NizzoFoShizzo

I have a long haul international flight, but the dates are uncertain.

It's through my employer so I would like to book it and reserve it now. The cost of the ticket is not an issue, so a refundable ticket is best for me. I would like to buy multiple tickets and once the date is confirmed, cancel the other ones.

I have a question about booking a refundable ticket through AA. If I buy 2 tickets for different dates, will:
1). I get charged for both of them immediately?
2). Once the date is set, can I keep one and cancel the other myself online without a penalty, or do I have to call their CS? How far in advance must a refundable ticket be cancelled to avoid any penalty? Is it any easy process to cancel?

If I can cancel one of them easily by just going online and clicking cancel through my AA reservations and without any penalty, that would be great and that would be best for me.

Also needed to know about the payment part because I would like to get charged up front so I can expense the flight before departing.

JerryFF

1) It depends on the nature of the ticket. Some refundable tickets allow you to book and hold the reservation without paying for them, while others require ticketing within a certain time limit - 24 hrs, 72 hrs etc. You need to check on the rules for the particular ticket you are reserving.

2) It is relatively easy to cancel a reservation. You didn't say how you were booking it. Is it through a particular website required by your employer? Or through a particular travel agent?

I should say that it is definitely frowned on to "double book", as you are proposing. Why do you need to do this?

NizzoFoShizzo

I would be booking direct through the AA website.

I'm thinking about double booking because the date is not firm and I need to guarantee a seat now and I won't know which date is set until about 2-3 weeks beforehand.

The upcharge in refundable fare is ok, but I can't buy a non-refundable fare and end up not going because I'll get reimbursed for the former but not the latter.

Ocn Vw 1K

As this is specific to ticketing policies of AA, please follow as the thread moves to that airline's forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

janetdoe

I don't think it's "frowned upon". The reason refundable tickets are so much more expensive is to cover the airline's extra risk. I think the OP's situation is exactly why they have refundable tickets - you can decide not to take a trip and cancel with no penalty.

Depending on his manager/company's travel policies, I would advise OP to check whether two non-refundable tickets are cheaper than one refundable ticket. The company may reimburse both tickets in that case, and they would still have the full value of the ticket (minus $150 or $250) to spend on future travel.

NizzoFoShizzo

Multiple refundable tickets would be a definite no due to the slight possibility where I don't go at all.

The upcharge in refundable fare is ok, but I can't buy a non-refundable fare and end up not going because I'll get reimbursed for the former but not the latter.

maxmin

Are there fares where there is no penalty whatsoever for a no-show (literally, ie. you do not show up nor do you call to cancel) ?

By no penalty, I mean you can be either fully refunded, or take the next flight with a seat in the same class, without penalty ?

ckpeter

Yes, full-fare Y class fares are fully refundable anytime, even after departure. Unlike restrictive fares, you do not have to call before departure to cancel, in order to retain value. You can also easily change to another flight.

There may be other slightly cheaper fares, such as B fares, with the same features. However, you will need to read the fare rules to confirm.

maxmin

Thank you. Is this the same for the full fare business and First - Is that J or C, and F ?

ckpeter

Yes, full fare business or first class fares will have the same features.

Do make sure that you check the actual fare code for each airline. Unlike Y, which is almost universally a full fare code, C is not necessarily a full fare business. For example, on AA it's an upgrade from economy to business.

Of course, when in doubt, always read the actual fare rules, as those are the rules that specify all the details.

i_fly_AA

It's not just full Y fares that fall into this category; you can no-show on any refundable fare (unless it's one of those weird international fares that is refundable but has a fee for doing a refund - in that case I don't know the answer). This applies to any class of service. For example, if you have a first class fare that's non-refundable (as is the case with some PUP or KUP fares), then you lose the ticket value of you no-show. But if it's a refundable ticket, such as on a full F fare, then you're good to go.

But generally, if you look at the fare rules on a ticket, it will tell you the answer. If you can't no-show, it will say something to the effect of that all changes and cancellations must be made prior to departure.

maxmin

I made a reservation and the fare code is "FA2AA". It's the most expensive F ticket.

The rules say "CANCELLATIONS PER TICKET CHARGE USD 100.00 FOR LOST TICKET. NOTE - AA WILL IMPOSE A SERVICE CHARGE PER TICKET FOR HANDLING SUCH REQUEST FOR REFUND OF A LOST TICKET"

Punctuation is a bit lacking but is this saying $100 fee to cancel or only if lost? How can you "lose" an e-ticket?!

The agents (I spoke to three different ones) say if you are a no show you will get no refund.

So, what to believe?

Happy

The Lost Ticket fee is for paper ticket.

What you really need to make sure is the PENALTY section where it says For Wholly Unused Ticket - and see if it has any restriction on the cancellation / change must occur before departure or not.

There are also some changes have implemented for International tickets. It has been mentioned on this site:

http://www.travelingbetter.com/forum...splay.php?f=30

You may want to do a search over there to read about the changes (unfriendly ones).

Not sure what you try to accomplish because of no details provided. However a Y fare would sure be a 100% refundable even canceled passing the departure date - it is not the same case for most discounted refundable fares - yes, there are fully refundable fares that are discounted and you do need to cancel before travel date in order to retain the value.

maxmin

Thank you.
I'm bookig a connecting flight on new itin, the connection is tight, and I might be unable to phone AA to cancel in time

The rules say:
Penalties CHANGES CHANGES PERMITTED. NOTE

-FULL REFUND WILL BE MADE OF WHOLLY UNUSED REFUNDABLE FARE TICKETS.


there's a bunch of stuff later about "CHANGES AFTER DEPARTURE" but they seem only to relate to subsequent sectors/return journeys.

anabolism

As long as the dates don't overlap, this should be fine. You can book both online and can cancel online. You can also request a refund online.

You may be able to keep both on hold for some time, as long as space remains available in the fare class. You may have to call every three days or whatever the hold time is to get it extended. Once you do tell AA to ticket one or both (which you can do online or by phone, unless you've applied upgrades or some other complexity), that's when your CC will be charged.

One thing to verify before purchasing is if AA will process the refund as a voucher rather than as a credit to your CC (unless you don't mind and will use the voucher on a future trip).

Another option you may want to consider is to either hold or ticket the trips as refundable/changeable, and once you do know for sure, see if a nonrefundable is available and switch to that.