Award reservation on hold
Oct 30, 2016, 10:27 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
Award reservation on hold
You all likely know of this, but I've never seen it before and didn't even know it was a 'thing'.
I booked an F award flight early this morning. 2 legs, Africa to US. We want a stopover in the connection city but I wanted to lock in the first leg now to get the F space with the intention of changing the TATL portion in a few days when the date opens up for booking, so the second leg is just a placeholder for now.
I fill out everything, enter my credit card and get a PNR, plus a message saying it is on hold and I have until midnight on Nov. 2 to call in and complete the purchase. It says they will hold the seats and guarantee the fare until then. Never seen this before. Is one really able to hold a booking? It works out great for me as I know the seats are held and I can just let it lapse in 2 days and rebook with the flight I want. Or just call in and have them change it for me and at the same time, complete the purchase. I'm not too worried as EF says there are still 5 F seats on the first flight - it's the TATL that will be tricky as there are only 2 F seats left so I'll have to be quick once the window opens.
But is this possible? To hold an award ticket? I've seen the 'held' tab under 'my trips' but never knew what it was for.
I booked an F award flight early this morning. 2 legs, Africa to US. We want a stopover in the connection city but I wanted to lock in the first leg now to get the F space with the intention of changing the TATL portion in a few days when the date opens up for booking, so the second leg is just a placeholder for now.
I fill out everything, enter my credit card and get a PNR, plus a message saying it is on hold and I have until midnight on Nov. 2 to call in and complete the purchase. It says they will hold the seats and guarantee the fare until then. Never seen this before. Is one really able to hold a booking? It works out great for me as I know the seats are held and I can just let it lapse in 2 days and rebook with the flight I want. Or just call in and have them change it for me and at the same time, complete the purchase. I'm not too worried as EF says there are still 5 F seats on the first flight - it's the TATL that will be tricky as there are only 2 F seats left so I'll have to be quick once the window opens.
But is this possible? To hold an award ticket? I've seen the 'held' tab under 'my trips' but never knew what it was for.
Oct 30, 2016, 6:19 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,834
They used to do holds, but the past few years it has been ticketed, then changed. No real difference if you're 75K or MVPG. Which partner?
You all likely know of this, but I've never seen it before and didn't even know it was a 'thing'.
I booked an F award flight early this morning. 2 legs, Africa to US. We want a stopover in the connection city but I wanted to lock in the first leg now to get the F space with the intention of changing the TATL portion in a few days when the date opens up for booking, so the second leg is just a placeholder for now.
I fill out everything, enter my credit card and get a PNR, plus a message saying it is on hold and I have until midnight on Nov. 2 to call in and complete the purchase. It says they will hold the seats and guarantee the fare until then. Never seen this before. Is one really able to hold a booking? It works out great for me as I know the seats are held and I can just let it lapse in 2 days and rebook with the flight I want. Or just call in and have them change it for me and at the same time, complete the purchase. I'm not too worried as EF says there are still 5 F seats on the first flight - it's the TATL that will be tricky as there are only 2 F seats left so I'll have to be quick once the window opens.
But is this possible? To hold an award ticket? I've seen the 'held' tab under 'my trips' but never knew what it was for.
I booked an F award flight early this morning. 2 legs, Africa to US. We want a stopover in the connection city but I wanted to lock in the first leg now to get the F space with the intention of changing the TATL portion in a few days when the date opens up for booking, so the second leg is just a placeholder for now.
I fill out everything, enter my credit card and get a PNR, plus a message saying it is on hold and I have until midnight on Nov. 2 to call in and complete the purchase. It says they will hold the seats and guarantee the fare until then. Never seen this before. Is one really able to hold a booking? It works out great for me as I know the seats are held and I can just let it lapse in 2 days and rebook with the flight I want. Or just call in and have them change it for me and at the same time, complete the purchase. I'm not too worried as EF says there are still 5 F seats on the first flight - it's the TATL that will be tricky as there are only 2 F seats left so I'll have to be quick once the window opens.
But is this possible? To hold an award ticket? I've seen the 'held' tab under 'my trips' but never knew what it was for.
Oct 30, 2016, 9:22 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
Thank you for holding a reservation at alaskaair.com.
Listed below is a recap of your held reservation, its expiration date, and
purchase instructions. Also listed are options to complete your trip plans
with car and hotel reservations, City Guides, a Weather Center, 24-Hour Web
Check-In, and Alaska Tracker.
____________________________________
EXPIRATION DATE
We will hold your seats and guarantee your fare until
11:59 p.m. (PT), Wednesday, November 02, 2016.
____________________________________
HOW TO PURCHASE
To purchase this reservation, visit us online at alaskaair.com.
Click the Reservations tab on the home page, and select "View/Change a Reservation." Then, enter your
confirmation information (name and confirmation code XXXXXX or e-ticket number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) and click Continue.
