Jan 11, 2014, 10:36 am
Last edit by: TEDisgone
WARNING - The cancellation fee has been increased up to $200 for long haul premium awards as of Feb 2017 .
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
- Lifemiles tickets cannot be canceled or changed online, you need to call the Avianca/TACA call center
(+1 800 284 2622)(number updated to +1 866 919 0081 as of February 2024). #2 for English, then enter your Lifemiles number, enter #3 for Lifemiles then #3 again for transactions. - The cancellation fee is variable, $50-200. The change-fee is $150. This is per passenger/ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- The cancellation fee for Awards booked after 20th/2/2017: Award Tickets are reimbursable by paying a fee that varies depending on the redeemed route, the redemption channel and other circumstances, Accurate information of the reimbursement cost shall be informed at the time of redeeming the Award Ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- You need to set-up a phone PIN to do any changes to tickets on lifemiles.com before or during the call. Do this before you call as doing this while calling can add a couple of minutes to the call
- Make sure your address and phone number are up to date in your lifemiles account. This will help immensely as spelling out everything letter-by-letter to the phone agent.
- Your credit card information is collected via an automated system on the phone and not by the agent. The system first asks you for your card number (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express), followed by the expiration month/year in MMYY format, then followed by the Security Code. Press * to correct mistakes in entering numbers.
- You need to enter/confirm credit card information for every ticket seperately. The process is simpler for remaining tickets as you only need to: first confirm the last 4 digits of the card (1 - Yes; 2 - No); followed by the expiration Month; followed by the expiration Year; followed by the Security code. For AMEX,(and sometimes for visa too ) the whole cared number has to be entered again
- Similarly if you have used credit cards before, the system keeps information about your credit cards, so even for the first ticket, the process is simpler as you only need to confirm the last four digits of credit card, then expiration month, then expiration year last two digits only followed by the security code
- Be prepared to spend between 20 minutes and 3 hours on the phone to get your changes / cancellation done, depending on the agent you get, or if you're really unlucky, you may spend days getting it sorted out.
- Avianca transactions may trigger fraud alerts on your credit card, you may need to contact your bank about this.
- Miles should be back in your account instantaneously, tax refund can take longer (2-3 weeks)
- Money paid for miles purchased as part of "more money/less miles" choice will NOT be refunded in cash but as miles.
- As soon as your flight is ticketed, the refund for a cash & miles booking will be only in miles
- BE PATIENT: some agents are very knowledgeable and fast, others take hours to get a simple cancellation done
- TAXES ARE REFUNDABLE: if an agent claims that taxes are non-refundable you may need to write an email to [email protected] to follow-up
- You should be able to see your cancellation receipts under "Your Lifemiles" - "Print receipts" (Only works with Internet Explorer!)
- NEW RULE - Ticket cannot be cancelled in the T-48 to T+24 window. Ticket can be cancelled after T+24 as long as ticket is valid, which is up to 365 days after issuance date (not travel date!)
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
Cancellation of Lifemiles ticket
Oct 17, 2016, 7:52 am
#526
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: PBI
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL PM
Posts: 248
I think people should note than when booking an award on Avianca.
Nov 5, 2016, 4:51 am
#528
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
Nov 13, 2016, 5:41 pm
#529
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
thi all, just a question on a ticket change rather than a cancellation. i have a ticket AA-BB-CC and would like to change it to BB-CC only (Drop AA-BB leg and pay the 150). anyone had experience on this kind of change? AA&BB are in the same zone, so the pricing shouldnt change (except taxes i guess)
Nov 14, 2016, 3:15 am
#530
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
thi all, just a question on a ticket change rather than a cancellation. i have a ticket AA-BB-CC and would like to change it to BB-CC only (Drop AA-BB leg and pay the 150). anyone had experience on this kind of change? AA&BB are in the same zone, so the pricing shouldnt change (except taxes i guess)
Jan 8, 2017, 5:13 pm
#532
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, SPG Gold, HH Gold, Hertz Gold, National Exec
Posts: 148
Jan 10, 2017, 6:45 am
#535
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
if there was anything I really wish for, it is for a way to waive the 50 USD cancel fee...im racking up cancel fees due to many "sweet" itineraries that i book just to keep possibilities open (SYD-BKK-FRA TG F/F in southern summer opening up a week before...and you dont want to sit on it unless it disappears...but then need to cancel it because i found something else..) .
is there a way?
is there a way?
Jan 11, 2017, 6:46 am
#536
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
if there was anything I really wish for, it is for a way to waive the 50 USD cancel fee...im racking up cancel fees due to many "sweet" itineraries that i book just to keep possibilities open (SYD-BKK-FRA TG F/F in southern summer opening up a week before...and you dont want to sit on it unless it disappears...but then need to cancel it because i found something else..) .
is there a way?
is there a way?
Jan 17, 2017, 5:07 am
#537
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: CPT
Programs: BA BD SA
Posts: 4,467
if there was anything I really wish for, it is for a way to waive the 50 USD cancel fee...im racking up cancel fees due to many "sweet" itineraries that i book just to keep possibilities open (SYD-BKK-FRA TG F/F in southern summer opening up a week before...and you dont want to sit on it unless it disappears...but then need to cancel it because i found something else..) .
is there a way?
is there a way?
At least it's a lot less than others charge - $150 on AAdvantage, for example - and a hell of a lot better than FFPs that make you forfeit your miles if you cancel a booking! But, of course, I prefer those (like QR) that charge even less.
Jan 18, 2017, 1:10 am
#538
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Brisbane
Programs: QF gold, HH Diamond, VA plat, Aegean Gold
Posts: 683
What are people's experiences with cancelling a ticket if there is a major time change that you do not like - one is 8 hours later now that original departure time. DO they still charge cancellation fee?
Jan 18, 2017, 4:10 am
#539
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
Cancelled all for free, but you have to ask for it since they won't offer you.
Jan 19, 2017, 6:54 am
#540
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
This cancellation of 2 tickets took me 20mins. Yes, PIN should be preset prior to calling. Agent knew what he was doing. He was also aware that there was a tkt # change due to sched change and he entered the correct tkt number.