Jan 5, 2019, 6:11 pm
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
Sep 9, 2016, 9:24 am
#1216
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
I booked a round trip flight to Asia for Dec 16 - Jan 17 (before they raised the mileage for first class Asia trips). I just found out that a family member was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and this may be their last christmas. I would plan to go to Asia in April but the tickets must be used before March 21. I tried calling and discussing it with AA, the rep said I would have to pay a $175 cancellation fee to get all my points back. Is there any way around this?
If you have travel insurance, there's also a chance they'd reimburse the $175 under these circumstances; check your policy.
The one thing I'm fairly certain no agent can do is extend the validity of the ticket past March 21, so unfortunately you probably can't move the trip to April at the old rates.
Sep 9, 2016, 9:40 am
#1217
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 88
You can try calling back and try to get a sympathetic agent who will waive the fee -- just keep the request simple and mention that it's due to a family medical emergency.
If you have travel insurance, there's also a chance they'd reimburse the $175 under these circumstances; check your policy.
The one thing I'm fairly certain no agent can do is extend the validity of the ticket past March 21, so unfortunately you probably can't move the trip to April at the old rates.
If you have travel insurance, there's also a chance they'd reimburse the $175 under these circumstances; check your policy.
The one thing I'm fairly certain no agent can do is extend the validity of the ticket past March 21, so unfortunately you probably can't move the trip to April at the old rates.
Sep 9, 2016, 9:41 am
#1218
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Park, Metropolis
Programs: AA LT PLT 3MM, Hilton/Marriott/SPG/Club Carlson GLD, IHG PLT
Posts: 4,608
You can also check if there has been a major schedule change to what you originally booked. AA will allow you to cancel the trip.
Sep 9, 2016, 9:52 am
#1219
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
I had a 3-leg award trip to Asia and back booked several months in advance, and every one of those legs had some kind of schedule change at some point.
Sep 9, 2016, 9:52 am
#1220
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
I booked a round trip flight to Asia for Dec 16 - Jan 17 (before they raised the mileage for first class Asia trips). I just found out that a family member was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and this may be their last christmas. I would plan to go to Asia in April but the tickets must be used before March 21. I tried calling and discussing it with AA, the rep said I would have to pay a $175 cancellation fee to get all my points back. Is there any way around this?
Call back and try with another agent. "My ____ has pancreatic cancer and I have to change my plans to be with them instead of my award trip. Is there any provision for waivingbtedepositbfees?" Straightforward, allows an agent to consider extenuating circumstances - but don't expect a waiver to be granted.
Or, keep checking to see if there's a change of two hours or more, or requiring less than minimum connect time, anywhere in your schedule; you will then be able to cancel, redeposit the miles without fees.
We've merged your query into the existing award changes thread. /Moderator
Sep 9, 2016, 12:14 pm
#1221
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 88
I'm sorry or your family member; that's not a good ing to have. Generally, it's very unlikely you will receive a waiver for redeposit fees. You can, as has been suggested:
Call back and try with another agent. "My ____ has pancreatic cancer and I have to change my plans to be with them instead of my award trip. Is there any provision for waivingbtedepositbfees?" Straightforward, allows an agent to consider extenuating circumstances - but don't expect a waiver to be granted.
Or, keep checking to see if there's a change of two hours or more, or requiring less than minimum connect time, anywhere in your schedule; you will then be able to cancel, redeposit the miles without fees.
We've merged your query into the existing award changes thread. /Moderator
Call back and try with another agent. "My ____ has pancreatic cancer and I have to change my plans to be with them instead of my award trip. Is there any provision for waivingbtedepositbfees?" Straightforward, allows an agent to consider extenuating circumstances - but don't expect a waiver to be granted.
Or, keep checking to see if there's a change of two hours or more, or requiring less than minimum connect time, anywhere in your schedule; you will then be able to cancel, redeposit the miles without fees.
We've merged your query into the existing award changes thread. /Moderator
So I booked 2 seperate flights. It looks like the flight TO Asia has been changed (4 hour difference). CMH TO DALLAS (changed from 720am to 1030am) but the SEOUL time is still the same. I got an e-mail yesterday stating this:
We wanted to let you know about a recent schedule change to your reservation. The current itinerary is listed below.
