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-   -   Award on hold, schedule change, AA won't assist? (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1965525-award-hold-schedule-change-aa-wont-assist.html)

islandguy84 Apr 15, 2019 11:03 am
Award on hold, schedule change, AA won't assist?
 
Hi:

I had an SAAVER award reservation on hold, all AA flights. Yesterday morning it got impacted by a schedule change and AA changed it to an itinerary with an overnight layover which is obviously not a good option as they're not paying for us to stay in a hotel overnight.

The agent refuses to budge and wont re-accomodate on flights that look similar to our original itinerary that would not have an overnight stay.

Am I expecting too much here? These schedule change was not something we caused.

My hold expires tomorrow and trying to get them on the phone for the past 2 days has been a nightmare.

shd9 Apr 15, 2019 11:07 am
Sorry to hear your inconvenience. However, if the awards aren’t not ticketed, they don’t really have any obligations to protect you.

PGHflyer Apr 15, 2019 11:07 am
Man, that is an unpleasant surprise. Yeah, if I were to guess, I would think you are going to have a hard time getting any accommodation since it wasn't yet ticketed.

shadesofgrey1x Apr 15, 2019 11:19 am
Originally Posted by islandguy84 (Post 31002896)
Hi:

I had an SAAVER award reservation on hold, all AA flights. Yesterday morning it got impacted by a schedule change and AA changed it to an itinerary with an overnight layover which is obviously not a good option as they're not paying for us to stay in a hotel overnight.

The agent refuses to budge and wont re-accomodate on flights that look similar to our original itinerary that would not have an overnight stay.

Am I expecting too much here? These schedule change was not something we caused.

My hold expires tomorrow and trying to get them on the phone for the past 2 days has been a nightmare.
You have no recourse, as with any other product you only have rights when you actually buy the product, in this case ticket the flight. All the hold does is guarantee the price, which they honored

fotographer Apr 15, 2019 3:17 pm
I recently had an award ticket on hold where the agent also told me book purchase the award ticket and then call back for a better routing
it worked (Atl to BOM in J )

JJeffrey Apr 15, 2019 3:25 pm
You could always go online, purchase the ticket with the new/bad routing, then call AA and play dumb, tell them you didn't realize there was a schedule change since you originally put it on hold, etc. etc. Worst they can do is say no. If you can't get anywhere, you can always cancel within 24 hrs. for no fee.

islandguy84 Apr 16, 2019 1:51 pm
Originally Posted by JJeffrey (Post 31003934)
You could always go online, purchase the ticket with the new/bad routing, then call AA and play dumb, tell them you didn't realize there was a schedule change since you originally put it on hold, etc. etc. Worst they can do is say no. If you can't get anywhere, you can always cancel within 24 hrs. for no fee.
they made it impossible to ticket online. I found another destination that worked for us but this was a nasty surprise that I won’t forget. At least this time I found somewhere else to go.

A321T Jan 30, 2022 7:16 pm
Ran into something similar today. Had a ticket on 24-hour hold. A day later the prices had doubled and there was a schedule change, which made it so I couldn't pay/ticket online today. It was easy to call in and ticket; I was slightly panicked that that wouldn't be an option and I'd have to pay a lot more. Unlike islandguy84, my schedule change wasn't fatal. It wasn't in my favor but I could live with it and if I had had that option originally, I still might have chosen it given its relative price. But if I had ticketed yesterday, I do wonder if I could have used the schedule change to hop to a better time. :)

The morale for me is there is a downside to waiting until the 11th hour to pay. It's not totally risk-free to wait.

FlyerBeek Jan 30, 2022 9:52 pm
IMO, it's risky putting award tickets on hold these days with frequent schedule changes, flight cancellations, and occasional partner hold periods that aren't honored. If you've got the miles in your account, there's really no risk in ticketing the award outright and then cancelling/refunding it (with no penalty) if your plans change. YMMV.

-FlyerBeek

mizzou miles Jan 31, 2022 7:34 am
I have had this happen as well in the past and AA was willing to work with me - once I found the right agent! HUCA!

IADCAflyer Jan 31, 2022 7:39 am
Originally Posted by FlyerBeek (Post 33950087)
IMO, it's risky putting award tickets on hold these days with frequent schedule changes, flight cancellations, and occasional partner hold periods that aren't honored. If you've got the miles in your account, there's really no risk in ticketing the award outright and then cancelling/refunding it (with no penalty) if your plans change. YMMV.

-FlyerBeek
Yeah, this. With no cancel fees and quick refunds, I find it better to book and lock in. I would be wary of ticket holds that hold over onto a Sunday as the last Sunday of the month seems to be schedule update day (unless your award ticket is a close-in date which is more immune to schedule changes).


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