Last edit by: JDiver
Voluntary Award Changes Questionsfor carrier, co-terminal, date, destination, add / drop a segment, origin, routing, cancellation AAnytime <-> MileSAAver and other changes
See the current thread here, please.
NOTE: For involuntary award changes (caused by the operating carriers), see Involuntary Award Changes / What To Do (merged threads).
Ordinarily, one must call to request or make changes to award tickets.
Award changes, ordinary
NOTE: More extensive listing of terms and conditions are listed in oneworld and other all partner awards rules, Information 2015 on
Award carrier, connection, date or routing changes: As long as origin and destination (but read on for exceptions such as first / last segment) remain the same, change / award redeposit fees are usually waived for awards under certain circumstances when date, connection, routing or carrier changes are made But:
Award cancellations can be by phone or online, but online cancellation requires separate action to reinstate the miles. Canceling online does not request or result in miles redeposit.
Award miles reinstatement: Redeposit fees are waived for Executive Platinum members. See here for more information on award miles reinstatement.
"Upgrading" class of service by using miles requires redepositing the original award and issuing a new one for the higher class if service. AA will waive the deposit fee on the redeposited award, and will not charge for this. (However, taxes may differ, such as going from the discounted U.K. Air Passenger Duty to the full APD if upgrading from Y / PE to J; if there are higher taxes and fees imposed by the new fare, the passenger is charged for those.)
Co-terminals: For award purposes, there are no co-terminals; changing co-terminal airports (MIA and FLL, PBI; JFK, LGA, EWR etc.) will incur a $150 change fee. See this thread for detail on award miles redeposit.
An award using AS, FJ, HA or TN to South Pacific (e.g. AKL, SYD) can not be changed to AA or QF without requiring award redeposit (or vice versa).
Dropping segments: Awards made on AA or / and "all partner" carriers will allow changes mentioned above without requiring redeposit fees. Instances of dropping an origin segment can be allowed, or a final segment - as long as doing so does not change the destination zone (or sub-zone, in the case of intra-North America awards); changing the mileage (miles required) of the award claimed or the number of awards claimed.
Segments can be dropped as long as doing so does not change the destination zone (or sub-zone, in the case of intra-North America awards). If you are refused, refer agents to the in-house memo/advisory dated 02/03/11 entitled "Dropping OWFA segments." (guv1976)
As JonNYC posted:
This document was current as of December 2014:
For permitted changes and fees, see this post in the airline partner award thread.
See TravelingBetter.com here and illustrations here.
If the award is AA and oneworld, changes may be made as long as the main / governing /Most Significant Carrier makes an unconstructed fare on the award routing and the governing fare's carrier is not changed to one not offering such a fare.
Close-in booking fee: Changes made to bring travel to under 21 days from award issue will incur close-in booking fees of $75.
Schedule changes: On international awards, schedule changes of two hours or longer, or those breaking connections by bringing them below MCT / minimum connection times, flight cancellations, generally may be cancelled and redeposited without fees, or engender greater flexibility in changes. With AA awards, it is possible award seating may be opened when there is none; with partners, AA can appeal to the Liaison to the partner to open seating in these cases (the partner airline may or may not grant the exception requested). Equipment change constitutes a schedule change and you will be able to get the fee waived pre this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Partner changes: If the award includes non-oneworld partners such as AS, EY, FJ or TN, or a oneworld carrier award is changed to include a non-oneworld carrier, or vice versa, significant fees will be incurred ($150).
"Upgrading" class of service by using miles requires redepositing the original award and issuing a new one for the higher class if service. AA will waive the deposit fee on the redeposited award, and will not charge for this. (However, taxes may differ, such as going from the discounted U.K. Air Passenger Duty to the full APD if upgrading from Y / PE to J; if there are higher taxes abd fees imposed by the new fare, the passenger is charged for those.)
