Very interesting. I recently booked a fare online, put it on hold, and then tried to purchase it about 18 hours later, before midnight. AA.com would not let me purchase it, stating that the fare had increased.

I contacted web services, and after quite a delay in getting a response from AA, I finally received the following statement from AA Web Services:

"Unlike making a reservation via the phone, the 24 hour rule does not
always apply on online fares."

So, apparently, it is AA's position that there is no guarantee that the fare will be held for 24 hours if you put it on hold via aa.com.

I thought that this was different from what we believed here, so I figured I'd put it out to see if it contradicts any written aa policy, or whether the statement is correct.

FWIW, aa web services said that this fare was a "web fare," though there was nothing at the time I booked to indicate that. Just in case different rules apply to "web fares."