Smooth Travel Guarantee Terms and Conditions

• We're here to help, and the following guarantee (the "Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee") describes our ("Trip.com", "us", "we" or "our" as the context requires) commitment to ensuring you get to your destination as smoothly as possible.
• The Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee is generally applicable to itineraries containing flights operated by unaffiliated airlines which have been combined into a single itinerary by Trip.com, including one-way transfer trips, round trips and multi-city trips (a "Smooth Travel Itinerary").
• Where the Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee is applicable, this will be clearly notified to you at the point of purchase and stated on your booking details page. You may also be given the option to upgrade the Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee by purchasing additional smooth travel services for the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 10 ("Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee"). The additional services included in the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee will be highlighted at the time of purchase and are also set out in these Terms and Conditions.
• By using the Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee or the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee (each a "Guarantee" and together the "Guarantees"), you are deemed to have accepted and agreed to comply with these Terms and Conditions. Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully (in particular the sections highlighted in bold).
• The Guarantees do not apply in circumstances where you miss a flight for reasons other than one of the flights within a Smooth Travel Itinerary being affected by a delay, a cancellation, or a reschedule event. See section 5 below for more information.
• We may amend these Terms and Conditions from time to time. The date that amendments were last made will be displayed at the top of these Terms and Conditions, and any amendments will take effect upon posting. Every time you wish to purchase a Trip.com Smooth Travel Itinerary and/or the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee, please check these Terms and Conditions to ensure you understand the terms that apply at that time.
• The Guarantees are issued by Trip.com Travel Singapore Pte. Ltd., a limited liability company with its address at 30 Raffles Place, #29-01 Singapore 048622. We are a global online travel agency.
• When using our website or app and purchasing travel products, our General Terms and Conditions will also apply: https://uk.trip.com/contents/service-guideline/terms.html?locale=en-GB.

Activating the Guarantee

• (a)For one-way transfer trips, a delay,cancellation, or rescheduling of one of the flights in your Smooth Travel Itinerary that would directly cause you to miss one or more other flights in your Smooth Travel Itinerary, or would make it impossible to complete your Smooth Travel Itinerary.
• The application of the Guarantee depends on the airlines' recommended minimum connection time. If you should have reasonably made the connecting flight based on the airport's recommended minimum connection time, no refund will be given and the Guarantee will not apply.
• (b)For round trips and multi-city trips,if any flight in your Smooth Travel Itinerary is cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled from its original departure time, resulting in inability to take associated flights.

• The above (a) and (b) are collectively referred to as "Trigger Events"; a flight that is delayed, cancelled, or rescheduled in your Smooth Travel Itinerary is referred to as a "Changed Flight"; the unused portions of the flights in your Smooth Travel Itinerary that are affected by the Changed Flight are referred to as the "Affected Flights".
• If you purchase checked baggage allowance through channels other than Trip.com, such as directly from the airline, and this leads to insufficient connecting time, the Guarantee service will not apply.
• To activate the Trip.com Smooth Travel Guarantee, please let us know about the Trigger Event by phone or online service chat on our website. In cases where we are independently informed of the Trigger Event, we may reach out to you directly to inform you and offer the option to activate the Smooth Travel Guarantee. If you have purchased the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee, we will always contact you directly to notify you and activate the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee.
• The Guarantees cannot be applied to the Changed Flight - under these circumstances it will be the relevant airline carrier's responsibility to secure alternative travel arrangements for you and you should contact them, and the Guarantees can only be applied to any Affected Flights in your Smooth Travel Itinerary.
• For the avoidance of any doubt, when the use of the Guarantee results in booking a new flight and the new flight is operated by a different airline to the original flight, the Guarantee will be deemed as having been used and Trip.com will not be obligated to provide the Guarantee to any Trigger Event that occurs to the new flight.
• Unless otherwise indicated in Section 1.4, any unauthorized changes by you to your Smooth Travel Itinerary will disqualify you from the Guarantee and you acknowledge and agree that you will have no claim for performance of it against us in those circumstances.
• The scope and protection provided by the Guarantees differ depending on whether the Trigger Event constitutes a "Short Notice Event" or a "Long Notice Event" and whether you have purchased the Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee.

