I tried 3x HUACA to get them to either give an extended hold or waive the fees when I call in 2 weeks to finish the booking and they would do neither. Each time they would check with a supervisor and would get rejected.
I about gave up but called a 4th time to make some changes to a separate ticket. Just in case at the end of the call I asked about making an extended hold since the flights we want were more than 330 days out. The agent said, "oh sure, what date do you actually want to return on?". I responded and she said, OK I put it on a 13 day hold, you can book your return in 12 days and I gave you an extra day to be safe.
Woohoo!
She did this all on her own in the system without having to call-in anywhere. This itinerary as held right now includes Cathay Pacific and Qatar Air business class flights. I think there is a chance they will drop so I will monitor it carefully.
Originally Posted by
beofotch
I am getting ready to put this to the test for an award ticket I am booking for a friend for his honeymoon. However in his case it is Cathay Pacific flights we have on hold, as well as 1 US Air segment. I will let you know how it goes.
If they push back or say they can't do it for Cathay Pacific, I will try the other following tactics
- Note that while I am only Platinum and not Chairman and not entitled to the waived DM fees benefit, that see if they can do it as a one-time exception for a Platinum given no return flights are available yet. Can also note that I was a Chairman last year and am on track to re-make Chairman this year to maybe add marginal ammo to the case.
- Explain that between now and 335 days from now, there are bound to be many schedule changes which will allow changes to be made to the booking. It is certain to happen. Since the fees are waived for schedule changes, could they waive the fee as a courtesy or one-time exception now to allow us to complete the reservation in 2 weeks once seats open up?
- Try "this is their honeymoon" hail mary.
We will see how it goes