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KLM Vouchers: Refund Status & Exchange for Cash

Let’s talk about KLM vouchers.

KLM voucher status, its type and validity. How to exchange a KLM voucher to cash?

There are different types of vouchers, hence it’s understandable why people get confused. While some of the vouchers are refundable, you can exchange them for cash, others are non refundable and can be used only on KLM.com for a flight booking or a purchase of extra options. It’s equally important to know the difference between a KLM travel voucher and a compensation.

A voucher is not the same as a compensation.

KLM Vouchers

Vouchers are coupons worth a certain amount of money.

Airlines often use them as a form of payment between them and their clients. Some of these vouchers KLM issues to its passengers you can exchange for cash, some can only be used for purchases on KLM.com. You should know the difference between the two. 

1. KLM Voucher Refund

What kind of voucher do you have?

What happened that you were given a voucher?

1.1 Your Flight Was Cancelled

In this case you should always be given a choice.

If KLM cancels a flight, it should give you a choice between a refund for cancellation and an alternative flight. This new flight can be with KLM or with another airline. You don’t have to pay anything extra, if you choose any of the offered flights. In some situations you will also be entitled to flight cancellation compensation

Refund and compensation (when it’s due) should be paid to your bank account. If you are given a voucher, it must be a refundable voucher, exchangeable for cash.

1.2 Your Flight Was Delayed

There are two most likely scenarios. 

Either it was fault of KLM, or it wasn’t its fault.

If it was fault of KLM, you might be entitled to flight delay compensation. Find it out and don’t agree to anything less than what you are entitled to. 

The whole procedure and also compensation amounts are regulated by the law in the European Union. In most situations you can receive 250, 400 or 600 euro. You might be given a KLM discount voucher instead of compensation, a so called KLM EMD voucher. If the latter has happened, check your voucher’s value and type. KLM EMD voucher refund (exchange to cash) is possible only if the voucher states “refundable” — make sure it is.

If it wasn’t fault of KLM, a voucher can also be “non-refundable”.

1.3 You Were Denied Boarding

You don’t have to agree to give up your seat.

However, sometimes you don’t have a choice — the plane is overbooked, and someone, it might be also you this time, is denied boarding. If you didn’t agree to this, you should be receiving a new flight or refund to your bank account and denied boarding / overbooking compensation in full. 

If you agree to give up your seat, you may be offered anything from KLM air miles and KLM flight vouchers to KLM vouchers giving discounts for your whole family. Pay close attention to what you are getting, if it’s refundable or non-refundable, the validity and for what you can use it.

By Europe and EU here on this page we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.

1.4 Other Situations

As always, pay attention to what you are offered.

When in doubt, do your own research to find out if you’re not being tricked. Here on this site we talk about different situations when you are entitled to compensation or refund. In many situations you can demand a full KLM refund not voucher, even though you are offered the latter. 

Here’s a summary of what you can get in what situation:

SituationEU flight compensationRefund
Flight delay of 3+ hoursIf it’s fault of KLM, you will be entitled to flight delay compensationNo
Flight delay of less than 3 hoursNoNo
Flight cancellation less than 2 weeks before the flightIf it’s fault of KLM, you will be entitled to flight cancellation compensationRefund or new flight
Flight cancellation more than 2 weeks before the flightNoRefund or new flight
Boarding denial (overbooking)YesRefund or new flight
You have given up your seatNoAs you agree with KLM

In some situations you can get compensation or refund, in some situations you can get both. In all situations mentioned above, all of this has to be paid either in cash or to your bank account.

Euro banknotes
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

2. How to Exchange KLM Vouchers for Money?

According to KLM voucher policy, only refundable vouchers can be exchanged.

KLM calls these vouchers that they issue EMD vouchers. In order to find out if your KLM voucher is refundable or not, look at the voucher. Most likely you will find it in your email. See if it states “refundable” or “non-refundable” on it. You can exchange your refundable KLM voucher to money online.

To exchange your voucher for cash, go to this page.

Alternatively, contact KLM customer service.

Exception. If you are given a non-refundable voucher in a situation when compensation or refund is due, you have a right to request an exchange. You can do it on your own. And you can hand over the case to a flight compensation company, to do it on your behalf. Our partners offer such a service — you fill in a single form (link below), give them all the flight details, and they do the rest.

