Canceled award ticket within 30 days. Aeroplan kept $1200 USD in YQ
Aug 26, 2018, 10:44 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 877
Canceled award ticket within 30 days. Aeroplan kept $1200 USD in YQ
I am terribly confused.
Due to health issues, I had to cancel an award ticket a few days prior to departure.
The cost was 70k miles pp + $600 USD x 2 pax
I called to cancel the tickets and I was told the miles wouldn't be refunded, but I have one year to use the tickets. I knew this ahead of time.
However, Aeroplan refuses to refund the $1200 in YQ.
I knew there is a small fee ($95 CAD) to change the ticket within 30 days, but I am out of $1200 USD.
Is this legal? why is Aeroplan keeping the carrier fees and taxes for a ticket that wasn't flown?
Due to health issues, I had to cancel an award ticket a few days prior to departure.
The cost was 70k miles pp + $600 USD x 2 pax
I called to cancel the tickets and I was told the miles wouldn't be refunded, but I have one year to use the tickets. I knew this ahead of time.
However, Aeroplan refuses to refund the $1200 in YQ.
I knew there is a small fee ($95 CAD) to change the ticket within 30 days, but I am out of $1200 USD.
Is this legal? why is Aeroplan keeping the carrier fees and taxes for a ticket that wasn't flown?
Last edited by coltonatx; Aug 26, 2018 at 10:56 pm
Aug 27, 2018, 4:47 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: YOW
Programs: AC-SE100K, AC-3MM, Marriott- LT Titanium, SPG RIP
Posts: 2,958
You need to change the tickets to be more than 22 days from now (ie two months from now) .
once you reservation is confirmed for more than 22 days from now, you can then pay a cancellation fee and get the points back plus any taxes / fees.
of course there will be a change fee AND a cancellation fee. I guess only you can determine if it is worth it for you to do this.
once you reservation is confirmed for more than 22 days from now, you can then pay a cancellation fee and get the points back plus any taxes / fees.
of course there will be a change fee AND a cancellation fee. I guess only you can determine if it is worth it for you to do this.
Aug 27, 2018, 5:39 am
#5
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC
Posts: 2,167
If the original poster had bought or can take advantage of trip cancellation insurance (through a credit card benefit if he/she met the eligibility for that perk), I would suggest he/she do just that.
As far as legal, of course it is. In this case the terms and conditions are spelt before a customer of Aeroplan goes ahead with a redemption. Just because one does not know the particulars if one does not take the time to check does not make it any more or less "legal".
As far as legal, of course it is. In this case the terms and conditions are spelt before a customer of Aeroplan goes ahead with a redemption. Just because one does not know the particulars if one does not take the time to check does not make it any more or less "legal".
Aug 27, 2018, 7:13 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SEMM / HH Diamond
Posts: 3,163
There's a long history when dealing with Aeroplan about agents essentially making up their own rules ... hence the phrase HUCA (Hang Up Call Again). I would suggest you try that at least once.
If Aeroplan insists on keeping the dollars .... I think it's misleading at the very least. The web site (https://www.aeroplan.com/faqhelp/531...entLanguage=en) does state that the change/refund fee is NN dollars "plus taxes" .... but the clear implication to me is that they are only talking about "plus taxes on the change fee" (GST, etc). For them to keep all of the airport taxes, carrier surcharges, landing fees, navigation charges, etc ... personally I think that's unconscionable. I've read through the terms and conditions (https://www.aeroplan.com/terms_and_c...entLanguage=en) and can't find even a hint that that's true (they all say "plus taxes", without any additional clarity about which taxes).
I'm not sure what to suggest about next steps, and IANAL - but for $1200 it might be worth a trip to small claims court.
If Aeroplan insists on keeping the dollars .... I think it's misleading at the very least. The web site (https://www.aeroplan.com/faqhelp/531...entLanguage=en) does state that the change/refund fee is NN dollars "plus taxes" .... but the clear implication to me is that they are only talking about "plus taxes on the change fee" (GST, etc). For them to keep all of the airport taxes, carrier surcharges, landing fees, navigation charges, etc ... personally I think that's unconscionable. I've read through the terms and conditions (https://www.aeroplan.com/terms_and_c...entLanguage=en) and can't find even a hint that that's true (they all say "plus taxes", without any additional clarity about which taxes).
I'm not sure what to suggest about next steps, and IANAL - but for $1200 it might be worth a trip to small claims court.
Aug 27, 2018, 7:24 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Toronto, ON
Programs: AC 75K
Posts: 6,363
The OP didn't get a refund, they just cancelled they're booking...these are two different things. When the OP goes to re-book, there will be a recalculation of the Taxes/Fees which will result in a refund or an adcol. It's only then will any change fees be applied.
OP: If you wish to get a refund of everything follow Plumber's advice in Post 4.
OP: If you wish to get a refund of everything follow Plumber's advice in Post 4.
Aug 27, 2018, 8:15 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: AC SEMM / HH Diamond
Posts: 3,163
The OP didn't get a refund, they just cancelled they're booking...these are two different things. When the OP goes to re-book, there will be a recalculation of the Taxes/Fees which will result in a refund or an adcol. It's only then will any change fees be applied.