You may be receiving this notification as a result of a flight number change. If you've reserved a Main Cabin Extra or Preferred seat or have pre-ordered a meal, we have reconfirmed those requests for you on the new flight number. If you'd like to review those selections, simply view your reservation details at aa.com to verify your request.
To get the most up-to-date information about your flight, we recommend that you check your flight status on aa.com before departing for the airport. You may also want to sign up for flight status notifications so you can receive the latest details even while you're on-the-go.
Need to change your reservation? Please call 1-800-433-7300 and refer to the above record locator.
Does this allow me to cancel the flight then?
Last edited by BananaPeppers; Sep 9, 2016 at 12:22 pm
Sep 14, 2016, 2:30 pm
#1222
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: LAX, SNA, LGB
Posts: 42
Thanks for the confirmation, I appreciate it.
As it turned out, my plans changed and I requested to cancel and ask for reinstatement of the miles. The $150 reinstatement fee [I have no status] was not waived, even though I pleaded extenuating circumstances and the agent placed me on hold to see if she could get approval. Can't win 'em all...
Sep 17, 2016, 1:27 pm
#1223
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HEL
Programs: BA Gold, AY Gold
Posts: 650
I know the answer to this one already, but just in case there is a way or trick around the fee I'm gonna ask.
I booked an award trip ABQ-DFW-SNA. My ideal choice was ABQ-LAX, but it wasn't available at the time of booking. Now it has become available and I would like to change my booking. I'm a Platinum member, which does not really change anything.
Since this would involve a change of destination airport, there would be a $150 fee (which I'm of course not going to pay). Is there a way to change without a fee since this involves the same metropolitan area and I actually searched for LAX, but was suggested to fly to SNA instead?
I booked an award trip ABQ-DFW-SNA. My ideal choice was ABQ-LAX, but it wasn't available at the time of booking. Now it has become available and I would like to change my booking. I'm a Platinum member, which does not really change anything.
Since this would involve a change of destination airport, there would be a $150 fee (which I'm of course not going to pay). Is there a way to change without a fee since this involves the same metropolitan area and I actually searched for LAX, but was suggested to fly to SNA instead?
Sep 17, 2016, 2:01 pm
#1224
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,595
I know the answer to this one already, but just in case there is a way or trick around the fee I'm gonna ask.
I booked an award trip ABQ-DFW-SNA. My ideal choice was ABQ-LAX, but it wasn't available at the time of booking. Now it has become available and I would like to change my booking. I'm a Platinum member, which does not really change anything.
Since this would involve a change of destination airport, there would be a $150 fee (which I'm of course not going to pay). Is there a way to change without a fee since this involves the same metropolitan area and I actually searched for LAX, but was suggested to fly to SNA instead?
I booked an award trip ABQ-DFW-SNA. My ideal choice was ABQ-LAX, but it wasn't available at the time of booking. Now it has become available and I would like to change my booking. I'm a Platinum member, which does not really change anything.
Since this would involve a change of destination airport, there would be a $150 fee (which I'm of course not going to pay). Is there a way to change without a fee since this involves the same metropolitan area and I actually searched for LAX, but was suggested to fly to SNA instead?
Sep 17, 2016, 9:08 pm
#1226
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 88
I have read the Wiki, and think I know the answer to this question, but an American agent confused me on it. Have an award booking for two, DFW/EWR-JFK/LHR in business, all AA metal. It's next summer, so very little business inventory. It is the best I can do so far (did manage two business seats on the 77W non-stop on the return).
I had to do a phone res, as it is an overnight connection with airport change, and would not come up on AA.com. While chatting with the agent, I mentioned I would be watching for a better routing. She warned that if I included a partner carrier in the new routing, I would be charged the $150 fee for each ticket (ticketed from separate accounts).
I don't think she was correct, as long as I stay with Oneworld carriers, correct? So something like DFW/CDG on AA then BA to LHR should not be an issue?
