Sep 22, 2017, 4:26 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
AA Ticket Refunds and Policies
As of 1 Apr 2016, 24 hour free cancellation, except bookings purchased within seven days of travel, is standard. Tickets purchased within seven days of travel are exempt from 24 hour cancellation policies, per USDOT.
NOTE: Hold can be used when offered. (As of 3 Nov 2016, AA randomly offers free 24 hour hold to those booking travel over seven days out, and some still report being offered up to 7 days hold for $15.99.)
Current 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 sometimes offer hold for unspecified interim going forward, but 24 hours hold via telephone booking may no longer be granted by agents (though occasional ones might anyway).
update July 2016
Fully refundable tickets that are cancelled: fare, fees and taxes will be returned to the original form of payment (FOP).
Nonrefundable tickets that are cancelled voluntarily: AA will generally issue a voucher for the fare, taxes and fees less the change fee described in the detailed fare rules. The voucher may be used for AA flights and other limited purposes. See Transportation Voucher / vouchers / "MCO" FAQ and master thread.
Full refunds, even for nonrefundable tickets, may often be made for the full fare, fees and taxes:
"We do not refund nonrefundable American Airlines tickets except when the ticket is cancelled within 24 hours of purchase, when we make a schedule change that results in a change of 61 minutes or more, upon the death of a passenger or passenger's travelling companion or because of military orders. Supporting documentation is required."
Some equipment changes, such as purchasing international First and being changed to a flight without First class, or a domestic F or Business seat is eliminated by substituting a single class Economy cabin, may also allow a full refund.
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).
As of 1 Apr 2016, 24 hour free cancellation, except bookings purchased within seven days of travel, is standard. Tickets purchased within seven days of travel are exempt from 24 hour cancellation policies, per USDOT.
NOTE: Hold can be used when offered. (As of 3 Nov 2016, AA randomly offers free 24 hour hold to those booking travel over seven days out, and some still report being offered up to 7 days hold for $15.99.)
Current refunds policy:
"You have 24 hours to cancel your trip for a full refund if you booked at least 7 days prior to departure. Link to AA Refunds FAQ."
For bookings made online, AA may continue to sometimes offer hold for unspecified interim going forward, but 24 hours hold via telephone booking may no longer be granted by agents (though occasional ones might anyway).
update July 2016
AA follows USDOT requirements to the letter:● 24 hour cancellation with refund and no penalty, though
● No free 24-hour cancellations for purchases made within seven days of flying (except on refundable fares)
● 24 hour hold will be offered for some random (at least to passengers) online bookings for some tickets for an undetermined interim period of time
● Extended hold for pay will still be offered online on many bookings (not within seven days)
● The five day holds for awards remains unaffected, but be aware all awards by non-elites also incur a $75 close in processing fee for 21 days or fewer from booking to flying.
● Awards that are cancelled incur a $150 redeposit fee (and $25 per other awards from the same account), except for Concierge Key and Executive Platinum members.
● No free 24-hour cancellations for purchases made within seven days of flying (except on refundable fares)
● 24 hour hold will be offered for some random (at least to passengers) online bookings for some tickets for an undetermined interim period of time
● Extended hold for pay will still be offered online on many bookings (not within seven days)
● The five day holds for awards remains unaffected, but be aware all awards by non-elites also incur a $75 close in processing fee for 21 days or fewer from booking to flying.
● Awards that are cancelled incur a $150 redeposit fee (and $25 per other awards from the same account), except for Concierge Key and Executive Platinum members.
Nonrefundable tickets that are cancelled voluntarily: AA will generally issue a voucher for the fare, taxes and fees less the change fee described in the detailed fare rules. The voucher may be used for AA flights and other limited purposes. See Transportation Voucher / vouchers / "MCO" FAQ and master thread.
Full refunds, even for nonrefundable tickets, may often be made for the full fare, fees and taxes:
"We do not refund nonrefundable American Airlines tickets except when the ticket is cancelled within 24 hours of purchase, when we make a schedule change that results in a change of 61 minutes or more, upon the death of a passenger or passenger's travelling companion or because of military orders. Supporting documentation is required."
Some equipment changes, such as purchasing international First and being changed to a flight without First class, or a domestic F or Business seat is eliminated by substituting a single class Economy cabin, may also allow a full refund.
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).