Changes that require different award type -
Changes to the itinerary which involve different AAdvantage award(s) than originally ticketed require a reinstatement of the original award ticket, payment of the applicable award reinstatement charge (see below), and a new award ticket issued (waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from their account). However, SAAver awards canceled for AAnytime awards, or changing to a higher class of service, will not incur redeposit fees.
Changes to your outbound travel date, resulting in a departure within 21 days -
Close-in booking fee: A $75 USD award processing charge will apply for a confirmed change to the date on an AAdvantage MileSAAver and AAnytime award ticket if the change results in a new outbound travel date that is within 21 days of the original booking date (waived for AAdvantage elite members using miles from their account).
Contact AAdvantage Reservations to change your itinerary, pay the applicable charge and have your ticket reissued prior to travel.
Canceling Awards / Reinstating Award Tickets
(Waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from their account)
Award class changes: MileSAAver to AAnytime changes generally incur no fees; conversely, AAnytime to MileSAAver awards generally will.
Award cabin class "upgrades" (e.g. Y to J): If the change made is an increase of miles to another cabin class, fees are not normally charged (but some government required fees such as UK Air Passenger Duty, airport passenger facility fees, etc. may change).
Redepositing awards incurs a fee of $150 other than for Executive Platinum members redepositing to their accounts. If two or more awards are being redeposited to the same account at the same time, the fees are $150 for the first award, $25 for every award thereafter. Note the awards do not have to share the same PNR, though some less knowledgeable agents will insist so.
Note: given a 120 hr / 5 day hold is offered, there is no right to “Free” cancellation (without redeposit) within 24 hours of securing the award. OTOH, mere date changes to a year from Booking are free of charge in most instances.
Please see: State of the award reinstatement fee (Nov 2015 - clarifying)
FAQ: Cancel award ticket / cancellation (time frame, taxes, etc.) (merged threads)
Link to 2012-2014 archive of older posts on this topic
See the current thread here, please.
NOTE: For involuntary award changes (caused by the operating carriers), see Involuntary Award Changes / What To Do (merged threads).
Ordinarily, one must call to request or make changes to award tickets.
Award changes, ordinary
NOTE: More extensive listing of terms and conditions are listed in oneworld and other all partner awards rules, Information 2015 on
Award carrier, connection, date or routing changes: As long as origin and destination (but read on for exceptions such as first / last segment) remain the same, change / award redeposit fees are usually waived for awards under certain circumstances when date, connection, routing or carrier changes are made But:
Airline / carrier changes incur no change or redeposit fees as long as you do not try to change between all AA oneworld airlines and non-oneworld airlines or vice versa.
E.g. an AA award such as SEA-HNL-SYD using AS can not be changed to use JL without requiring award redeposit. An award using AA LAX-HKG can be changed to JL via NRT or CX Without redeposit ing miles.
If Maximum Permitted Miles (usually 125% of the most direct available routing) for an award is exceeded, two awards may be charged
or
MSC fare requirements: The most significant or prevailing carrier, usually the one with the transoceanic sector, must offer an unconstructed fare between desired origin and destination; if a fare would require "married segments", two awards may be required.
Award validity: Awards must be used within one year of original booking. For travel beyond that, the award miles will have to be redeposited and new awards secured.E.g. an AA award such as SEA-HNL-SYD using AS can not be changed to use JL without requiring award redeposit. An award using AA LAX-HKG can be changed to JL via NRT or CX Without redeposit ing miles.
If Maximum Permitted Miles (usually 125% of the most direct available routing) for an award is exceeded, two awards may be charged
or
MSC fare requirements: The most significant or prevailing carrier, usually the one with the transoceanic sector, must offer an unconstructed fare between desired origin and destination; if a fare would require "married segments", two awards may be required.
Award cancellations can be by phone or online, but online cancellation requires separate action to reinstate the miles. Canceling online does not request or result in miles redeposit.
Award miles reinstatement: Redeposit fees are waived for Executive Platinum members. See here for more information on award miles reinstatement.