3. How to Request a Refund?

You can do it online — www.klm.com.co/en/refund

You can request a full refund of your ticket price, any extras that you have booked, or your travel vouchers. You can also check the status of your refund requests on the same page.

KLM airplane in the air
Featured photo by Walter Sietinga from Pexels

4. Demand a KLM Refund, Not Voucher

In many situations you should have a choice.

You don’t have to accept Air France – KLM miles, or KLM vouchers instead of compensation. You also don’t have to agree to coupons when, according to the laws and regulations, a full refund to your bank account is due. You may agree to any of that, but you should be given a choice, and KLM has to respect your choice.

What if you have made a mistake? 

What if you have taken a voucher when you could get money? Can you still get a full KLM cash refund instead of voucher? It all depends from case to case, but you should definitely try to do an exchange. Especially, if you weren’t given a choice initially, and KLM just gave you something without a proper explanation.

Read more: Your KLM Refund Is Taking Forever. What Can You Do About It?

Featured photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

24 thoughts on “KLM Vouchers: Refund Status & Exchange for Cash”

  1. Thank you for the very informative article.
    I am waiting to get confirmation regarding a request for a voucher for a flight that i cancelled. Happy to use the voucher for my next flight, as I will be travelling with KLM very soon in the new year

  2. I have been waiting for exchange KLM Vouchers for money more than 3 months. I’ve just talked with KLM and they said: “you must wait more”. I’ve asked how long. Then they’ve finished the conversation. Without any explanation and even saing “good bye”.

    1. Avatar photo

      Hi Joan, we’ve deleted the rest of the details you shared publicly. Because it’s unsafe and because we are not KLM. You can find KLM contacts on their website klm.com. We are only an informative website – and we help people to get compensation from airlines.

  3. This is a great service that you are providing, thank you. I had flight cancellation due to pandemic covid nonsense, got sent vouchers. KLM make it extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to find the place to request your money back with the vouchers. The link that you provided made my day!!!

  4. How do you apply for a Refund of an Expired Voucher without the Booking Code. I have tried everything without success. I m writing on What’s App and trying to call and get an answer.
    Who do I contact?

  5. If you try to make my voucher effective many times, for denied boarding, there is no option that they said I should choose. I need step by step explain me, thanks

  6. I have received a Refundable EMD from KLM for a flight delay beyond 5 hours within 24 hours of departure. I want to redeem voucher for cash but my request was denied as my request Reason, according to KLM, should have been ‘Refundable voucher given as compensation’ but I don’t see this reason in any drop down. Do you know how I can complete this request for refund?

  7. This web page does not offer the appropriate features for my submittal of my Denied Boarding Compensation. Why not? If KLM issues these for passenger that experience a “bumped” flight, due to overbooking, then why doesn’t the web site recognize this condition and process a claim? I feel like I am being scammed.

    Sincerely,

    Steve

    1. Woman using a laptop

      Hello Steve, we understand your frustration. That’s why created this website. I’ll state this right away – we are not KLM. But we can help with your KLM compensation claim. Just fill in the form linked on this website, and a claim specialist will check your case.

  8. Please let me know how do I claim an expired voucher of Covid Era 2020 from KLM, The booking code is no longer acceptable on the website.
    Thank you

  9. Hi. I have a non refundable voucher. I want to use it to book a flight, and make the booking before the 1 year deadline is up. However, the actual date of the flights will be after the one year deadline. The KLM guidance only says vouchers must be used within one year. Do you know of they mean the flight has to be taken or just the booking should be made?

  10. Hi! I wasn’t sure if you received a case like this before, but I got a refundable voucher for a difference in airfare (I would get 371 if I flew the next day instead). I went to redeem my refund and they ended up canceling my return flight back and refunding the whole thing instead of just the voucher. Now I’m out of a flight and to rebook the exact flight it would be 3000! Any advice would be helpful. It seems illegal to do this since the only way I can redeem a refundable voucher was with the booking code. If I had known to wait until after my flight I would’ve waited, but there was nothing indicating that.

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