Feb 27, 2020, 12:59 pm

FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides

Last edit by: dstan

For tickets purchased Wednesday, April 8, 2020 or after, see https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...020-after.html

More changes: Saturday, March 14, 2020, 10:40 PM .

Official announcement from American Airlines: http://news.aa.com/news/news-details...3/default.aspx
American Airlines Announces Additional Schedule Changes in Response to Customer Demand Related to COVID-19

NOTE: also see AA Waiving Change Fees for Travel Purchased March 1 - May 31 (Coronavirus)

Current AA Travel Waivers for COVID-19

(information current as of April 15, 2020)
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/travel-alerts.jsp

All Pre-May 31 Bookings (announced 4/7) - change fees waived, tickets booked on/before May 31, travel Mar 1–Sep 30, rebooked travel start by Dec 31, 2021

Previous AA Travel Waivers for COVID-19

(Previous travel waivers require rebooked travel to start by the earlier of the stated date OR the 12-month validity of the original ticket)

South Pacific - change fees waived, tickets booked on/before March 16, travel March 16–May 31, rebooked travel start by Dec 31
Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America - change fees waived, tickets booked on/before March 17, travel March 16–May 31, rebooked travel start by Dec 31
Europe and the Middle East (announced 3/12, expanded to Middle East) - change fees waived, tickets booked on/before March 11, travel March 11–May 31, rebooked travel start by Dec 31
All Pre-March 1 Bookings (announced 3/9, extended 3/20) - change fees waived, tickets booked on/before March 1, travel March 11–May 31 ~~April 30~~, rebooked travel start by Dec 31
All March 1–March 30 Bookings (announced 3/1 , extended 3/5, extended 4/7) - change fees waived, tickets booked March 1–April 30 (originally March 16, then March 30), travel Mar 1, 2020–Jan 30, 2021, rebooked travel complete within 12-month ticket validity
Italy - refund or change fees waived, tickets booked on/before Feb 27, travel Feb 27–Apr 24, rebooked travel Feb 27–June 30
South Korea (ICN) - refund or change fees waived, tickets booked on/before Feb 24, travel Feb 24–May 1, rebooked travel Feb 24–June 30
Hong Kong (HKG) - refund or change fees waived, tickets booked on/before Jan 28, travel Jan 28–July 1, rebooked travel Jan 28–Aug 31
China (PEK, PVG) - refund or change fees waived, tickets booked on/before Jan 24, travel Jan 24–Oct 23, rebooked travel Feb 1–Dec 31
Wuhan, China (WUH) - refund only, tickets booked on/before Jan 23, travel Jan 23–Mar 31

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This thread is dedicated to discussion and questions pertaining to changing travel on AA motivated by COVID-19 novel Coronavirus but not covered by AA travel alerts or waivers.

For those destinations covered by AA Coronavirus-related travel alerts and waivers see Coronavirus COVID-19 AA paid & award China et al cancel / change / questions

Link to AA travel alerts

Link to thread AA schedule changes - free flight change / cancellation / refund (consolidated)

Link to thread AA 2020 schedule adjustments / changes due to coronavirus

AA agents have occasionally allowed passengers with booked travel wishing to cancel because of Coronavirus concerns to cancel without fees, but this is not AA official policy. Possible reasons:
Events, meetings, etc. you were to attend have been cancelled due to Coronavirus concerns, so your trip would be in vain.
You have documentable health conditions that your doctor feels are sufficient to cancel travel plans.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
New General Change Fee Waiver (released ≈April 7-15)

Quote:

No change fee if you bought your ticket before May 31, 2020

Information current as of April 15, 2020

If you're traveling to / through / from:

All cities served by American

The change fee is waived if you:

Booked an American Airlines flight
Bought your ticket on or before May 31, 2020
Are scheduled to travel March 1 - September 30, 2020
Can travel on or before December 31, 2021

Keep in mind, you may owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change your trip or cancel and rebook later

You’re allowed to make changes to your trip once. You can change it now, or cancel and rebook later.

Keep in mind:

Travel must be completed on or before December 31, 2021. The change fee will be waived but you may still owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

New Change Fee waiver for South Pacific (released ≈March 20?)