"Upgrading" class of service by using miles requires redepositing the original award and issuing a new one for the higher class if service. AA will waive the deposit fee on the redeposited award, and will not charge for this. (However, taxes may differ, such as going from the discounted U.K. Air Passenger Duty to the full APD if upgrading from Y / PE to J; if there are higher taxes and fees imposed by the new fare, the passenger is charged for those.)
Co-terminals: For award purposes, there are no co-terminals; changing co-terminal airports (MIA and FLL, PBI; JFK, LGA, EWR etc.) will incur a $150 change fee. See this thread for detail on award miles redeposit.
An award using AS, FJ, HA or TN to South Pacific (e.g. AKL, SYD) can not be changed to AA or QF without requiring award redeposit (or vice versa).
Dropping segments: Awards made on AA or / and "all partner" carriers will allow changes mentioned above without requiring redeposit fees. Instances of dropping an origin segment can be allowed, or a final segment - as long as doing so does not change the destination zone (or sub-zone, in the case of intra-North America awards); changing the mileage (miles required) of the award claimed or the number of awards claimed.
Segments can be dropped as long as doing so does not change the destination zone (or sub-zone, in the case of intra-North America awards). If you are refused, refer agents to the in-house memo/advisory dated 02/03/11 entitled "Dropping OWFA segments." (guv1976)
As JonNYC posted:
This document was current as of December 2014:
For permitted changes and fees, see this post in the airline partner award thread.
See TravelingBetter.com here and illustrations here.
If the award is AA and oneworld, changes may be made as long as the main / governing /Most Significant Carrier makes an unconstructed fare on the award routing and the governing fare's carrier is not changed to one not offering such a fare.
Close-in booking fee: Changes made to bring travel to under 21 days from award issue will incur close-in booking fees of $75.
Schedule changes: On international awards, schedule changes of two hours or longer, or those breaking connections by bringing them below MCT / minimum connection times, flight cancellations, generally may be cancelled and redeposited without fees, or engender greater flexibility in changes. With AA awards, it is possible award seating may be opened when there is none; with partners, AA can appeal to the Liaison to the partner to open seating in these cases (the partner airline may or may not grant the exception requested). Equipment change constitutes a schedule change and you will be able to get the fee waived pre this thread: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Partner changes: If the award includes non-oneworld partners such as AS, EY, FJ or TN, or a oneworld carrier award is changed to include a non-oneworld carrier, or vice versa, significant fees will be incurred ($150).
"Upgrading" class of service by using miles requires redepositing the original award and issuing a new one for the higher class if service. AA will waive the deposit fee on the redeposited award, and will not charge for this. (However, taxes may differ, such as going from the discounted U.K. Air Passenger Duty to the full APD if upgrading from Y / PE to J; if there are higher taxes abd fees imposed by the new fare, the passenger is charged for those.)
Changes that require different award type -
Changes to the itinerary which involve different AAdvantage award(s) than originally ticketed require a reinstatement of the original award ticket, payment of the applicable award reinstatement charge (see below), and a new award ticket issued (waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from their account). However, SAAver awards canceled for AAnytime awards, or changing to a higher class of service, will not incur redeposit fees.
Changes to your outbound travel date, resulting in a departure within 21 days -
Close-in booking fee: A $75 USD award processing charge will apply for a confirmed change to the date on an AAdvantage MileSAAver and AAnytime award ticket if the change results in a new outbound travel date that is within 21 days of the original booking date (waived for AAdvantage elite members using miles from their account).
Contact AAdvantage Reservations to change your itinerary, pay the applicable charge and have your ticket reissued prior to travel.
Canceling Awards / Reinstating Award Tickets
(Waived for AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from their account)
Award class changes: MileSAAver to AAnytime changes generally incur no fees; conversely, AAnytime to MileSAAver awards generally will.