I had to do a phone res, as it is an overnight connection with airport change, and would not come up on AA.com. While chatting with the agent, I mentioned I would be watching for a better routing. She warned that if I included a partner carrier in the new routing, I would be charged the $150 fee for each ticket (ticketed from separate accounts).
I don't think she was correct, as long as I stay with Oneworld carriers, correct? So something like DFW/CDG on AA then BA to LHR should not be an issue?
Sep 17, 2016, 10:54 pm
#1227
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HEL
Programs: BA Gold, AY Gold
Posts: 650
I have read the Wiki, and think I know the answer to this question, but an American agent confused me on it. Have an award booking for two, DFW/EWR-JFK/LHR in business, all AA metal. It's next summer, so very little business inventory. It is the best I can do so far (did manage two business seats on the 77W non-stop on the return).
I had to do a phone res, as it is an overnight connection with airport change, and would not come up on AA.com. While chatting with the agent, I mentioned I would be watching for a better routing. She warned that if I included a partner carrier in the new routing, I would be charged the $150 fee for each ticket (ticketed from separate accounts).
I don't think she was correct, as long as I stay with Oneworld carriers, correct? So something like DFW/CDG on AA then BA to LHR should not be an issue?
I had to do a phone res, as it is an overnight connection with airport change, and would not come up on AA.com. While chatting with the agent, I mentioned I would be watching for a better routing. She warned that if I included a partner carrier in the new routing, I would be charged the $150 fee for each ticket (ticketed from separate accounts).
I don't think she was correct, as long as I stay with Oneworld carriers, correct? So something like DFW/CDG on AA then BA to LHR should not be an issue?
Last edited by Alec84; Sep 17, 2016 at 10:56 pm Reason: Reasonable taxes if only CDG-LHR is on BA and no longhaul.
Sep 19, 2016, 1:34 pm
#1228
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LHR
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 381
I am a bit confused by the Change rules on AAdvantage award tickets. Here's the situation:
- We have an LHR-DFW Aadvantage award (ticketed pre-devaluation) on AA metal
- We'd like to fly earlier, but no direct flight availability so we were looking to fly LHR-MAD-DFW instead. LHR-MAD on BA/IB, MAD-DFW on AA.
Called AA and the agent said that we can't do that for free because we were adding a new carrier to the award. Was the agent wrong? I was under the impression that as long as the routing was valid and origin/destination didn't change that this would be a free and allowed change.
- We have an LHR-DFW Aadvantage award (ticketed pre-devaluation) on AA metal
- We'd like to fly earlier, but no direct flight availability so we were looking to fly LHR-MAD-DFW instead. LHR-MAD on BA/IB, MAD-DFW on AA.
Called AA and the agent said that we can't do that for free because we were adding a new carrier to the award. Was the agent wrong? I was under the impression that as long as the routing was valid and origin/destination didn't change that this would be a free and allowed change.
Sep 19, 2016, 3:00 pm
#1229
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: los angeles, calif.
Programs: Alaska Airlines Gold MVP
Posts: 7,170
I am a bit confused by the Change rules on AAdvantage award tickets. Here's the situation:
- We have an LHR-DFW Aadvantage award (ticketed pre-devaluation) on AA metal
- We'd like to fly earlier, but no direct flight availability so we were looking to fly LHR-MAD-DFW instead. LHR-MAD on BA/IB, MAD-DFW on AA.
Called AA and the agent said that we can't do that for free because we were adding a new carrier to the award. Was the agent wrong? I was under the impression that as long as the routing was valid and origin/destination didn't change that this would be a free and allowed change.
- We have an LHR-DFW Aadvantage award (ticketed pre-devaluation) on AA metal
- We'd like to fly earlier, but no direct flight availability so we were looking to fly LHR-MAD-DFW instead. LHR-MAD on BA/IB, MAD-DFW on AA.
Called AA and the agent said that we can't do that for free because we were adding a new carrier to the award. Was the agent wrong? I was under the impression that as long as the routing was valid and origin/destination didn't change that this would be a free and allowed change.