brp

However, inasmuch as it is an unpublished rule, I would imagine that agents have the discretion to disallow it. Thus, the suggestion to word things carefully is sound.

Cheers.

sukn

In practice it DOES matter because this is a public forum for sharing advice and not everyone on this forum is an EXP who gets to speak to very accommodating EXP agents.

Regular and international agents are much more likely to treat non-status passengers differently as far as enforcement of the rules go.

sukn

Excellent point!

Hyperacusis

I would agree that discretion is the better part of valor, but cautious conjecture aside, there is exactly zero evidence that agents have any discretion to disallow such a change. I have done so many times, and many of my professional colleagues with varying levels of status (and non-status) have done so as well. I sincerely doubt that the very small sample size that is FT will do anything to change AA's approach to this policy.

brp

I believe that you've missed my point. This has nothing to do with FT, except as an information transfer medium. I'm not suggesting that FT will change anything. I am suggesting that this policy is unwritten and that there may be leeway here. In that case, I'm suggesting that "I don't want to take that flight after all, I want to change" may not be the best wording. I have no evidence that it would really matter. Nor do I have evidence that this is a hard-and-fast, unalterable rule. I'd go with the safe approach since no one here knows definitively what "AA's approach to the policy" really is.

Cheers.

sukn

link to source

danielonn

I'll give you an example. Today I booked my SJC-LAX-SJC flight and the later 6:20 PM was more money than the 3:35PM flight at the time of booking. When I went online later today the later flight was at the same cost as my earlier flight. I called AA and was able to get put on the later flight that I originally wanted without the $150 fee. All the agent had to do was call tariff department to do an even exchange. Within 20 minutes I got my reticketed ticket and all is well.

xxtraloud

I was wondering if there is a list somewhere of airlines and if they offer a 4-hour cancellation policy or a 24-hour hold.

Since AA does not guarantee a fare for 24 hours but only "up to 24 hr" then wouldn't it be logical that they offer a 24hr cancellation policy?

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

If I put a ticket on hold this morning, it would be on hold until tomorrow night. That's more than 24 hours.

And I don't know about any list. I would just go look at the websites of the airlines I'm considering. Yeah, I know that's tedious, but at least it's doable.

sukn

Just ignore the contradicting language. Bottom line is that if it is an all AA itinerary, your reservation will be held until midnight the next day of the departure city or if you are speaking to an agent, generally they will default the hold to midnight CST unless you tell them otherwise.

janetdoe

That is an interesting point. AA has always offered holds "up to" 24 hours (or until the fare rules cause expiration), and in practice, up to 48 hours (as long as the fare was still available). oldpenny16, I would wager that your example of losing the last seat in a fare bucket occurred between 24 and 47 hours after the hold was placed. Can you confirm?

But with the new DOT regulations that went into effect early 2012, AA is required to either offer full 24 hour holds (regardless of fare rules and partner segments) or offer 24-hour cancellation (with no restrictions).

It would seem that in practice AA offers 24-hour cancellation. (It's not hard to simply say, "I made a mistake" if they ask you why you want to cancel within the 24-hour window.) However, they really should make a clear published policy that is in full compliance with at least one of the options in the regulation.

brp

Actually, they don't. For AA-only flights they offer the hold and cancellation will, typically, not be allowed. Of course there are exceptions. But trying to cancel (within 24 hours) an un-Held ticket where Hold was available will, in general, not work.

Cheers.

janetdoe

Hmm... I'm pretty sure I've done a few cancellations within 24 hours. But of course you are right, their policy doesn't offer it, and it appears that they are offering their "maybe 24 hour hold" as their mode of compliance.

If you get stung by a non-24 hour hold that expired early, call AA and explain that you expect them to honor the 24-hour hold in accordance with DOT regulations. If they refuse, filing a complaint with DOT that AA didn't offer the 24-hour hold should result in some action - I believe AA is required to respond within a very short timeframe.

Hyperacusis

Agreed. The only point I was trying to make is that I have never come across one single instance where an agent has denied a change within 24 hours, whatever the reason given. My approach is usually "I understand I can change my flight within 24 hours of booking, I would like to change my flight to so-and-so, can we do that?" I can't speak for what language my colleagues use when they call but they seem to be using this policy fairly often quite successfully.

As for what sukn posted, I stand corrected that there does appear to be some documentation somewhere (though it appears to be internal and there isn't a link/source identified) stating that this policy is for errors only but, again, in practice this appears to be rarely enforced (if at all).

JBEagle1000G

I was looking at some itineraries this afternoon, and I noticed in the payment section, "24 Hour Hold" is no longer an option!

Am I missing something? Is there a glitch? Or is it gone?

I loved that feature!

*Sorry if this is misplaced, did a search and didn't find similar topics.