Award cabin class "upgrades" (e.g. Y to J): If the change made is an increase of miles to another cabin class, fees are not normally charged (but some government required fees such as UK Air Passenger Duty, airport passenger facility fees, etc. may change).
Redepositing awards incurs a fee of $150 other than for Executive Platinum members redepositing to their accounts. If two or more awards are being redeposited to the same account at the same time, the fees are $150 for the first award, $25 for every award thereafter. Note the awards do not have to share the same PNR, though some less knowledgeable agents will insist so.
Note: given a 120 hr / 5 day hold is offered, there is no right to “Free” cancellation (without redeposit) within 24 hours of securing the award. OTOH, mere date changes to a year from Booking are free of charge in most instances.
Please see: State of the award reinstatement fee (Nov 2015 - clarifying)
FAQ: Cancel award ticket / cancellation (time frame, taxes, etc.) (merged threads)
Link to 2012-2014 archive of older posts on this topic
ARCHIVE: 2015-16 Award change date change route all changes
#751
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: HH Diamond, SPG Gold, Marriott Elite Gold
Posts: 1,032
I know that upgrades from J to F won't trigger a $150 change fee (just additional miles).
Can I also make a change to the destination city during this time, or does the origin/destination need to remain the same with the new F reservation as it was with the old C award reservation?
Can I also make a change to the destination city during this time, or does the origin/destination need to remain the same with the new F reservation as it was with the old C award reservation?
#752
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
I know that upgrades from J to F won't trigger a $150 change fee (just additional miles).
Can I also make a change to the destination city during this time, or does the origin/destination need to remain the same with the new F reservation as it was with the old C award reservation?
Can I also make a change to the destination city during this time, or does the origin/destination need to remain the same with the new F reservation as it was with the old C award reservation?
#754
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 318
Help with routing to ICN
I recently hold 2 F award tickets from SJC to ICN, overnight in DFW, all on AA metal.
Today I found Cathay Pacific 2 F award seats from LAX to HKG. I wonder can I change my original award reservation from SJC-DFW-ICN to SJC-LAX-HKG-ICN?
I would rather fly CX than AA if possible. With CX, I do have to overnight in Hong Kong that I do not mind. However, HKG and ICN are listed in different zones. Would I even allow to do the above change without incurring any additional miles?
Would appreciate any feedback, thanks.
Today I found Cathay Pacific 2 F award seats from LAX to HKG. I wonder can I change my original award reservation from SJC-DFW-ICN to SJC-LAX-HKG-ICN?
I would rather fly CX than AA if possible. With CX, I do have to overnight in Hong Kong that I do not mind. However, HKG and ICN are listed in different zones. Would I even allow to do the above change without incurring any additional miles?
Would appreciate any feedback, thanks.
#755
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Would require 2 awards to fly to ICN via HKG
#756
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 369
I recently hold 2 F award tickets from SJC to ICN, overnight in DFW, all on AA metal.
Today I found Cathay Pacific 2 F award seats from LAX to HKG. I wonder can I change my original award reservation from SJC-DFW-ICN to SJC-LAX-HKG-ICN?
I would rather fly CX than AA if possible. With CX, I do have to overnight in Hong Kong that I do not mind. However, HKG and ICN are listed in different zones. Would I even allow to do the above change without incurring any additional miles?
Would appreciate any feedback, thanks.
Today I found Cathay Pacific 2 F award seats from LAX to HKG. I wonder can I change my original award reservation from SJC-DFW-ICN to SJC-LAX-HKG-ICN?
I would rather fly CX than AA if possible. With CX, I do have to overnight in Hong Kong that I do not mind. However, HKG and ICN are listed in different zones. Would I even allow to do the above change without incurring any additional miles?
Would appreciate any feedback, thanks.
