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How to get a statement of delay/cancelation for your trip insurance

You were delayed overnight on a trip, but instead of sleeping on the airport floor, you headed to a hotel because you booked your trip using a credit card with a trip delay reimbursement benefit.

Now that your trip is over, you’ve submitted your claim for reimbursement and you are being asked for a statement from your air carrier about the reason for the delay/cancellation. How do you get this from your airline? Here’s how to get a statement from your air carrier about the delay or cancelation.

American Airlines: Submit a request for a trip insurance verification online

American Airlines will provide a statement of delay/cancellation in response to a customer service contact through its website. Go to the contact form on American’s website and select “Trip insurance verification” as the topic and “Verify flight cancel/delay” as the subject. The initial page should look something like the screenshot below:

A screenshot from the American Airlines website "Contact American" page. Topic "trip insurance verification" is selected and the subject of the contact request is "Verify flight cancel/delay".
Submit your request for a delay verification on American Airlines’ website.

American will also you for information about your request

  • Name and address
  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Fight information, including flight number, flight date, and origin and destination cities.

Additionally, you can also provide information such as your AAdvantage number or your ticket number, though this is not required to submit your request.

Delta Air Lines: Get your statement of delay online

If you need a proof of a delay or cancellation for your trip insurance and are flying with Delta Air Lines, you can what you need from a web form on Delta’s site. Delta will provide a verification that your flight has been delayed or canceled, but they do not promise to do so within a certain timeframe.

Here’s what you’ll need to make a request with Delta Air Lines:

  • First and last name
  • Complete address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Date of travel
  • Flight number
  • Ticket number (13 digits. For Delta tickets, this starts with 006.)
  • Origin and destination cities

JetBlue: Request via contact us page

JetBlue does not have a specific from to request a statement of delay. According to the people over on Reddit, your best bet is to request a statement of delay from JetBlue’s contact page. Select “Something else” under Topic and request your statement of delay in the comments. Be sure to include your confirmation code.

United Airlines: Make your request via email

United airlines can give you a proof of delay or cancellation via email. Send an email to delayletter@united.com with your request. Be sure to include the following information with your request:

  • The names of the travelers on your reservation
  • Confirmation number
  • Flight numbers
  • Dates of travel
  • Phone contact number
  • Email address or mailing address where you’d like the statement sent.

More information on delays and cancellations is available on United’s website.

Other airlines, and other ways to get a statement

If your airline isn’t listed on this page, or if you are traveling on another common carrier, you can probably get a statement of the reason for a flight cancellation or delay from customer service. Here are some things to try:

  • Call a customer service number of your airline or common carrier.
  • Find a general customer service contact form on the website.
  • Look up the airline on social media. Many airlines respond to customer service inquiries on Twitter and other social media sites.
  • Find an agent at the airport or go to an airport ticket/service counter. The agent pay be able to print you a statement or provide guidance about where to obtain one.

About the author

  • Photo of Aaron Hurd, credit card and travel rewards expert.

    Aaron Hurd is a credit card, travel rewards, and loyalty program expert. Over the past 15 years, he has authored over a thousand expert contributions published by leading outlets including WSJ, TIME, Newsweek, Forbes, NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, CNET, and many others. He has also served in consulting roles for many of these same outlets, designing content strategy, hiring teams of teams of editors and contributors, developing thought-leadership pieces, and ghost-editing for senior editors. Aaron is well-known in the miles and points community and regularly presents about travel rewards at conferences like the Chicago Seminars and Minnebar. Aaron has enjoyed the game of optimizing credit card rewards since getting his first credit card shortly after he turned 18. He started learning about credit cards and travel rewards from the (now defunct) FatWallet Finance forums and FlyerTalk. He holds more than 40 open credit cards and has first-hand experience with almost every major credit card product.

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