FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Same Day Standby / SDS (not SDFC) Rules & Discussion (master thread)
Old Oct 11, 2025 | 10:19 pm
  #920  
ryanbriar
30 Countries Visited
1M
100 Nights
10 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: AA 1MM CK, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Ambassador (RIP SPG), Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,621
Originally Posted by SamuelS
I purchased a relatively high fare bucket ticket a few days out from travel for journey NAS-YYC on AA connecting in CLT and DFW, flights were pretty full and the schedule wasn't ideal so I booked a ticket with flexibility in case anything else opened up. The day before and within 24 hours of travel seats opened up on the earlier 11am flight to CLT via DFW getting back same day rather than the original ticket with a 7 hour forced overnight in DFW.

The booking however was not able to be modified once purchased - there were no changes online at all / zero self serve options - just a message to contact Reservations for changes. Because the ticket was billed to a Canadian credit card address, the fare was in CAD, and that automatically disqualifies you from getting any assistance via the in-app chat as they can only assist with USD fares.

I phoned into Reservations twice, the first agent said he couldn't make the changes to a CAD ticket but would have someone call me back, I did get a callback but no one was there when I answered. The final attempt with reservations I was told that it's not possible to make any changes to the tickets once within 24 hours by phone, only online. She transferred me to a web / IT helpdesk, and they then transferred me back to someone that couldn't assist with tickets in CAD.

My attempts to use SDC on American with a CAD issued ticket were an exercise of extreme frustration and I ended up buying a new ticket on DL via ATL instead.

Long and short - if you are an international traveller using a non-US billing address and fare currency - don't expect to avail of SDC on American.
I can’t opine on the Canadian billing address aspect, but SDS (and SDC) is not available on itineraries with international flights (excluding JFK-LHR for SDC) so that is why you weren’t getting any options.

Tickets are changeable over the phone, but if you checked in, the agent would need to reverse that and deal with the rate desk. Perhaps they didn’t want to do that and made up the part about online only.

Frustrating, but it sounds like DL was the better option as it was one stop.
ryanbriar is offline