Jan 5, 2019, 6:51 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
Link to the current thread.
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 ARCHIVE 2015-2016: Award Change for date, time, routing, co-terminal, cost, all changes.
Link to ARCHIVE 2012-14: Award Change for date, time, routing, co-terminal, cost, all changes.
AAnytime <-> MileSAAver and other changes
Link to the current thread.
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 ARCHIVE 2015-2016: Award Change for date, time, routing, co-terminal, cost, all changes.
Link to ARCHIVE 2012-14: Award Change for date, time, routing, co-terminal, cost, all changes.
ARCHIVE: 2017 Voluntary Award Change: date, time, routing, airline, co-terminal, cost
Aug 10, 2017, 11:19 am
#241
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
The other reason to switch is that in the event of a misconnect, AB will rebook to the next AB TXL-TLV which departs 11.5 hrs after the missed segment. Going for walk around Berlin is a possible pastime, but it sets the whole schedule back and makes for a very inconvenient arrival time into TLV.
What is the on-time performance of the RJ TXL-AMM-TLV flights?
Last-minute fares on easyJet's SXF-TLV flights seem to be running around 200-250 Euros, but that flight does not operate every day, and I don't know what time it departs.
Aug 10, 2017, 11:30 am
#242
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,595
Yes, though I would do it the other way. SFO-TXL-TLV is already booked, and it the most convenient route. If it is not on time and misconnects, I woud love to be able to switch to RJ TXL-AMM-TLV - first, because the availability seems to be good on that route even last minute, and second, because that flight departs 3.5 hrs after the originally scheduled TXL-TLV flight, giving enough time for calls/changes.
Aug 10, 2017, 12:37 pm
#243
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,639
But the problem is that none of us knows whether AA will permit a routing change after the traveler has arrived at TXL. Thus, if flying TXL-AMM-TLV is preferable to waiting for the next AB nonstop, you might want to switch to RJ now, rather than waiting to see if the SFO-TXL flight operated on or close to schedule.
1.) Does AA allow changes when flights of that fare component have been partially flown? Aware fare rules doesn't explicitly prohibit this.
2.) If AB is late, will AA treat this as IRROPS or will AA be limited to booking whatever award space is available within fare rules.
Aug 10, 2017, 2:25 pm
#244
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,595
Actually there are two questions.
1.) Does AA allow changes when flights of that fare component have been partially flown? Aware fare rules doesn't explicitly prohibit this.
2.) If AB is late, will AA treat this as IRROPS or will AA be limited to booking whatever award space is available within fare rules.
1.) Does AA allow changes when flights of that fare component have been partially flown? Aware fare rules doesn't explicitly prohibit this.
2.) If AB is late, will AA treat this as IRROPS or will AA be limited to booking whatever award space is available within fare rules.
Aug 11, 2017, 2:26 pm
#245
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: SFO/SJC
Posts: 247
AB would be responsible for handling IRROPS, not AA, since AB would be the late-delivering carrier. So I suspect that, if AA is even willing to change the routing after the first segment has been flown, there would have to be award-seat availability on any substitute flight(s).
Aug 11, 2017, 6:09 pm
#246
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: UA,AA,DL
Posts: 118
Clarification on change fee within 21 days
So if I go ahead and ticket a saver award and want to change the date, am I to understand that it will not be charged a close in fee unless the date is within 21 days of when I originally ticket the award or is it if the change is to a date within 21 days of the change date, or date that I changed the ticket?
It says quote from the date of award issue but I'm not certain if that means reissue as well. Thanks for clarifying.
Last edited by walkdmx; Aug 11, 2017 at 7:56 pm Reason: mistake
Aug 11, 2017, 6:15 pm
#247
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,595
So if I go ahead and ticket a saver award and want to change the date, am I to understand that it will not be charged a close in fee unless the date is within 45 days of when I originally ticket the award or is it if the change is to a date within 45 days of the change date, or date that I changed the ticket?
It says quote from the date of award issue but I'm not certain if that means reissue as well. Thanks for clarifying.
Where are you getting 45 days from?
Aug 11, 2017, 7:54 pm
#248
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: UA,AA,DL
Posts: 118
I guess I meant 21 days or whatever the close-in fee cut off is.
