Booking.com Promised Cash Refund but Issued Travel Credit Instead
I made a reservation through Booking.com for accommodation in Thessaloniki, with check-in on December 28 and check-out on January 1. My first reservation, which cost approximately $805 USD, was canceled by the property. After this, I called Booking.com customer service and explained the situation. The customer service representative I spoke with, Mr. F*, suggested a more expensive property and clearly stated that Booking.com would cover the price difference, that the difference would be refunded to me in cash, and that I would be able to withdraw it directly to my debit card through the app.
During the call, I explicitly stated multiple times that I did not want travel credit and that I wanted the refund strictly as cash. Mr. F*** told me that approval had been obtained from upper management, that the price difference for the more expensive property would be covered, and that the refund would be available for cash withdrawal. He also instructed me to call Booking.com again on the check-out day. Relying on this assurance, I made the new reservation through Booking.com and paid a total of $1,421 USD.
On the check-out day, I called Booking.com again and spoke with Ms. A*. Referring to my previous conversation with Mr. F***, I reminded her that I had completed my stay and that the price difference would be refunded as cash. She confirmed this. However, about one hour later, I saw that approximately $621 USD had been credited to my account as travel credit, which cannot be withdrawn as cash. I called customer service repeatedly, explained the situation, and was told that upper management had approved an exception and that the finance department had been contacted—but no clear timeline was given.
When I called again on Monday, I was told that the finance department had made the final decision and that the travel credit could not be converted to cash. I was transferred to a supervisor, who gave a completely unhelpful response, saying, “There’s nothing we can do; we can’t convert it to cash.” When I asked to be connected to Mr. F*—who had originally arranged the more expensive property and promised a cash refund—I was told first that he was on another call, and then that he was off duty. Being told both at the same time felt contradictory and deeply undermining of trust.
My request from Booking.com is that the entire travel credit amount currently in my account be refunded to me as a cash payment to my debit card.
