team. A BBB complaint was the fastest way to get there.

Alternatively, you can email Expedia executives directly. I found an executive email address on a consumer advocacy site. That works too but slower than the BBB route.

Do not give up after the first rejection with Expedia. Their system is designed to wear you down.