Aeroplan won't let me cancel/change a flight within 24 hours...
 

They say they're not subject to US laws or something. Talked to supervisor, too. Anyone help? It's an award ticket and I got stuck with nearly $600 in feul surcharges on a TAP leg (blogs said it should be 125 or so)....found a different flight without much in fuel, but no....

AC allows you to cancel revenue tickets within 24 hours but AE does not offer the same grace period for redemptions. Different companies, different policies.

Might still be worth paying the $90 change fee if you are escaping the YQ.

but wouldn't the policy be based on US law, not one company vs another?

Presumably you were booking your tickets with the Canadian company called Aeroplan that doesn't have US operations, so US law likely doesn't apply.

I went through this with them a year ago.

If you have a US address on file, Aeroplan charges you in USD. I tried to make the case that Aeroplan had to adhere to DOT regulations for tickets sold to someone in the US, but they said they didn't have to obey DOT regulations.

I disagreed with that, and I made that argument, and I ended up with a "goodwill" free cancellation, because I'd never "caused problems" before.

CanadianCow--who'd you talk to?

Aeroplan does business in the US, sells tickets in the US, thus is subject to US law. They have a massive operation in the US, I bet a large chunk of their revenue is from the US...in the hundreds of millions, if not billions.

There's no company policy allowing free changes within 24 hours, and if you feel that's in violation in us law you could firmly state your rights according to DOT regulations and follow up with a complaint if necessary.

AFAIK, award tickets do not fall under the 24 hour rule.

Very interesting that someone would say that to you.

Based on my calls to them to ask why miles (AQM promos, bonus etc) are not posting, I discovered they have a file on each of us where the agent knows when you called about what. I found it creepy.

It is one thing to keep an open docket (as it were) for an unresolved issue, but IMO, it is a MAJOR concern when Aeroplan/Aimia not only blame Air Canada when miles don't post, but when you call in to inquire, they are keeping track of customer, as if we have any control over missing miles.

Change should be allowed with $90 fee according to T&C.

If you still plan on fighting it (not sure if you can or not, I don't know the legal on this at all) I would suggest paying the $90 and fighting to have that reimbursed rather than trying to fight the whole thing. That way you get the change you want and the lower YQ guaranteed.

pick your battles wisely.

it's not worth arguing this and risk losing availability on the flight you want. just suck it up, pay the 90 and confirm the alternate

Do they have any assets or operations actually based in the US? From a practical perspective, that's what matters when you're talking about whether or not they're subject to US law. If they have no assets in the US, how can any US law be enforced against them?

And then there's the legal question of whether or not they actually are subject to US law.

edit:

As a US based traveler who has redeemed many rewards I have ALWAYS been told that reward tickets are NOT included in the 24 hour return policy - it's revenue tickets only. I have tried with both US Airways and United at various times and once a reward ticket is booked it is subject to its terms and conditions and is final.

That doesn't change the fact that Aeroplan and AC suck as companies with consumer unfriendly actions, it just means that in this case I don't think it's illegal, even in the US, to have a "free" ticket go final at the moment of purchase.

P.S. It may make sense depending on your plans to just pay the redeposit fee, cancel the tickets, and book on the other plans, at least if you can get taxes and fees back (and I don't know if they do or not).