Martin Lewis has issued a warning to holidaymakers during his first appearance guest presenting Good Morning Britain.
The money-saving expert explained which trips won’t get refunded and urged Brits to “be cautious” when booking a holiday due to the fast-changing rules.
There is currently a holiday traffic light system in place, which dictates if you need to quarantine and how many PCR tests you need to take upon your return to England.
But the traffic light system only sets up the rules for your arrival back home - it doesn’t take into account any quarantine restrictions your destination country may have in place.
This means if you don’t check out what rules are in place before you go - you could end up having to self-isolate for your entire trip, or not be allowed to enter that country altogether.
If you book a trip, and then find out this is the case, you aren’t automatically entitled to your money back, Martin warned today during his first of three guest appearances as co-host.
His warning came as he discussed the ever-changing travel rules with co-presenter Susanna Reid.
She pointed out that from today, travellers heading to Portugal who aren’t fully vaccinated against coronavirus must quarantine for 14 days when they arrive in the country.
This is on top of the 10 days of quarantine they must undergo when they come home, as Portugal is in the “amber” category on the England traffic light holiday list.
Generally speaking, you aren't entitled to a refund if you decide not to travel but your flight is still going ahead.
However, if you've booked a package holiday, advice on the MoneySavingExpert website says you might be able to get a refund from the travel firm.
This is because quarantine rules might be considered a "significant change" to your holiday - in this case, package travel association ABTA says travel companies should offer an alternative or a full refund.
But again, this isn't guaranteed. You should speak to your holiday provider to see what help they can offer you.
Martin said: "Anyone booking a holiday right now should be cautious.
"If you get Covid you’ll generally be covered, but if you can’t go because of Covid rule changes, you won’t be covered.
"Even if you had to go to Portugal, quarantine for 14 days, and quarantine for 10 days when you got back, because it’s an 'amber' country, that in itself, is not a reason for cancellation or triggering a refund."
What is the latest advice for travel refunds?
Martin's advice was to was to book holidays with tour operators that have good cancellation or amendment policies in place to best protect your cash.
But again, as firms will set their own rules, you'll still need to read their terms and conditions carefully to work out where you stand should you want to postpone or cancel your trip.
You should also keep an eye on the latest UK Foreign Office advice on whether it's safe to travel as this is often key for travel insurance cover.
If the Foreign Office advises against "all but essential travel" or "all travel" you aren't supposed to go, this may trigger a refund if you booked your trip before the warning was issued.
Package holiday firms should refund you if there's a Foreign Office warning, even if they haven't cancelled the trip.
Unfortunately, the same protection doesn't apply for flights and hotels you've booked separately.
The traffic light system is updated every three weeks, meaning there is the possibility of countries being moved categories - again, if this happens to your destination, you won't automatically be entitled to a refund.
For “green” countries, you need to take a pre-departure test before you return to England, as well as a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on or before day two of your arrival back home.
With “amber” destinations, you need to take three tests - one pre-departure, and then PCR tests on day two and day eight after arriving home.
You’re then required to self-isolate for 10 days at home after arrival, although you can choose to pay for a fourth test on day five, and if it comes back negative, you can leave quarantine early.
Finally, people travelling to “red countries” must also take three tests - the same as the amber group - and cannot pay for a separate test to get out of quarantine early.
They must also quarantine for 10 days in a hotel at £1,750 a head.
The traffic light system only applies to people in England, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland set their own rules.
