Flight cancelled, but TravelUp will not release your money? This is the darkest black hole in the travel industry: the airline says it has paid, while the portal claims no money has arrived. Meanwhile, you are stuck with unreachable chatbots.
Enough of that. Use our free generator to place TravelUp in default. We demand full repayment of your ticket price within 14 days. No commission, no middleman service – straight to your account.
Editorially reviewed on: 05/07/2026
Did you book through a booking portal (OTA) and are now stuck in a holding pattern because the airline and portal keep passing responsibility back and forth? In many cases, the tried-and-tested chargeback process can help. If you paid for the ticket with a genuine credit card, you can often recover the money for a service not provided directly through your bank. A strong pressure point against stubborn intermediaries!
Compare the best (free) travel credit cardsAnyone who books a flight through portals such as TravelUp often saves £10 or £20 at the time of booking. But when a cancellation happens, that small discount becomes an expensive trap. Because you have a contract with the intermediary rather than paying the airline directly, the airline’s refund is returned to the intermediary’s account when the booking is cancelled.
Has the airline cancelled the flight and already initiated the refund? Then your money is already with TravelUp. If you ask there, you will usually receive only standardised replies: "We are waiting for confirmation from the airline." This is often a deliberate delaying tactic to use the liquidity of thousands of customers. Legally, you are entitled to payment once the intermediary has received the money from the airline.
Although UK Regulation 261 (UK261) requires ticket costs to be refunded within 7 days, portals such as TravelUp often try to retain additional "processing fees".
In 95% of cases, the airline is telling the truth. Airlines almost always refund to the original method of payment. Because TravelUp paid for the flight on your behalf using a corporate credit card, the money ends up there. The portal then has to allocate that incoming payment to your booking manually – and that is exactly where delays or cost-cutting often occur.
Once the 14-day deadline has expired, the company is in default. You can then start court proceedings using the Money Claim Online service or escalate the matter to an approved alternative dispute resolution body such as AviationADR where applicable. Because the portal is in default, it may also have to cover your legal costs if the dispute proceeds.
If the airline cancelled the flight, the portal may not deduct additional service fees for processing the refund from the ticket price. You are entitled to the full amount refunded by the airline.
TravelUp is a booking platform (OTA) and not the operating airline. Regarding ticket cancellations and the refund of aviation taxes and fees: OTAs and airlines frequently refer customers to one another. However, legally, any refund actually received must be passed on to the customer without unlawful delay. Excessive admin fees must not be demanded for the refund process alone. TravelUp's legal headquarters are based in Slough, United Kingdom.
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