25k miles + $350 upgrade & flight cancellation
May 12, 2011, 1:37 pm
#1
In Memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: dallas texas usa
Programs: aa plt 4.9MM LTAC
Posts: 14,828
25k miles + $350 upgrade & flight cancellation
an aagent told me today that if you cancel a booking & the upgrade has been processed, you lose the $350 & have to pay the $150 redeposit fee to retain the miles...
should i talk to another aagent?....can anyone confirm?
tia...
should i talk to another aagent?....can anyone confirm?
tia...
May 12, 2011, 1:47 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: AUS
Programs: AA EXP/OW Emerald
Posts: 352
I haven't had the personal experience on this but everything I've read and been told matches this.
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/jba-u...servations.jsp
"If your purchased fare ticket allows refunds, you can also request to have your AAdvantage mileage reinstated for an unused AAdvantage mileage upgrade award. Partially used awards cannot be reinstated.
When requesting a reinstatement, a $150 USD processing charge will be assessed per account for the first award ticket. Any additional award tickets reinstated to the same account at the same time will have a $25 USD per ticket add-on charge."
Also if you click the "View American Airlines Upgrade Awards Chart" button you'll see this: "Co-Payment is non-refundable and inclusive of U.S. excise tax where applicable."
Combine both those fine print together and you are out your $350 copay and have to pay $150 to get your 25k miles back, as the agent indicated.
If you can sweet talk an EXP into giving you a SWU (or use one of yours if you have one for your 2+ MM award), those are "refundable" if you cancel, I've had experience there before.
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/jba-u...servations.jsp
"If your purchased fare ticket allows refunds, you can also request to have your AAdvantage mileage reinstated for an unused AAdvantage mileage upgrade award. Partially used awards cannot be reinstated.
When requesting a reinstatement, a $150 USD processing charge will be assessed per account for the first award ticket. Any additional award tickets reinstated to the same account at the same time will have a $25 USD per ticket add-on charge."
Also if you click the "View American Airlines Upgrade Awards Chart" button you'll see this: "Co-Payment is non-refundable and inclusive of U.S. excise tax where applicable."
Combine both those fine print together and you are out your $350 copay and have to pay $150 to get your 25k miles back, as the agent indicated.
If you can sweet talk an EXP into giving you a SWU (or use one of yours if you have one for your 2+ MM award), those are "refundable" if you cancel, I've had experience there before.
May 12, 2011, 2:03 pm
#3
In Memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: dallas texas usa
Programs: aa plt 4.9MM LTAC
Posts: 14,828
thanks for the info....many people don't look at the fine print or understand rare rules, but its a good practice...
Last edited by clacko; May 12, 2011 at 2:08 pm
May 12, 2011, 2:15 pm
#4
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: AA EXP, Starwood Plat
Posts: 305
Wow, this really underscores the value of eVIP's for me.
May 12, 2011, 2:20 pm
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2004
Location: DFW/DAL
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AS MVPG, HH Diamond, NCL Platinum Plus, MSC Diamond
Posts: 21,422
The $350 is clearly labeled as non-refundable, so if you cancel, it is not refunded. I believe you can switch the upgrade to another flight, without paying the fee to get your miles back. Of course, I have never canceled a miles + copay ticket. As noted, I love SWUs for this.
May 12, 2011, 2:22 pm
#6
In Memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: dallas texas usa
Programs: aa plt 4.9MM LTAC
Posts: 14,828
The $350 is clearly labeled as non-refundable, so if you cancel, it is not refunded. I believe you can switch the upgrade to another flight, without paying the fee to get your miles back. Of course, I have never canceled a miles + copay ticket. As noted, I love SWUs for this.
May 12, 2011, 2:36 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA 1.5 MM Exec Plat, WN A-List, DL Silver, UA nonrev
Posts: 2,593
May 13, 2011, 4:49 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2006
Programs: AA EP 4MM, UA 1MM, DL 1MM
Posts: 407
and had to change her flight to a couple of days earlier. She is now standby for the upgrade and was told the same thing. She's out the $350 and will have to pay $150 to get the 25,000 miles redeposited.
May 13, 2011, 5:40 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: LAX
Posts: 10,909
An extreme case of money grab 
- the released upgrade inventory is not gonna go unused, so making this non refundable has no justification (unlike for example normal ticket cancellation where a seat may end up unsold).
- the released upgrade inventory is not gonna go unused, so making this non refundable has no justification (unlike for example normal ticket cancellation where a seat may end up unsold).