The short version
Your card or insurer needs proof from the airline, not from a website. Ask the airline for a delay or cancellation verification letter, keep every receipt, and file within the deadline in your policy, often 60 to 90 days.
1. Get the airline's verification letter
Most large U.S. airlines have an online form for this; search "[airline] delay verification letter" on the airline's site, or ask at the desk or by chat. Have your confirmation code and flight date ready. The letter shows the scheduled and actual times and the reason, which is what adjusters check.
2. Check what your card covers
Many travel credit cards include trip delay coverage when you paid for the ticket with the card. It usually starts after a set wait, commonly 6 or 12 hours or an overnight stay, and pays for meals, a hotel and transport up to a limit per ticket. Your card's guide to benefits has the exact rules; call the number on the back of the card to start a claim.
3. Keep the right receipts
- Hotel, meals, rides and toiletries bought during the delay.
- Your boarding pass and the original itinerary.
- Any vouchers the airline gave you; insurers subtract these.
4. Use live status as supporting context
Screenshots of airport delays at the time help explain what happened, but they don't replace the airline's letter. See live airport delays or your flight's page, for example UA 1524.
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