Originally Posted by
LHR/MEL/Europe FF
There are two types of action... a simple change such as time is just a revalidation. It's the same ticket, just updated.
When you start to request more complex changes, the ticket may need to be reissued. When you have a reissue, that's like a new ticket. So you can start to get questions over what you paid previously.
Reissues for involuntary changes are not likely to result in penalty. Reissues for voluntary changes are again inviting scrutiny.
In my own experience, AA almost never revalidates tickets. Even for the most trivial schedule change (e.g., same flight number, same date, just the scheduled time of one flight changed by 10 minutes), AA has always re-issued the ticket. I say this to explain that you shouldn't get hung up on reissue vs revalidate, that doesn't matter. What matters is (a) if the change requires a reinstate and reclaim (where AA redeposits the miles and then re-issues the certificate), and (b) if the change is voluntary or involuntary.
In my experience,
adding a segment
always requires a reinstate/reclaim, while
deleting a segment
provided it doesn't change the type of award does not. Date/time and connecting-point changes also do not require a reinstate/reclaim provided you are not changing carriers from a OneWorld to a non-OneWorld or vice-versa.