Wouldn’t it be nice to make some money off delayed flights?

I belong to a mastermind group for entrepreneurs and business owners and they meet twice a year in a great locations. This time it was in Tucson, Arizona.

Of course the day I was leaving NYC there was a snowstorm and I was connecting through Atlanta. Because of a tiny bit of ice…the whole city of Atlanta closed down 🙂

I was stuck in O’Hare airport for 5 hours. It wasn’t fun but since I’ve started meditating I found that I was a little less upset than I’d normally be.  Plus I went directly to the Delta Sky Lounge. I have a Delta Amex card and you can get in for $30. Well worth it!  I recommend getting a day pass if you ever get stuck! It’s a much more civilized way of hanging around an airport.

Last year my husband Jay and I signed up for the Global Entry program that allows you to skip the line at security. That’s certainly made flying less of a hassle but it doesn’t help with flight cancellations or delays.

If you fly more that once or twice a year you’ve probably gotten used to flights getting delayed or cancelled on you. It’s not just a pain it can seriously screw up your entire travel plans, especially if your headed to an important event.

While there’s not much that can be done to prevent your flights from being cancelled, there is a way to at least be compensated for your hassle.

If your domestic US flight is delayed by over two hours you can often get compensation, but understanding how to access that compensation is not so easy. Many airlines purposefully make it difficult for you to complain, with forms that are complicated to fill out or hidden at the bottom of the website page.

Since I believe in outsourcing boring tasks whenever possible, I was extremely pleased to find the app called Service. The company claims compensation for your flights for you and will rebook your hotel so you get cheaper rates.

It’s $50 a year to sign up — so I did it to see if they could really get me some money back. The service hooks up to your email so they know what flights you’re on and track if they are delayed or canceled. They will automatically claim for compensation.

They say they can save the average traveler $300 a year. That’s nearly the cost of another flight!

Since signing up I must admit I haven’t had much luck. That flight I took to Arizona last month wasn’t eligible for any compensation. However I don’t want to be so quick to judge and I’m willing to wait and see what happens throughout the year.

Although in a way I’m almost hoping I’ll lose out and none of my flights will be canceled! Then again you know what they say – hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. In which case, hopefully Service has my back! I’ll keep you posted.