Quote:

Novel Coronavirus - South Pacific

Information current as of March 20, 2020

If you're traveling to / through / from airports in:

Australia

The change fee is waived if you:

Booked an American Airlines flight
Bought your ticket on or before March 16, 2020
Are scheduled to travel March 16 - May 31, 2020
Can travel March 16 - December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.

Keep in mind, you may owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change your trip or cancel and rebook later

You’re allowed to make changes to your trip once. You can change it now, or cancel and rebook later.

Keep in mind:

Travel must start by December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.
The change fee will be waived but you may still owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change or cancel online

Here's how:

Find your trip
If your trip is eligible, you'll see 'Change trip' or ‘Cancel trip’ in the top toolbar

Find your trip

We’ll send an email that includes your ticket number after you cancel your trip. Keep this handy so you can refer to it when you call to rebook.

Call to rebook

After you cancel your trip online, please call Reservations when you’re ready to rebook. You’ll need:

Your ticket number (American tickets have a 13-digit number that begins with ’001’)
Your 6-character confirmation (also called a ‘Record Locator’)

New Change Fee waiver for Canada, Caribbean, .Central and South America (released ≈March 20?)

Quote:

Novel Coronavirus - Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America

Information current as of March 20, 2020

If you're traveling to / through / from airports in these countries:

Argentina
Aruba
Brazil
Canada
Cayman Islands
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Guyana
Panama
Peru
St. Maarten
Uruguay

The change fee is waived if you:

Booked an American Airlines flight
Bought your ticket on or before March 17, 2020
Are scheduled to travel March 16 - May 31, 2020
Can travel March 16 - December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.

Keep in mind, you may owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change your trip or cancel and rebook later

You’re allowed to make changes to your trip once. You can change it now, or cancel and rebook later.

Keep in mind:

Travel must start by December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.
The change fee will be waived but you may still owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change or cancel online

Here's how:

Find your trip
If your trip is eligible, you'll see 'Change trip' or ‘Cancel trip’ in the top toolbar

Find your trip

We’ll send an email that includes your ticket number after you cancel your trip. Keep this handy so you can refer to it when you call to rebook.

Call to rebook

After you cancel your trip online, please call Reservations when you’re ready to rebook. You’ll need:

Your ticket number (American tickets have a 13-digit number that begins with ’001’)
Your 6-character confirmation (also called a ‘Record Locator’)

New Change Fee waiver for Europe (released March 12, expanded to Middle East)

Quote:

Novel Coronavirus - Europe and the Middle East

Information current as of March 20, 2020

If you're traveling to / through / from airports in these countries:

Austria
Belgium
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK

The change fee is waived if you:

Booked an American Airlines flight
Bought your ticket on or before March 16, 2020
Are scheduled to travel March 11 - May 31, 2020
Can travel March 11 - December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.

Keep in mind, you may owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change your trip or cancel and rebook later

You’re allowed to make changes to your trip once. You can change it now, or cancel and rebook later.

Keep in mind:

Travel must start by December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.
The change fee will be waived but you may still owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change or cancel online

Here's how:

Find your trip
If your trip is eligible, you'll see 'Change trip' or ‘Cancel trip’ in the top toolbar

Find your trip

We’ll send an email that includes your ticket number after you cancel your trip. Keep this handy so you can refer to it when you call to rebook.

Call to rebook

Please call Reservations when you’re ready to rebook. You’ll need:

Your ticket number (American tickets have a 13-digit number that begins with ’001’)
Your 6-character confirmation (also called a ‘Record Locator’)

Change Fee Waiver for Flights Booked before March 1, 2020 for travel March 1 – May 31 (extended March 20)
~~Change Fee Waiver for Flights Booked before March 1, 2020 for travel March 10 – April 30 (released March 9)~~

Quote:

No change fee if you bought your ticket before March 1 Expand Information current as of March 20, 2020

If you're traveling to / through / from:

All cities served by American

The change fee is waived if you:

Booked an American Airlines flight
Bought your ticket on or before March 1, 2020
Are scheduled to travel March 1 - May 31, 2020
Can travel March 1 - December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier

Keep in mind, you may owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change your trip or cancel and rebook later

You’re allowed to make changes to your trip once. You can change it now, or cancel and rebook later.

