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
Dec 4, 2013, 9:07 am
#94
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Dec 4, 2013, 10:52 am
#95
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Singapore
Posts: 2,317
Dec 4, 2013, 3:28 pm
#96
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: YVR, KUL
Programs: AC, MH, BA, AF-KL
Posts: 2,904
Dec 5, 2013, 8:55 am
#98
In memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: UA, AA, SPG - Gold, LM
Posts: 589
Just dispute that charge with your CC, it will be there within a week. I was waiting for around 4 weeks, when it didn't arrive, I just did that and they (LM) didn't dispute my 'dispute' and the Amex just credited my account.
Dec 5, 2013, 10:19 am
#99
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Singapore
Posts: 2,317
Shocking ! What a programme LM is. Poor SQ.And a large lump of the charge to the credit card would have been the "More Money" portion too.... Interesting.
Dec 7, 2013, 12:38 pm
#100
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: BCN-BUE-PSA-GRU
Programs: BA Gold - A3 Gold - FB Gold - IHG Plat - SPG Gold -Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 1,581
Im on the line with the call center trying to cancel an award ticket. It is insulting and frustrating. I speak spanish (native) and it has been 2 hours and 6 agents on the phone. They don't have a clue and they don't seem to care about it.
If you book an award ticket, YOU BETTER FLY IT.
If you book an award ticket, YOU BETTER FLY IT.
Dec 8, 2013, 11:14 am
#103
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: LAF, VIE
Programs: A3 *G; AA EXP
Posts: 509
I think it's better to call during the week and to avoid weekends...
I tried to cancel a ticket today and the agent by mistake cancelled the WRONG ticket, she tried to rectify it but after two hours on the line she said she forwarded it to a different department
I tried to cancel a ticket today and the agent by mistake cancelled the WRONG ticket, she tried to rectify it but after two hours on the line she said she forwarded it to a different department
Dec 8, 2013, 11:20 am
#104
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,838
Dec 8, 2013, 6:36 pm
#105
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Im on the line with the call center trying to cancel an award ticket. It is insulting and frustrating. I speak spanish (native) and it has been 2 hours and 6 agents on the phone. They don't have a clue and they don't seem to care about it.
If you book an award ticket, YOU BETTER FLY IT.
If you book an award ticket, YOU BETTER FLY IT.