Originally Posted by
WeekendTraveler
At least in the second time this happened (when I was charged almost $1,000 for a ticket for a short trip), the ~$1,000 was more than 2x the held fare, and it was almost 2x the fare that was available at aa.com the day before the trip, when I discovered it.
I have no idea why AA charged what it did, but the price was far higher than anything that came up online at any time when I searched.
Originally Posted by
Antarius
Is it because availability fluctuated in the past 24h (and hence OP's impression that they didn't honour the held fare)? That defeats the point of the hold. The whole concept as advertised is 24 hours at the fare at the time of hold.
From AA:
24 hour hold
When available on select American Airlines marketed and operated flights, you can
hold your reservation up to 24 hours for free if you book seven or more days prior to departure.
Not sure if this is applicable:
Here’s how:
- ...
- Purchase your trip with a credit card from the same country used to hold your trip or the fare may change.
I suspect that AA didn't honour the hold becasuse it was made within 7 days of departure. Instead, AA reissued the same ticket with the same PNR after making changes to it and collecting the fare difference from the unused ticket value.
Holding the new PNR the day before the flight would mean it would be active until after departure! Of course, AA shouldn't allow you to put an itinerary on hold if it is within 7 days of departure.
James