Earlier this month I had some AA miles that were about to expire, so I decided to use them to rent a car at LAX. In this instance, AAdvantage worked with Priceline to secure the reservation with Dollar Rent a car. We arrived at LAX, took the Hertz/Thrifty/Dollar shuttle to their terminal, and much to our dismay, saw a line of over 75 people at the Dollar side on the terminal.

While standing in line, a Dollar supervisor came out to address the crowd. He informed us that he could not guarantee that we would get cars that afternoon, as they were totally dependent on future car returns, and they had no then-current inventory. He advised us that once a customer arrived at the counter, it would take about 1 hour to get a car - if one became available. The supervisor also advised the crowd that Dollar would be providing providing complete refunds to those who had booked directly with Dollar, and suggested that those of us who booked through third parties should contact them to seek a cancellation and refund. So that is what I did - cancelled the reservation, and rented from another vendor.

About an hour after I cancelled, I received an e-mail from AAdvantage informing me that Priceline had rejected my cancellation. I explained that vendor had no vehicles, and in in this instance, their cancellation period rules should not apply. It took two weeks, but the AAdvantage staff ultimately prevailed, and informed me that I would be receiving my miles back.

Great job by AAdvantage, whose staff kept me informed throughout the process.