PSA: If your flight gets majorly changed, you’re likely owed a cash refund, not just a travel credit

This surprised me and a lot of people use travel cards and they think they are covered up in all situations, so I think it's worth sharing here.

Approximately one month before my trip, my flight was changed by 12 hours. The airline sent a very official looking e-mail that had a big button to click to accept a travel credit as a courtesy. It was actually a legit and simple offer, and I almost clicked on it without thinking.
Fortunately I didn't.

That much of a change typically means you have a legal right to be paid the money you spent, not just a yearlong credit that you have to renew with them the next year. My Chase Sapphire is used for travel (and the insurance that comes with it) and it is terrific for booking a hotel or paying extra rebooking charges, but it is not a solution for cash refunds if the airline owes you money. This is a whole other ball game that most people aren't aware of, that they need to pursue themselves.

Reaching the airline is a nightmare, I was considering a 3 hour wait only to talk someone out of the refund. Went to a third party flight claim service to do all the back and forth for me that saved me the headache all together.

The point is, don't click on anything the airline sends you without finding out what you are entitled to. The shiny "Accept" button is almost always not the right choice.