Originally Posted by
hillrider
Since you're flying internationally, the IATA definition of stopover is not shortened and anything under 24 hours is not considered a stopover. You can confirm this from the fare calculation line, where LAX should be preceded by X (i.e. X/LAX). Given AA's training and low requirements for knowledge of front line employees I would not be surprised if you found someone at LAX who only knew about domestic rules and didn't know how to read a FC line on a ticket.
Ask for a refund at American Airlines | Passenger Refunds Services | P.O. Box 582880 | Tulsa, OK 74158-2880 and follow-up with a credit card dispute if you don't hear within the time you can dispute a charge (iirc 60 days in the USA).
Nuisance fees are bad enough as they are!
However, AA often treats Canada as domestic (51st state I guess?) in other policies; for example, the number of miles required for a trip to Hawaii is the same whether you fly from the U.S. or Canada, and when I arrive in the US I have already cleared US Border Services in Toronto so the flight arrives in a domestic area at the destination (in this case it was LAX).
However the IATA rule approach might fly. Disputing the charge won't work in Canada because I signed the credit card slip. You can only dispute a charge if you didn't sign for it. Canadian banks are a lot less accomodating than American ones for this type of thing I think (on the other hand we don't have a sub prime mortgage problem because we never did them, so win some lose some). I have to dispute charges within my billing statement frequency (ie before I get the bill after the charge appears on).
Thanks for the address; saves me time looking it up. I'll send that while I'm in Los Angeles on my way home if I can find some paper in this hotel. At least the agent said she noted in my passenger record my objection so perhaps it wont be news to them.