AA Ticket Refund and Related (master thread)
Feb 10, 2019, 7:17 pm
#286
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, Mlife NOIR
Posts: 320
Once you've flown the outbound, you're usually able to change the return given the rules at time of booking.
In my experience, once my outbound has been completed, I've usually been able to change the date of the return (at no cost except for the change fee) if the same fare class is available. If my outbound hasn't been flown, then the whole ticket will reprice.
This is just my experience, however.
In my experience, once my outbound has been completed, I've usually been able to change the date of the return (at no cost except for the change fee) if the same fare class is available. If my outbound hasn't been flown, then the whole ticket will reprice.
This is just my experience, however.
Feb 12, 2019, 10:57 am
#287
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: Free agent AAdvantage LT GLD
Posts: 221
Appreciate the advice here. To keep this relevant to this thread you can't fly an outbound leg and cancel the return leg and expect to get half of the round trip price minus the change fee as credit. You may be able to change the dates of the return flight but you will need to pay the change fee ($500 in some cases) along with the fare difference. It is not possible to pay the change fee to change the name on the reservation.
Personally I was skittish about booking a flight from EWR or JKF to Europe as a separate ticket from the AUS-EWR/JFK flt and ended up ticketing with Aeroflot J (a Russian airline) with JetBlue on the first segment (in Y) for $2500.
Good point that enpremier made about IRROPS with La Compagnie.
Thanks for the help. My return flt is an F Saaver on BA through LHR with its wallet unfriendly fuel charge.
Personally I was skittish about booking a flight from EWR or JKF to Europe as a separate ticket from the AUS-EWR/JFK flt and ended up ticketing with Aeroflot J (a Russian airline) with JetBlue on the first segment (in Y) for $2500.
Good point that enpremier made about IRROPS with La Compagnie.
Thanks for the help. My return flt is an F Saaver on BA through LHR with its wallet unfriendly fuel charge.
Feb 24, 2019, 12:23 am
#288
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 134
Refund progress stages?
Can anyone provide insight on where my refund is within the AA bureaucracy? I cancelled a reservation within the first 24 hours, it was for a trip months from now, and was paid wholly with gift cards. After 48 hours, the status went from blank to "pending review." Now, after a week, it has moved to "We have your request. Please send us an email by clicking the triangle under 'For Refund Questions.' "
I guess what I'm most confused about is, are they asking me to contact them, or is the prompt to email AA just a standard message for pending refunds.
I guess what I'm most confused about is, are they asking me to contact them, or is the prompt to email AA just a standard message for pending refunds.
Feb 24, 2019, 7:37 am
#289
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
Sounds like a standard (but confusing) response. Email them anyway (i.e., "just checking in") in case the system is awaiting a response to trigger next steps?
Feb 25, 2019, 11:55 pm
#290
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 60
Trouble getting refund after flight schedule change
My flight in June is changed by almost 5 hours. When I called in, the AA agent said she'll process full refund back to original form of payment which was a combination of credit card and AA gift card. But I received an email from AA claiming that I had made the change and therefore the tickets are non refundable. Instead, they are giving back only travel credit that I have to use within one year and it has to be in the same passenger name.
AA website says schedule changes of 61 minutes is fully refundable, even for non refundable tickets.
I tried calling AA twice, but none of the agents helped. One asked me to go to the aa refund website and submit a refund request. When I entered the ticket number it shows it has been refunded in "coupon". I submitted complaint form via AA customer service website. I've also submitted complaint to DOT.
I don't want to be stuck with travel credits that expires in 1 year and that can only be used by the specific passenger. The worse part is, one passengers involved is a relative from overseas. I don't foresee her making another trip here and flying domestically within the year.
Anyone suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
AA website says schedule changes of 61 minutes is fully refundable, even for non refundable tickets.
I tried calling AA twice, but none of the agents helped. One asked me to go to the aa refund website and submit a refund request. When I entered the ticket number it shows it has been refunded in "coupon". I submitted complaint form via AA customer service website. I've also submitted complaint to DOT.
I don't want to be stuck with travel credits that expires in 1 year and that can only be used by the specific passenger. The worse part is, one passengers involved is a relative from overseas. I don't foresee her making another trip here and flying domestically within the year.