#757
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: ihg priority club, hhonors, united,aa
Posts: 41
So excited! I was able to change a flight I booked for three pax from AUS-DFW-CDG-LHR-ATH in J milesaaver in the crappy 777-200 to AUS-DFW-PHL-MUC-LHR-ATH on the A330, and got a small refund of some of the fees/taxes on the small BA section. Shocked that they allowed it as one award, as I could not find any published route for that. No fees since same origin/destination and still a mixed AA/partner award. Wanted to make sure their first TATL was comfy. Had to go three days sooner, but that actually gives us some time to get over jet lag before our cruise and explore Athens. Thanks for all the info in this thread. It was very helpful.
#758
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,519
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
"SFO-HND in JL F is another alternative, but you would have to take the train between HND and NRT"
JL flies HND-ICN -- and HND-GMP too.
"SFO-HND in JL F is another alternative, but you would have to take the train between HND and NRT"
JL flies HND-ICN -- and HND-GMP too.
#759
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
So excited! I was able to change a flight I booked for three pax from AUS-DFW-CDG-LHR-ATH in J milesaaver in the crappy 777-200 to AUS-DFW-PHL-MUC-LHR-ATH on the A330, and got a small refund of some of the fees/taxes on the small BA section. Shocked that they allowed it as one award, as I could not find any published route for that. No fees since same origin/destination and still a mixed AA/partner award. Wanted to make sure their first TATL was comfy. Had to go three days sooner, but that actually gives us some time to get over jet lag before our cruise and explore Athens. Thanks for all the info in this thread. It was very helpful.
I once booked a NYC-SJC one-way award that contained 5 segments.
#761
Moderator: American AAdvantage, Travel Safety/Security & Texas, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: AUS / GRK
Programs: AA, HHonors, Hertz
Posts: 13,484
If actually going into the city of Seoul, I'd highly recommend going into Kimpo. I first flew there back in the day when Kimpo was the airport (and went by SEL).
You can hop on the subway and be in central Seoul in about 30 min.
Sure, ICN is a nice new airport, but it isn't very convenient.
You can hop on the subway and be in central Seoul in about 30 min.
Sure, ICN is a nice new airport, but it isn't very convenient.
#762
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 369
Award availability on NRT-ICN appears to be better than HND-ICN. No idea about GMP.
#763
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 328
Yes. Opt for the GMP arrival, when possible, if Seoul is your destination.
If actually going into the city of Seoul, I'd highly recommend going into Kimpo. I first flew there back in the day when Kimpo was the airport (and went by SEL).
You can hop on the subway and be in central Seoul in about 30 min.
Sure, ICN is a nice new airport, but it isn't very convenient.
You can hop on the subway and be in central Seoul in about 30 min.
Sure, ICN is a nice new airport, but it isn't very convenient.
#764
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: ADL
Programs: QFF, AAdvantage, All
Posts: 1,137
I'm likely to get a BKK-KUL-SYD(MH)-HBA(QF) award ticketed, that I believe would be governed by QF (as have my previous, similar itineraries).
Would a fee apply if I changed it later to BKK-SIN(CX)-SYD-HBA(QF), which would definitely be governed by QF?
Would a fee apply if I changed it later to BKK-SIN(CX)-SYD-HBA(QF), which would definitely be governed by QF?
Last edited by LukeO9; Feb 26, 2016 at 6:54 pm
#765
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: DFW
Programs: AA Gold, BAEC
Posts: 295
Fee for changing award from BA to AA?
I had a AAdvantage award booked on BA for early Jan 2017 LHR to DFW, got an expert flyer alert that some T availability opened up on AA metal and called up to change the flight for my and the girlfriend, which I understood was free. Same direct LHR to DFW flight, just AA51 instead of BA193. Just got off the phone with AA who called back and stated that it is a change fee of 150 for the first passenger and 75 for the second. Is this a new policy?
It should still save me some money on BA ludicrous award fees, but nothing like what I had expected to save by doing so.
It should still save me some money on BA ludicrous award fees, but nothing like what I had expected to save by doing so.