Originally Posted by Holometer3D

Unfortunately this is case-by-case right now. Some canceled tickets immediately get converted to Trip Credit with the same expiration date -- so if you booked a ticket now and canceled it later, it would become a Trip Credit that you must use by Jan 2024 (1 year from issuance of ticket) to book a ticket that flies by Jan 2025. In other cases it becomes a Flight Credit and retains the original expiration date of the ticket -- so if you booked a ticket now and canceled it, the Flight Credit issued would require you to fly by Jan 2024 in order to not forfeit the value. However, you could still use this Flight Credit to book the cheapest flight you can find on Google Flights, and get the residual value back as Trip Credit with a new 1-year expiration date from the issuance of that Trip Credit.

From others' data points on this thread, it's hard to discern if there is a consistent set of criteria for being issued Trip Credits versus Flight Credits (obviously there must be one, since this process is automated, but it appears to be highly complex). That said, since AA is working on converting all credits to Trip Credit and there are more and more reports of canceled flights being issued Trip Credits right away (rather than Flight Credits), I would say your chances are pretty decent if you cancel in Nov 2023.