Originally Posted by GBA1975
I was under the impression they deducted AAdvantage miles instead of a cash fee
Yup, you're confused
It's Qantas that charges points for changes!
Now that AA revoked the (somewhat new) change fee on planAAhead/milesAAver coach tickets, you should be fine making changes.
A few years ago i was flying on a JFK-LHR award ticket. for three or four days in a row, I called AA and asked, "umm, can I go tomorrow, instead?" and didn't pay a dime.