Almost all cruise lines, and a growing number of airlines, are willing to pay you not to cancel your tickets, but instead take a credit for future trips. That lets them keep your cash now while no new money is coming in.
Bonuses of 15% to 25% are being offered by most of the cruise lines. That’s a good bet for them, since even when business is good they usually have last minute space that is sold at discount, so the bonuses may actually not cost the lines a lot.
For airlines, the situation is different; when they are in full operation they fly with few open seats, so the trade-off is not as good—but with very few flights and hundreds of parked planes, it may be in their best interests, and allowing generous deadlines to spread out the passenger load.
Few airlines have made a general public offer of a bonus, but ThePointsGuy website reports that American and Delta have been making offers up to 20% in case-by-case decisions. Qatar Airways has an across-the-board offer, but it’s a relatively meager 10%.