1. Short Notice Event

• 1.1 A Short Notice Event is where the delay, cancellation or reschedule event occurs at any time less than 48 hours prior to the Changed Flight’s originally scheduled take-off time (“Short Notice Event”).
• 1.2 Where the Guarantee is activated on the basis of a Short Notice Event, we will pull together an alternative travel plan for you as soon as we can. You must reply within 24 hours of us sending you the details of our proposed alternative travel plan to confirm whether you wish to accept it or reject it. If you are not happy with the alternative travel plan we propose and choose to reject it, we may instead offer you a refund in respect of the Affected Flights in accordance with the calculation described at section 1.5 below. Failure to reply to us within 24 hours, or to agree an alternative travel plan or refund prior to the Changed Flight’s originally scheduled take-off time, may result in the Guarantee being invalidated.
• 1.3 In addition to the rights afforded to you under section 1.2, in circumstances where you are notified of the Short Notice Event less than 12 hours prior to the Changed Flight’s originally scheduled take-off time, you shall be entitled to propose your own alternative travel plan for consideration. Where you propose a travel plan to us for consideration: (i) this shall be approved by us at our sole discretion and will not cover the expenses of any non-essential or additional services or upgrades included as part of the proposed travel plan; (ii) any subsequent unauthorized changes by you to your travel plan will disqualify you from the Guarantee and you acknowledge and agree that you will have no claim for performance of it against us in those circumstances. Where we reject a travel plan you have proposed, you shall be entitled to a Trip.com-sourced alternative travel plan or refund pursuant to section 1.2.
• 1.4 In addition to the rights afforded to you under sections 1.2 and 1.3, in circumstances where you are notified of the Short Notice Event less than 4 hours prior to the Changed Flight's originally scheduled take-off time and you were unable to contact us (after making reasonable attempts to do so), the Guarantee will permit you to make your own, unapproved booking of flight(s) comparable to the Affected Flights. In such circumstances Trip.com will, upon receipt of satisfactory evidence of expenses, reimburse you in respect of the amount of the Affected Flights in accordance with the terms described in section 1.5 below, or if you purchased our Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee (and the calculation amounts to less than USD1,000), up to USD1,000.
• 1.5 Where you are entitled to a refund or reimbursement in accordance with sections 1.2, 1.4, or 2.2, the value of the Affected Flights will be determined based on the price provided by the airline. If the airline does not provide or is unable to provide a price, we will calculate the value of the Affected Flights based on the mileage. As noted above, if you purchased our Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee (and the calculation amounts to less than USD1,000), Trip.com will reimburse you up to USD1,000. Refunds and reimbursements provided under this section 1.5 shall follow the original payment method, unless we agree otherwise. This section is subject to the section on Alternative Transportation to Final Destination below.
• Where a Short Notice Event occurs and you have accepted our proposed alternative travel plan, the following additional services may be requested when contacting us to activate the Guarantee ("Additional Services"):
• Alternative Transportation to Final Destination:  We are happy to consider any suggestions you may have regarding alternative travel methods such as bus, boat, or train. Where possible, we will factor this into the alternative travel plan we propose. Where alternative transportation is accepted as part of an alternative travel plan, we will reimburse the cost of alternative transportation up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 120 per trip.
• Alternative Transportation to a Different Airport:  We are happy to cover the cost of airport transfers up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 120 per trip, where this is a necessary part of the alternative travel plan.
• Accommodation Expenses:  In the event that the alternative travel plan involves an overnight connection that results in you needing to stay at the airport for more than 8 hours in order to make a connecting flight that departs after midnight (12:00 AM, local time), we are happy to reimburse you accommodation expenses up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 50 per room during that layover period subject to availability and provided that (i) such accommodation is selected and paid for by us via our own booking channels; and (ii) transportation to/from the hotel is paid for by you. If you purchased our Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee, we will reimburse you accommodation expenses up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 350 per room.
• Meal Expenses:  If the agreed alternative travel plan requires you to wait more than 4 consecutive hours at a connecting airport, we will reimburse you for food or meal expenses up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 15 per trip on the alternative travel plan. If you purchase our Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee, we will reimburse you for food or meal expenses up to the amount of or currency equivalent to USD 30 per trip per day.
• If you are offered any compensation considered equivalent to the Additional Services by the airline and/or airport, we will no longer be obligated to compensate and/or reimburse you for those Additional Services. Please note that Additional Services are only available when you agree to our suggested alternative travel plan.