Oct 31, 2016, 7:29 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Northern Calif./Eastern Ida.
Programs: Amethyst Premier Plutonium Medallion
Posts: 20,628
This sounds suspicious. If it doesn't ticket within 24 hours of when you requested it, I would call AS and ask them to manually push it through.
On UA, some partners require UA to basically manually confirm space. I don't think I have ever ran into that on any AS partners, but I have not flown any of the "exotic" ones on an award ticket.
On UA, some partners require UA to basically manually confirm space. I don't think I have ever ran into that on any AS partners, but I have not flown any of the "exotic" ones on an award ticket.
Nov 1, 2016, 12:14 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
Not sure what easy biz is so I doubt it. I just booked it on the website, no different than many other award tickets I've booked. And of course I can't pull it up either in 'my trips' or by the PNR, as they instructed in the email. It is there in 'my trips', under 'held', I just can't view it.
It is actually probably not a bad situation as, like I said, I just wanted to hold the F space on the first leg while waiting for the second leg to open for booking, which will happen before the hold expires. There were 5 F seats before I booked, now down to 3 so there is still F space on the first segment. I'll just rebook it the way I want it and call in and tell them to just cancel the hold on the first booking.
I just thought it was weird as it has never happened to me before. And I booked a couple of other BA awards just last week.
It is actually probably not a bad situation as, like I said, I just wanted to hold the F space on the first leg while waiting for the second leg to open for booking, which will happen before the hold expires. There were 5 F seats before I booked, now down to 3 so there is still F space on the first segment. I'll just rebook it the way I want it and call in and tell them to just cancel the hold on the first booking.
I just thought it was weird as it has never happened to me before. And I booked a couple of other BA awards just last week.
Nov 1, 2016, 1:30 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
So an update. The second leg on the date I wanted just opened up. I booked the entire thing again and it went through immediately - no hold this time. The exact same flights, just a few days later.
I called into to cancel the previous booking so I didn't get caught up in a double booking. The agent had never seen this hold thing before either. She asked if I had booked it over the phone (I didn't) as that was the only thing she could think of. It was just bizarre as the new booking went through perfectly normally so we can't figure out why the first one was on hold. She deleted it (I was never charged, nor were any miles withdrawn) and then changed the first leg on the new booking to the original date that I had booked previously. So it's all good and it actually worked out better for me in the long run as it held the space I wanted until I could book the last segment. Now I just have to call back in a few days and add on an AS domestic segment once that date opens up.....
I called into to cancel the previous booking so I didn't get caught up in a double booking. The agent had never seen this hold thing before either. She asked if I had booked it over the phone (I didn't) as that was the only thing she could think of. It was just bizarre as the new booking went through perfectly normally so we can't figure out why the first one was on hold. She deleted it (I was never charged, nor were any miles withdrawn) and then changed the first leg on the new booking to the original date that I had booked previously. So it's all good and it actually worked out better for me in the long run as it held the space I wanted until I could book the last segment. Now I just have to call back in a few days and add on an AS domestic segment once that date opens up.....
Nov 2, 2016, 9:27 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
And it is still sitting in my 'held' trips, 2 days after cancelling it. Not sure why I felt the need to blur the PNR and other info - I've never been able to view it. I get an error message when I click on it. I wish I knew what I did as this hold thing came in very handy. 
Nov 2, 2016, 12:25 pm
#10
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: LA/NY/CHI
Programs: AA EXP, AS 100K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Plat
Posts: 1,876
Wow! I had no idea this was a thing. I'm guessing perhaps something about the credit card didn't go through? That's usually what happens to AA when you try to ticket, your reservation will be held for a couple of days while the system processes
Nov 2, 2016, 1:18 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,830
Nov 2, 2016, 7:04 pm
#12
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: AS MVPG, CO, NW(now DL), Flying Blue
Posts: 6,554
Not sure what easy biz is so I doubt it. I just booked it on the website, no different than many other award tickets I've booked. And of course I can't pull it up either in 'my trips' or by the PNR, as they instructed in the email. It is there in 'my trips', under 'held', I just can't view it.
It is actually probably not a bad situation as, like I said, I just wanted to hold the F space on the first leg while waiting for the second leg to open for booking, which will happen before the hold expires. There were 5 F seats before I booked, now down to 3 so there is still F space on the first segment. I'll just rebook it the way I want it and call in and tell them to just cancel the hold on the first booking.
I just thought it was weird as it has never happened to me before. And I booked a couple of other BA awards just last week.
It is actually probably not a bad situation as, like I said, I just wanted to hold the F space on the first leg while waiting for the second leg to open for booking, which will happen before the hold expires. There were 5 F seats before I booked, now down to 3 so there is still F space on the first segment. I'll just rebook it the way I want it and call in and tell them to just cancel the hold on the first booking.
I just thought it was weird as it has never happened to me before. And I booked a couple of other BA awards just last week.