FlyerTalk Forums - ARCHIVE: HOLD ticket changed 1 Apr 2016

ARCHIVE: AA Eliminates 24 Hour HOLD 1 Apr 2016
As of 1 Apr 2016: 24 hour free cancellation,
except bookings purchased within seven days of travel.
NOTE: Hold and 24 hour cancelation online can be used currently until it is terminated.

See current thread: Free 24 hr Hold on AA.com Now Only Offered Randomly 3 Nov 2016

Bookings made now state:

Quote:

"You have 24 hours to cancel your trip for a full refund if you booked at least 7 days prior to departure. (Link to) Refunds policy."

Getting a reservation refunded is a two-step process. First cancel the reservation on aa.com or by calling Reservations, then second request the refund at http://prefunds.aa.com.

For bookings made online, AA may continue to offer hold for unspecified interim going forward, but 24 hours hold via telephone booking may no longer granted by agents (though occasional ones might anyway).
update July 2016

Quote:

AA will follow USDOT requirements to the letter, not the industry standards:

● 24 hour cancellation with refund and no penalty, though

● No free 24-hour cancellations for purchases within seven days of flying (except on refundable fares)

● 24 hour hold dropped for telephone bookings 1 April - but per a post here, will continue to be available for an undetermined interim period of time

● 24 hour hold will be offered for online bookings for an undetermined interim period of time

● during this period both free 24 hour hold and 24 hour no fee cancellation will be possible

● Extended hold for pay will still be offered online on many bookings (not within seven days)

● The five day holds for awards, and 24 hours within fifteen days of travel (all awards by non-elites also incur a $75 close in processing fee) remain unaffected

Quote:

Gary Leff, From the Boarding Area, 31 Mar 2016: (link) American spokesperson Joshua Freed confirmed to me today:

● They are making the change
● It does go into effect tomorrow, April 1 after all.

Washington Post article about this: link.

Previous, obsolete thread: ARCHIVE: AA 24 Hour Cancellation Policy: Offer 24 Hour Hold (obsolete)

Quote:

Prior statement 20 March 2016: "There is not a final decision on this. Moving to refunds instead of a hold policy is something we are looking at, but it has not been decided.

There are some issues and implications we need to sort through before we do anything – which may be nothing at all.

There are some emails and meetings about all of this, and it looks like someone was eager to share the news.

If something officially changes, we will let customers know in advance. Nothing has been decided as I write this at 7:32am on Monday."

- Gary Leff, View from the wing Link

Don't forget to look at other venues for tickets, such as OTAs, if purchasing within the 7 day window and you would like some hedging protection. Expedia offers 24 hour cancellation on AA itineraries within the 7 day window and many AA itineraries can be held via Expedia Trip Lock (which charges a small fee to hold a fare for 48 hours).