• Will I have to pay any fees to make, change, or upgrade my reservation?

Reservations can be made free of charge online at AA.com or the associated AA worldwide websites. Reservations made by telephone with AA Reservations, with an airport agent, or at an AA Travel Center incur a service charge that varies by country. EXP members are exempt from these booking fees. However, as of mid-June 2010, reservations made in the U.K. only using a credit card or PayPal are subject to a £4.50 surcharge; U.K. debit cards are exempt.

Changes to non-refundable reservations incur a change fee specified in the fare rule, usually $150 for North American (U.S., Canada, Caribbean, Central America) fares and $200-250 for international fares. Changes can be made online and changes via telephone will incur an additional service charge.

AAdvantage Travel Awards incur a $25 service charge when booked by telephone, $30 when booked at the airport, or $20 when booked at a Travel Center. AAdvantage Travel Awards for AA-only itineraries can be redeemed online at AA.com with no service charge. AAdvantage Awards redeemed/requested <21 days prior to departure incur a one-time $75 close-in ticketing fee. As of Feb 16, 2011, this fee also applies if changing an existing award booked with a departure date ≥21 days after ticketing to an earlier departure date <21 days after the original ticketing date, closing a loophole that had been used previously to avoid the fee. (Prior to Aug 24, 2011, close-in ticketing fees were $50 from 20 to 7 days prior to departure and $100 <7 days prior to departure.) The close-in fee for additional awards drawn from the same AAdvantage account is $25. AA elites are exempt from close-in charges as of July 29, 2010 and EXP members are exempt from ticketing service charges. AAdvantage Travel Awards are subject to taxes and security fees.

AAdvantage Upgrade awards are are only subject to ticketing service charges ($25/30/20) when redeemed prior to ticketing (for a Hold Reservation; essentially, you are paying to Ticket the reservation, then Upgrade). AAdvantage Upgrade Awards cannot be redeemed online. AAdvantage Upgrade Awards are also subject to close-in ticketing charges based on date of request that are assessed only if the upgrade clears. All AA elites are exempt from close-in charges as of July 29, 2010 and EXP members are exempt from ticketing service charges. Additional charges may apply for upgrade copays and UK and France upgrade taxes.

Changes to the date or time of AAdvantage Awards can be made at no charge. Changes to the origin or destination are free for AAnytime Awards and $150 for MileSAAver Award. Changes to the type of award technically require reinstatement of miles and a $150 service charge, although older reports from 2009 indicate that this charge was not typically levied when moving from a coach to a business award in the same category (AAnytime or MileSAAver). Cancellations of AAdvantage Awards incur a $150 service charge for reinstatement of miles. As of July 29, 2010, EXP members are exempt from these change and reinstatement charges.

AA.com: Worldwide Websites | Reservations Phone Numbers | Ticketing and Other Charges
AA.com: Making Award Reservations
AA.com: Expanded Benefits for AAdvantage Elite Status Members
FT: AA announces expanded benefits for elites (exemptions from award-related fees)
FT: Redeposit fee when cancelling an award flight
FT: Change fees for changing award ticket from Coach to Business
FT: AA to charge $75 for change to ticketed AAward travel <21 days prior to departure, closing loophole (Feb 2012)
FT: AAdvantage Telephone Ticketing Fee increased from $20 to $25 (Mar 2011)
FT: AA adds £4.50 surcharge for reservations made in U.K. with credit card or PayPal (Jun 2011)