Anyone suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Feb 26, 2019, 1:03 am
#291
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 255
My flight in June is changed by almost 5 hours. When I called in, the AA agent said she'll process full refund back to original form of payment which was a combination of credit card and AA gift card. But I received an email from AA claiming that I had made the change and therefore the tickets are non refundable. Instead, they are giving back only travel credit that I have to use within one year and it has to be in the same passenger name.
AA website says schedule changes of 61 minutes is fully refundable, even for non refundable tickets.
I tried calling AA twice, but none of the agents helped. One asked me to go to the aa refund website and submit a refund request. When I entered the ticket number it shows it has been refunded in "coupon". I submitted complaint form via AA customer service website. I've also submitted complaint to DOT.
I don't want to be stuck with travel credits that expires in 1 year and that can only be used by the specific passenger. The worse part is, one passengers involved is a relative from overseas. I don't foresee her making another trip here and flying domestically within the year.
Anyone suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
AA website says schedule changes of 61 minutes is fully refundable, even for non refundable tickets.
I tried calling AA twice, but none of the agents helped. One asked me to go to the aa refund website and submit a refund request. When I entered the ticket number it shows it has been refunded in "coupon". I submitted complaint form via AA customer service website. I've also submitted complaint to DOT.
I don't want to be stuck with travel credits that expires in 1 year and that can only be used by the specific passenger. The worse part is, one passengers involved is a relative from overseas. I don't foresee her making another trip here and flying domestically within the year.
Anyone suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Mar 1, 2019, 12:09 am
#292
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: LA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, SPG/Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,192
I booked two flexible tickets at $1200 each. I canceled and requested a refund. After a week of review, AA is only refunding me $709 per ticket to my credit card. Even with the $200 cancellation fee, I'm still ~$300 short per ticket. I used two $100 gift cards to purchase, along with a credit card. Is the rest being refunded to the gift cards? Or am I missing something else here? I called the platinum pro line but they said they didn't handle these things and told me to go online and contact AA customer relations there. It seems like they're purposefully making their refund department hard to contact.
Mar 1, 2019, 5:25 pm
#293
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 60
They also didn't process my refund properly due to THEIR schedule change. I called several times. The best advice from their customer service was to go to https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/ and click on "Contact Refunds" at the bottom of the page, then fill in my request to have it fixed. They said it can take up to 10 biz days to hear back from them. It's been 6 biz days. Haven't heard anything.
I've also filed a complaint with DOT through: https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint
Got a response from DOT analyst the next day. Said the complaint is under their department's rules, so they will forward to airline for response. "Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days." per DOT.
I've also filed a complaint with DOT through: https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint
Got a response from DOT analyst the next day. Said the complaint is under their department's rules, so they will forward to airline for response. "Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days." per DOT.
Mar 3, 2019, 6:49 pm
#294
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: LA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, SPG/Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,192
AA's customer service got back to me saying that they've resubmitted my refund request for me. Not sure what that means or if I'll be getting more money back. Fingers crossed.
Mar 4, 2019, 7:16 am
#295
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Albert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. - Professor Buzzkill - History's Myths Debunked
Mar 4, 2019, 10:49 am
#296
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: US/UK - and elsewhere
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,554
I have (had) a booking for two, internal US flights, non-refundable.
i) it was impossible to find out how much 'refund' would be made if cancelled beforehand through their website. The available 'print' inferred a $200 fee per person;
ii) after cancelling the flight, it still does not tell me what the refund would be (is it that difficult?);
iii) the refund page says "Our records indicate that a refund request cannot be automated." - whatever that means;
iv) Trying 'further options' gets 'Please select the reason for your refund request. You may also provide additional information regarding your request in the Comments box' which only seems to give you an option for fees & taxes (apart from a range extraneous situations).
Is it likely that I will see any money (or vouchers)?
i) it was impossible to find out how much 'refund' would be made if cancelled beforehand through their website. The available 'print' inferred a $200 fee per person;
ii) after cancelling the flight, it still does not tell me what the refund would be (is it that difficult?);
iii) the refund page says "Our records indicate that a refund request cannot be automated." - whatever that means;
iv) Trying 'further options' gets 'Please select the reason for your refund request. You may also provide additional information regarding your request in the Comments box' which only seems to give you an option for fees & taxes (apart from a range extraneous situations).
Is it likely that I will see any money (or vouchers)?
