Telephone Ticketing Fee --> Increased to $25 --> now more

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Mar 8, 2011, 9:23 pm

Animgif

Original Poster

Join Date: Jun 2006

Programs: AA Ex Plt

Posts: 474

Telephone Ticketing Fee --> Increased to $25 --> now more

Booked two award tickets yesterday and the fee was $20...booked another today and it was $25. I haven't seen any notification of a rate increase (and searched here). Did I just miss it?

Mar 8, 2011, 9:32 pm

JY1024

Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz

Join Date: Nov 2007

Location: BOS

Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium

Posts: 10,417

Whoa - I think this is new?

Just checked the AA website and confirmed that it's listed as $25!

http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/re...akeReservation

Quote:

AAdvantage Ticketing Service Charge

Ticketing Service Charge
(Waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum® members)
Ticketing Service Charge applies when ticketing via Reservations†: $25

†$30 when ticketing at the Airport or $20 when ticketing at a Travel Center

Quote:

Making Flight Award Reservations on AAdvantage Participating Carriers or oneworld Airlines

To book award travel on one of our AAdvantage participating carriers, contact Reservations at 1-800-882-8880 (or your local American Airlines office).

<snip>
* A $25 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our reservations offices, a $20 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our Travel Centers or a $30 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our Airport Agents.

Edit to add:

I actually just posted about the phone fee a few days ago in this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/15956782-post15.html; you'll see I copied the fee language from the site in my post. Now, the reduced mileage award page has been updated with the new fees:

Old text:

Quote:

Redemption of Reduced Mileage Awards applies only to bookings made by phone through American Airlines Reservations or through airport or city ticket offices. All such award travel is subject to an additional payment of $20.

New text:

Quote:

A $25 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our reservations offices, a $20 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our Travel Centers or a $30 USD award service charge per person applies to AAdvantage award reservations ticketed by our Airport Agents.

Last edited by JY1024; Mar 8, 2011 at 9:41 pm Reason: edit to add

Mar 8, 2011, 9:36 pm

Animgif

Original Poster

Join Date: Jun 2006

Programs: AA Ex Plt

Posts: 474

Yeah, I looked it up online as he told me...I was fairly annoyed as I would have booked this one yesterday as well if I'd known the fee was going up. =/

Mar 8, 2011, 10:52 pm

Xero

Join Date: Apr 2010

Location: SF Bay Area

Programs: Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador, AA EXP

Posts: 2,704

Ouch!

I dislike AA's practice of charging ticketing fees for transactions that are impossible to do for free online.

Also, I never understood why there are ticketing fees in the Admirals Club.

Last edited by Xero; Mar 9, 2011 at 12:48 am

Mar 8, 2011, 11:13 pm

mvoight

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2004

Location: DFW/DAL

Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond

Posts: 21,422

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xero

Ouch!

Also, I never understood why there are ticketing fees in the Admirals Club.

Revenue?

Mar 8, 2011, 11:15 pm

mvoight

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2004

Location: DFW/DAL

Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond

Posts: 21,422

Quote:

Originally Posted by Animgif

Yeah, I looked it up online as he told me...I was fairly annoyed as I would have booked this one yesterday as well if I'd known the fee was going up. =/

Did the rate go up today or did you underpay yesterday?

Mar 8, 2011, 11:18 pm

kebosabi

Join Date: Jul 2006

Location: LAX

Programs: AA EXP 1.5MM, Asiana Club Silver, KE Morning Calm, Hyatt Platinum, Amtrak Select

Posts: 7,161

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xero

Ouch!

I dislike that AA's practice of charging ticketing fees for transactions that are impossible to do for free.

Also, I never understood why there are ticketing fees in the Admirals Club.

+1

Jacking up the price for something that's impossible to do online is

Mar 9, 2011, 5:48 am

chanp

Join Date: Sep 2006

Location: All over

Programs: AA-LTP, HH-DIA, Marriott-LT+AMB, Hyatt-Globalist, Hertz-PC, UA-GS

Posts: 6,828

I still dont agree with AA's policy of charging a fee for stuff we can NOT do online.

Mar 9, 2011, 5:53 am

swag

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: May 2001

Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.

Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,

Posts: 14,518

At least I can still get the old price by going to a travel center.

Too bad they closed all the travel centers within 1000 miles of here over a decade ago.

Mar 9, 2011, 11:08 am

#10

uoficowboy

Join Date: Jan 2010

Location: SFO

Posts: 384

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xero

Ouch!

I dislike AA's practice of charging ticketing fees for transactions that are impossible to do for free online.

Agree completely. The whole lack of notification thing is pretty lame too.

Mar 9, 2011, 12:04 pm

#11

hillrider

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Mar 1999

Posts: 12,097

Complaining here won't do a thing.

Let you thoughts known at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm

I just did, echoing that I think it's an unfair practice that AA charges a fee for transaction it does not allow to take place online for free, and urging the Secretary to exercise his duty under 49 U.S.C. 41712 "Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices" and cause AA to stop it.

Incidentally, the DOT just did this in the case of AA involuntary denied boarding vouchers (same issue--they couldn't be redeemed online so were subject to the fee which the DOT termed an unfair practice).

Mar 9, 2011, 12:16 pm

#12

Illini_Fan

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: DFW (Highland Village)

Programs: AA Lifetime GLD, SPG Lifetime GLD

Posts: 384

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillrider

Complaining here won't do a thing.

Let you thoughts known at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm
.

Thanks for the link -- ^

Mar 9, 2011, 12:18 pm

#13

JDiver

Moderator: American AAdvantage

Join Date: May 2000

Location: NorCal - SMF area

Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis

Posts: 62,948

More nickel and diming, in addition to the six air fare increases so far in 2011. Expect more.

Mar 9, 2011, 12:36 pm

#14

brp

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Mar 2004

Location: SJC

Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum

Posts: 33,533

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillrider

Agreed. The change from $20 -> $25 is not the issue. The fact that they have a fee at all for something that can't be done online is. If it were possible online and some folks preferred to talk about it with an agent, the fee is appropriate. But that is not the current situation.

Cheers.

Mar 9, 2011, 12:59 pm

#15

miamigrad

Join Date: Oct 2006

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Programs: AA 1.5 MM Exec Plat, WN A-List, DL Silver, UA nonrev

Posts: 2,593

Quote:

Originally Posted by hillrider

Complaining here won't do a thing.

Let you thoughts known at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/escomplaint/es.cfm

<snip>

I just registered my complaint. I've always thought it was crummy to levy a charge for something I couldn't do online, but hadn't done anything about it ... until now. Thank you for the link.

Now... I wonder how many eagles will get knocked off my rating for registering the complaint.

Reply Share

First
Prev
1 / 6
Next
Last

Forum Jump