Originally Posted by
mikew99
Notwithstanding the other points you raise, I'm not sure that this is the best play. I understand that AA allows you to change the dates for free, so if you change to the latest possible date in the future, there is a non-zero chance that there will be some sort of schedule change that would allow you to cancel and redeposit for free. If you don't have an immediate use for the miles, it's worth a shot.
This is probably the best advice for now. You may also want to use the miles on the same routing (this is a one-way ticket in Y, so who knows) in the future.
If you don't have many miles, 12,500 isn't worth $150. If you have enough that that is the difference, say between F and J NYC-HKG, then it is definitely worth it.
Regarding the ultimate point: most people seem to be saying that because other legacy carriers have similarly priced redeposit fees, this renders this in some way fair... but what United does says nothing about AA's practice. The essential question isn't whether this is the rule (it is) or whether this is industry norm (it is). The question is whether this industry norm is fair.
I'd submit the answer is no. One camp would argue that since this is indeed a ticket, paid for in an alternative "pseudo-currency", then the airline is actually losing access to revenue when a ticket is cancelled, and so just like normal nonrefundable tickets they can charge for a cancellation. The difference here is that the miles are captive assets, and can only be redeemed on AA, and so are worthless in the open market. They are already "on the books" with AA. So it is more like a change fee: your money (miles) are with us, and still with us, and you pay for the pleasure of finding a different way to ensure we get them. If you view mileage awards as tickets, paid for in miles, then this reading works: you pay a change fee and can use the balance of your ticket (the miles) any way you want (i.e. with more miles, etc). The change fee/voucher system is in place to ensure your money stays with AA.
And yet this doesn't work because of the fact that miles are a restricted currency from the beginning. Since you don't have the power to remove them from AA (and never did) and use them in the competitive marketplace, you are powerless in the first place to "shop around", and so your miles were captive in the beginning. You never had the choice of where to spend them, and so you don't give up any market freedom by booking an award ticket, whereas you do when you book a nonrefundable ticket. There never was any freedom, nor competitive market in the first place. Therefore there should be no change fee.
My two cents!