American Airlines' courtesy fare-hold and 24-hour cancel/change policies
Here's some very useful information about changing or
canceling an airfare within 24 hours of booking, as well as tips about getting
a refund or making a change outside the 24-hour window. If you use Twitter or Face
book, please do hit the "Tweet" or "Like" button at the top
of this post, because I'm pretty sure your followers will find this essential
information.
Non-refundable airfares are much cheaper than refundable
ones, but if you cancel or change your flight, you'll pay a hefty fee. But
there are some loopholes and workarounds.
If you are booking an airfare in the United States, U.S.
Department of Transportation regulations require that, as long as you've booked
a non-refundable ticket 7 days ahead of your flight, you're entitled to hold
your reservation and the fare and change or cancel your reservation within 24
hours of booking, without paying a cancellation fee (typically $200 on the
remaining large "network" carriers for a domestic fare, but much more
(up to $450 for some international fares), a bit less on other airlines, as
this chart shows.
You can either cancel the reservation entirely, or change
it, within the 24-hour window. If you change it however, a fare difference may
apply, but there is no change penalty. This applies not just to U.S.-based
airlines, but any airline selling airfares in the U.S.
You still have to pay for the airfare, and then get a refund
without penalty, except that American Airlines Phone
Number is a bit different in that it allows you to hold your seat and
the fare for 24 hours without paying for it. On American, you should NOT pay
for the fare, but merely choose the 24-hour hold option without payment. If you
pay for the fare rather than holding it, you will be hit with a change/cancel
fee on American! Also, American sells fare "add-ons" starting at $68
round-trip that allow you to change your flight for free at any time, and the
add-on includes a checked bag round-trip and priority boarding. Something to
consider.
American Airlines lets you change or cancel a fare within
the 24 hour window without penalty, but it also allows you to change or cancel
a reservation anytime before flight time and get a credit for the full amount
of your fare, applicable to future travel within a year of the original
reservation. You will have to pay any applicable fare increase, however.
American Airlines now allows free changes/cancels if made at
least 60 days prior to travel.
American Airlines is a bit more specific, stating in its
rules that you may cancel as long as your scheduled flight is at least 168
hours (24 x 7) away at time of booking.
In order to take advantage of the 24-hour cancel or change
rule, it's best to book directly with airlines, either online or by phone,
rather than through third-party websites.
And it goes without saying that you can cancel a fully
refundable ticket anytime and get a refund, although if you change rather than
cancel there may be a fare difference if the fare has changed.
Frequent Flyer Award
Tickets, Too?
Does this apply to frequent flyer tickets? I've been able to
cancel frequent flyer reservations within 24 hours of booking, and get all fees
refunded and miles re-instated without penalty, most recently on British
Airways, however the DOT rules are unclear on this, and US Airways clearly
states that the 24-hour cancel rule does not apply to frequent flyer tickets.
Other Ways to Get a
Refund
One more thing: many people don't realize that in airline
contracts of carriage, there's a rule (often called Rule 260) about
"involuntary refunds." Basically it states that if the airline
refuses to carry you for any reason, or if your flight is delayed more than a specified
amount of time (121 minutes or greater on AA for example) or the flight is
canceled, you can apply for a full refund, even on a non-refundable ticket.
Here, for example, is American Airlines' Rule 260. United calls their rule on
this something else, which you can see by wading through their contract of
carriage.
So let's say you buy a fare you no longer can use and the
DOT 24-hour rule doesn't apply. You can avoid the change/cancel fee is if your
flight is canceled or severely delayed. It may or may not be worth your time to
show up for your flight and pray it's canceled or significantly delayed (you do
have to check in for the flight).
The Schedule Change
Loophole
And you can also get a refund if there's a significant
schedule change before your departure (let's say they change you from a 9 a.m.
departure to a 6 a.m., or your new flight requires a much longer layover or an
overnight stay, or even from a nonstop to a connecting flight). Here, for
example, are the rules on this from American Airlines
Customer Service (this info is provided for travel agents, but applies
no matter how the fare is booked). The airline may not notify you of a
qualifying schedule change, so if you've purchased a non-refundable fare that
you would like to refund, be sure to check the flight schedule to see if it has
changed in any way and if it has, call the airline and request a refund,
explaining that the schedule no longer works for you (obviously, a change of
just a few minutes won't qualify).
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