Originally Posted by
javabytes
Your experience with changing the return portion of award tickets mirrors mine, that it can be done anytime after the outbound is flown, including within 72 hours of the return flight.
So I won't state with absolute certainty that award tickets booked within 72 hours of departure don't qualify for RFC, but there's language explicitly stating that, so tread with due caution.
I can say absolutely that award tickets booked within 72 hours can still be cancelled risk free within 24 hours (actually to midnight the next day). I've done it successfully twice. I had trouble both times with the agent trying to tell me that I couldn't do it because it was <72 hours until the departure, but elevating to a supervisor fixed things quickly both times. I was told by both supervisors: The RFC trumps all other rules including the award ticket 72 hour rule.
I was even told by one of the supervisors that if you book an award the day before the flight and then miss/skip the flight, you are still protected by the RFC as long as you call to get your refund by midnight the day of that missed flight. I wouldn't want to have to test this claim out, but that's what she said.