2. Long Notice Event

• 2.1 A Long Notice Event is where the delay, cancellation, or reschedule event occurs at any time 48 hours or more prior to the Changed Flight’s originally scheduled take-off time (“Long Notice Event”).
• 2.2 Where the Guarantee is activated on the basis of a Long Notice Event, we will pull together an alternative travel plan for you as soon as we can. You must reply within 24 hours of us sending you the details of our proposed alternative travel plan, to confirm whether you wish to accept it or reject it. If you are not happy with the alternative travel plan we propose and choose to reject it, we may instead offer you a refund in respect of the Affected Flights in accordance with the calculation described in section 1.5 above. Failure to reply to us within 24 hours, or to agree an alternative travel plan or refund prior to the Changed Flight’s originally scheduled take-off time, may result in the Guarantee being invalidated.

3. Communications

• All notices and communications made by us to you will be deemed to have been received on the date and time on which the communication was first transmitted by us.
• Unless we are advised otherwise, all notices and communications will be sent to the email address and/or phone number associated with your Trip.com user account when the flights were originally booked, or online service chat on our website.
• Where a notice or communication stipulates that a response is required within a specific timeframe, failure to respond within this timeframe will result in disqualification of the Guarantee.

4. Refunds and Payments

• Our Upgraded Smooth Travel Guarantee is non-refundable once purchased.
• Where you are eligible for a refund or reimbursement, payment will be conditional on you providing us with suitable copies of receipts or any other reasonably requested supporting information.
• All eligible refunds or reimbursements under the Guarantees shall be paid by us to the payment card or account used to make your original booking within 14 business days of us receiving all necessary documentation and information. The date that any refund or reimbursement will be paid into your account is subject to the provider of your account.

5. Exceptions and Limitations

• For the purposes of this section, "Unavoidable Events" refer to extraordinary or unforeseen circumstances and include, but are not limited to, pandemics, acts of God, extreme weather or geological events, political or security issues, unexpected flight safety deficiencies, strikes, bankruptcy, insolvency, dissolution, liquidation, or flight suspension that affect the operation of any relevant operating air carrier or airport.
• Where Unavoidable Events result in delay, cancellation or rescheduling of any Changed Flight in your Smooth Travel Itinerary, the Guarantees cannot be applied to any of the Affected Flights.
• The Guarantees do not apply in circumstances where you miss a transfer for reasons other than one of the flights within a Smooth Travel Itinerary being affected by a delay, a cancellation, or a reschedule event, including but not limited to failing to make the transfer in time or being excluded from a flight as a result of your own acts, omissions, fault, or negligence, for example, due to unacceptable behavior or conduct, health or safety grounds or being in possession of inadequate travel documentation.
• The Guarantees shall not apply in circumstances where a delay in the airport such as at immigration and passport control or baggage collection results in a missed flight.

6. Claims

You authorize us to coordinate with airlines on your behalf regarding compensation claims, while retaining your right to pursue claims directly if you choose.

7. Other

• Personal data supplied during the course of the Guarantee will only be processed as set out in Trip.com's Privacy Statement: https://uk.trip.com/contents/service-guideline/privacy-policy.html?locale=en-GB
• These Terms and Conditions and any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of them, their subject matter or formation shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of Singapore, although this shall not deprive you of any mandatory consumer rights of the law of the country or region in which you are resident in.
• You and we both agree that the courts of Singapore will have jurisdiction over any dispute or claim (including non-contractual disputes or claims) arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions or their subject matter or formation, although this shall not deprive you of any mandatory right to choose instead to resolve any such dispute or claim in the courts of the country or region in which you are resident.
• Where the original English version of these terms has been translated into other languages, the English version shall prevail in the event of any inconsistencies between the versions.
• These terms are between you and us. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of these terms.
• If any court or relevant authority finds that any part of these terms is illegal, the rest will continue in full force and effect.