Consumer protections you should be aware of during this holiday travel season

The holiday travel rush has started, and the Transportation Security Administration is advising travelers to arrive early to ensure they have enough time to make their flight. 

According to TSA, they expect to screen nearly 40 million travelers at airport security checkpoints between now and Jan. 2. This is an increase of 6.2% from the same time last year, when they said they screened 37 million people.

Even with a record number of travelers this year, 2024 is still on track to have one of the lowest cancellation rates in a decade, according to the Department of Transportation. 

This is the first holiday travel season with new DOT regulations in place regarding airline refund policies. 

According to the DOT, you are entitled to an automatic refund if there are significant changes to a flight like departure or arrival time that is more than three hours domestically or six hours internationally. 

This also includes departures or arrivals from a different airport or an increase in the number of connections. 

“What automatic actually means in terms of timelines. Yes, they are held to that seven business days threshold,” Katy Nastro with Going.com said. “However, you know, for example, one airline might constitute automatic as 72 hours, 24 hours. Could it be five business days? You know, there might not be consistency across airlines.”

There are other consumer protections going in place to protect travelers. 

This week, the Federal Trade Commission announced a final rule banning junk fees on short-term rentals and hotels. Businesses must display the all-in-total price where it is most prominently advertised. 

“Seeing an accommodation that fits our budget exactly, and then on the final screen being told about five different fees that you didn’t consider, and now the whole place is out of your budget, and you really have to start the search again. And that’s unbelievably frustrating for all consumers,” said Daniel Green with Faye Travel Insurance.

Green says once this rule is in effect, you should look out for junk fees and report them if you spot them. 

“One is you can pay the fee upfront and then confront the provider later,” Green said. “And if they don’t want to do anything about it, there is a mechanism to report these sorts of violations to the FTC. And you absolutely should do that, right? We should be keeping people honest now that this ruling has come out.”

The rule on junk fees also applies to tickets purchased for live events. Companies have 120 days to comply before the rule goes into effect.