OP: If you wish to get a refund of everything follow Plumber's advice in Post 4.
OP: If you wish to get a refund of everything follow Plumber's advice in Post 4.
It would strike me as a very odd loophole; you can't get a refund within 22 days of travel, but you can change to a different flight that then does give you that right. The way you deal with purchased tickets is not the same, I know ... but there, you can change a date but you must fly within one year of the original date - you can't keep slipping a date by six months at a time, for example. Do we know if anyone has tried Plumber's trick, and had it work?
Aug 27, 2018, 8:35 am
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: FRA
Programs: AC SE 1MM, UA 1K, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Gold Elite, Hertz PC
Posts: 2,935
Do we know if Plumbers advice will actually work?
It would strike me as a very odd loophole; you can't get a refund within 22 days of travel, but you can change to a different flight that then does give you that right. The way you deal with purchased tickets is not the same, I know ... but there, you can change a date but you must fly within one year of the original date - you can't keep slipping a date by six months at a time, for example. Do we know if anyone has tried Plumber's trick, and had it work?
It would strike me as a very odd loophole; you can't get a refund within 22 days of travel, but you can change to a different flight that then does give you that right. The way you deal with purchased tickets is not the same, I know ... but there, you can change a date but you must fly within one year of the original date - you can't keep slipping a date by six months at a time, for example. Do we know if anyone has tried Plumber's trick, and had it work?
However, the OP has already cancelled the award ticket, so in order to get the miles and hopefully also the taxes and scamcharges back, s/he needs to book a new ticket for a date more than 22 days from now using the value of the prior ticket and then in a second step cancel the new ticket. It's likely that Aeroplan will charge the rebooking fee and the cancellation fee for the new ticket. You can't avoid them completely but by rebooking the award to a day further out saves you at least one cancellation fee.
Aug 27, 2018, 10:06 am
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
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Posts: 44,330
If the original poster had bought or can take advantage of trip cancellation insurance (through a credit card benefit if he/she met the eligibility for that perk), I would suggest he/she do just that.
As far as legal, of course it is. In this case the terms and conditions are spelt before a customer of Aeroplan goes ahead with a redemption. Just because one does not know the particulars if one does not take the time to check does not make it any more or less "legal".
As far as legal, of course it is. In this case the terms and conditions are spelt before a customer of Aeroplan goes ahead with a redemption. Just because one does not know the particulars if one does not take the time to check does not make it any more or less "legal".
Aug 27, 2018, 10:10 am
#11
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: AC
Posts: 2,167
Aug 27, 2018, 10:35 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: YOW
Programs: AC-SE100K, AC-3MM, Marriott- LT Titanium, SPG RIP
Posts: 2,958
Do we know if Plumbers advice will actually work?
It would strike me as a very odd loophole; you can't get a refund within 22 days of travel, but you can change to a different flight that then does give you that right. The way you deal with purchased tickets is not the same, I know ... but there, you can change a date but you must fly within one year of the original date - you can't keep slipping a date by six months at a time, for example. Do we know if anyone has tried Plumber's trick, and had it work?
It would strike me as a very odd loophole; you can't get a refund within 22 days of travel, but you can change to a different flight that then does give you that right. The way you deal with purchased tickets is not the same, I know ... but there, you can change a date but you must fly within one year of the original date - you can't keep slipping a date by six months at a time, for example. Do we know if anyone has tried Plumber's trick, and had it work?
The one thing to remember is with the award ticket you can only put the date out up to one year from the original booking (similar to a purchased ticket), so at some point your time does run out.
Aug 27, 2018, 10:36 am
#13
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
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However, the OP has already cancelled the award ticket, so in order to get the miles and hopefully also the taxes and scamcharges back, s/he needs to book a new ticket for a date more than 22 days from now using the value of the prior ticket and then in a second step cancel the new ticket. It's likely that Aeroplan will charge the rebooking fee and the cancellation fee for the new ticket. You can't avoid them completely but by rebooking the award to a day further out saves you at least one cancellation fee.
Aug 27, 2018, 12:05 pm
#14
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: YXE
Posts: 3,050
On a truly dead AP-issued ticket on 014 stock, the AC (yes, the AC) online refund tool works great for refunding unused surcharges, fees, and taxes. That was the subject of my deleted post, but I deleted it because I didn't know if the ticket would have been dead yet.
Aug 27, 2018, 1:29 pm
#15
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere between YXU and YYZ
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium Hilton Diamond AC*75K
Posts: 618
Would this work?
You wait for a travel advisory to come up where fees are waived, pay the change fee to switch to that day (it would only be a day or two out though) and then get a free cancellation (refund) because of the travel advisory? You would want to know if this works for sure because if not, you have a ticket that you cant refund your miles on again.
Could you do this with a revenue ticket to get your money back minus the change fee?
You wait for a travel advisory to come up where fees are waived, pay the change fee to switch to that day (it would only be a day or two out though) and then get a free cancellation (refund) because of the travel advisory? You would want to know if this works for sure because if not, you have a ticket that you cant refund your miles on again.
Could you do this with a revenue ticket to get your money back minus the change fee?