Last edited by walkdmx; Aug 11, 2017 at 7:56 pm Reason: mistake
Aug 12, 2017, 9:14 am
#249
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,595
Aug 14, 2017, 12:00 pm
#250
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
JonNYC, thank you for the pic of the routing. Yes, these are the exact flights.
So the choices are....
Keep AB itinerary, hoping they make it on time. If everything works well, nothing further is needed. If the flight is late, call AA to see if a change to RJ is possible. Given that the connection time to RJ is 4:45, even with a delay that is a feasible routing even with reticketing needed.
Or, call them up now and change to the itinerary you posted. There is availability on RJ for the day needed, and I would keep the transatlantic segment on AB because that is hard to find last minute on non-BA flights.
I guess if the original flights work, total travel time saved is around 5 hrs and one connection point. That is the reason I was asking about changing after beginning the itinerary (in case it is needed), rather than right away by default. However, if the flight is delayed, the next possible flight TXL-TLV is 12 hrs later and arrives at 3:30 in the morning. Obviously then 5 hrs doesn't look bad in comparison.
The question remains whether changing after commencing the flight is possible at all.
So the choices are....
Keep AB itinerary, hoping they make it on time. If everything works well, nothing further is needed. If the flight is late, call AA to see if a change to RJ is possible. Given that the connection time to RJ is 4:45, even with a delay that is a feasible routing even with reticketing needed.
Or, call them up now and change to the itinerary you posted. There is availability on RJ for the day needed, and I would keep the transatlantic segment on AB because that is hard to find last minute on non-BA flights.
I guess if the original flights work, total travel time saved is around 5 hrs and one connection point. That is the reason I was asking about changing after beginning the itinerary (in case it is needed), rather than right away by default. However, if the flight is delayed, the next possible flight TXL-TLV is 12 hrs later and arrives at 3:30 in the morning. Obviously then 5 hrs doesn't look bad in comparison.
The question remains whether changing after commencing the flight is possible at all.
Aug 22, 2017, 11:22 am
#251
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: SPG Gold/HH Diamond/CC Gold/Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 310
Hoping someone could provide me some guidance here.
I am traveling on a J award NRT-SAN-OMA on 9/3. It was originally ticketed several months ago.
I'd like to upgrade the award to F and change the date and routing to NRT-ORD-OMA.
Maybe this is technically within the rules to not get hit with a fee but I feel like I'd have to get pretty lucky to get away with an award upgrade and date change this close in. To add to the mess, I need to do this on 2 PNRs.
Worth a shot? Thanks.
I am traveling on a J award NRT-SAN-OMA on 9/3. It was originally ticketed several months ago.
I'd like to upgrade the award to F and change the date and routing to NRT-ORD-OMA.
Maybe this is technically within the rules to not get hit with a fee but I feel like I'd have to get pretty lucky to get away with an award upgrade and date change this close in. To add to the mess, I need to do this on 2 PNRs.
Worth a shot? Thanks.
Aug 22, 2017, 11:30 am
#252
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Chicago / Hong Kong
Programs: Bonvoy Ambassador; Hyatt Globalist; AA EXP; UA 1K
Posts: 133
Aug 22, 2017, 11:32 am
#253
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: SPG Gold/HH Diamond/CC Gold/Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 310
Aug 22, 2017, 9:21 pm
#254
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,237
I am traveling on a J award NRT-SAN-OMA on 9/3. It was originally ticketed several months ago.
I'd like to upgrade the award to F and change the date and routing to NRT-ORD-OMA.
Maybe this is technically within the rules to not get hit with a fee but I feel like I'd have to get pretty lucky to get away with an award upgrade and date change this close in. To add to the mess, I need to do this on 2 PNRs.
I'd like to upgrade the award to F and change the date and routing to NRT-ORD-OMA.
Maybe this is technically within the rules to not get hit with a fee but I feel like I'd have to get pretty lucky to get away with an award upgrade and date change this close in. To add to the mess, I need to do this on 2 PNRs.
Close-in doesn't matter. I think I made those changes somewhere around the 2-week mark when 2F opened on JFK-NRT.
Aug 24, 2017, 8:47 am
#255
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 546
I've already taken the outbound flight on an award ticket and my inbound/return flight is currently scheduled for next week. If I change the inbound/return date to a later date (but within 21 days of today), would the change incur a close-in fee?