Mar 12, 2019, 8:35 am
#297
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: LA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, SPG/Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 4,192
After customer service re-submitted a refund request for me, I had $200 returned on gift cards, and this morning AA has agreed to refund me the remaining $400. It was definitely harder than it should've been but it worked.
May 10, 2019, 10:22 am
#298
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: DCA/IAD
Posts: 69
Extending date of issue for non-refundable ticket credit
Are there any ways to extend the value of a non-refundable ticket more than a year past the original date of issue?
For example, can I use the balance (minus change fee) to purchase a new refundable ticket and then cancel that refundable ticket and have that refunded into a credit I can use beyond the first ticket's original issue date?
I will be the person using the ticket so not trying to get around that, just the date. My fault I didn't realize the time frame was based of date of issue and not original flight date.
Thanks in advance!
For example, can I use the balance (minus change fee) to purchase a new refundable ticket and then cancel that refundable ticket and have that refunded into a credit I can use beyond the first ticket's original issue date?
I will be the person using the ticket so not trying to get around that, just the date. My fault I didn't realize the time frame was based of date of issue and not original flight date.
Thanks in advance!
Jun 17, 2019, 6:23 am
#299
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TW/California
Programs: UA MM, SPG LT Plat,
Posts: 238
hi everyone:
sorry if this question has been answered in this thread. tried to search for confirmation, but couldn't find it.
This my first trip on American Airline ever.
I booked a flight SFO-DFW for yesterday.
Due to the extreme weather, AA cancelled my flight, and rebook me on a flight tomorrow, 45 hours after my original departure.
I want to cancel my trip and get a full refund (back using original payment method - credit card)
I believe it would be better to do it via phone agent, but the current wait time is 1 1/2 hours (better than yesterday, which was over 2 hours)
The Your Trip section on AA.com has a 'cancel trip' option.
And when I clicked on it, it says "After you cancel, you can request a refund on aa.com"
My question is, Can I safely trust that？
Meaning that once I cancel this itinerary online, I can apply to get the full paid amount refunded back to my credit card, and not somehow be stuck with a credit voucher that I will not likely use. (it's 3 seats in 1st class, totaling almost $3K, so I definitely want cash back, not vouchers that i will not likely use in the next 12 months)
Thank you for your help in advance.
sylaw72
I
sorry if this question has been answered in this thread. tried to search for confirmation, but couldn't find it.
This my first trip on American Airline ever.
I booked a flight SFO-DFW for yesterday.
Due to the extreme weather, AA cancelled my flight, and rebook me on a flight tomorrow, 45 hours after my original departure.
I want to cancel my trip and get a full refund (back using original payment method - credit card)
I believe it would be better to do it via phone agent, but the current wait time is 1 1/2 hours (better than yesterday, which was over 2 hours)
The Your Trip section on AA.com has a 'cancel trip' option.
And when I clicked on it, it says "After you cancel, you can request a refund on aa.com"
My question is, Can I safely trust that？
Meaning that once I cancel this itinerary online, I can apply to get the full paid amount refunded back to my credit card, and not somehow be stuck with a credit voucher that I will not likely use. (it's 3 seats in 1st class, totaling almost $3K, so I definitely want cash back, not vouchers that i will not likely use in the next 12 months)
Thank you for your help in advance.
sylaw72
I
Jun 28, 2019, 6:38 pm
#300
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 1,659
I learned something today about how AA refunds work for non refundable tickets in this specific situation:
I had a non-refundable ticket (about $700) bought by corporate travel agent back in December which I didn't use. I applied the residual value to a leisure reservation, about $500 from the unused ticket and $500 on my credit card. The new leisure trip had to be canceled as a trip in vain due to AA delays. They said they'd refund it to the original form of payment which I assumed would be a voucher for the original ticket value and back to my credit card for the additional $500. Today I found out that they mailed a check to the corporate travel agent for the full $1,000. Not sure if this is standard procedure or a fluke. Mostly just a data point...
I had a non-refundable ticket (about $700) bought by corporate travel agent back in December which I didn't use. I applied the residual value to a leisure reservation, about $500 from the unused ticket and $500 on my credit card. The new leisure trip had to be canceled as a trip in vain due to AA delays. They said they'd refund it to the original form of payment which I assumed would be a voucher for the original ticket value and back to my credit card for the additional $500. Today I found out that they mailed a check to the corporate travel agent for the full $1,000. Not sure if this is standard procedure or a fluke. Mostly just a data point...