Keep in mind:

Travel must start by December 31, 2020 or within 1 year of date the ticket was issued, whichever is earlier.
The change fee will be waived but you may still owe any difference in ticket price when you rebook your trip.

Change or cancel online

Here's how:

Find your trip
If your trip is eligible, you'll see 'Change trip' or ‘Cancel trip’ in the top toolbar

Find your trip

We’ll send an email that includes your ticket number after you cancel your trip. Keep this handy so you can refer to it when you call to rebook.

Call to rebook

After you cancel your trip online, please call Reservations when you’re ready to rebook. You’ll need:

Your ticket number (American tickets have a 13-digit number that begins with ’001’)
Your 6-character confirmation (also called a ‘Record Locator’)

• AA Award Travel - Per multiple first-hand accounts (including by dstan), under the above General Travel Waiver, AA Award Travel booked before March 1 for travel between March 1, 2020 – April 30, 2020 can be canceled for a full refund of all fees and taxes paid AND free redeposit of miles (reinstatement fee waived).

Change Fee Waiver for Flights Booked between March 1, 2020–March 30, 2020 (extended 3/5)
~~Change Fee Waiver for Flights Booked between March 1, 2020–March 16, 2020 (original 3/1)~~
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...conditions.jsp

Quote:

Terms and conditions

If you purchased a ticket on American Airlines between March 1, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. CT and March 31, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT, you may change your flight once without paying a change fee. Tickets must be purchased for travel between March 1, 2020 and January 30, 2021.

Exception policy

We will waive the change fee only on published Non-Refundable Fare tickets.
Tickets must be purchased between March 1, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. CT and March 31, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT, with original travel between March 1, 2020 and January 30, 2021.
Changes must be made prior to the departure of your original flight.
New travel must be completed within 1 year of original ticket issue date.
Any difference in fare will apply.
Change your trip online or by calling Reservations.

Contact Reservations

This waiver is valid only for tickets issued on American Airlines ticket stock. Tickets can be identified by a 13-digit ticket number beginning with American Airlines code ’001’. Tickets issued by other airlines with a different carrier code (ticket numbers not beginning with ‘001’) are subject to the waiver policy of that airline.

This policy excludes bookings through AAdvantage® award tickets.

American Airlines Vacations packages purchased between March 1, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. CT and March 31, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. CT, also qualify for the one-time change fee waiver. Changes must be made prior to the departure of your original flight. Any difference in fare or hotel rate will apply.

Contact American Airlines Vacations
Updated: March 9, 2020

AA Trip Cancellation & Coronavirus: Discussion & Questions

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May 23, 2020, 3:37 pm

#691

Nephoi

Join Date: Nov 2018

Location: BER

Programs: BA GGL, Hilton Diamond

Posts: 1,843

hi everyone, i called AA today and got rebooked in a 1:40 hrs telephone marathon.
ticket is reissued, got the confirmation right now. but i cant choose seats. it just states "Please check back or we’ll assign seats at the airport." - if i try it over the iphone app it says something like "seat map not available"
on the untouched inbound leg all the flights kept the assigned seat but its impossible to change to another. the whole seatmap is crossed out...

has anyone the slightest idea
a) what happened here?
b) how to fix it?

Jun 5, 2020, 6:21 am

#692

DCAKen

Join Date: Dec 2003

Location: Washington DC USA

Posts: 429

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCAKen

This is what I encountered when I called in to cancel my ticket for a California trip. My original flight (booked in early March) was scheduled to depart at 5:06. On April 9, I got an email saying the flight was changed, with a new departure time of 3:23. When I logged on to AA on May 12th, there was a notification of the schedule change, so I checked on the flight information on the Your trips page.

When I called in yesterday to request a refund due to the time change, they said that since I had accepted the time change merely by opening the trip page, the new 240-minute schedule change policy was now in effect. The agent (after putting me on hold to get clarification for someone else) said that since I waited so long to cancel, I wasn't eligible for a refund, just a credit. I don't remember seeing any indication on the AA page of the new policy was in effect on the reissued ticket.

The agent originally said I would have to submit a refund request on my own, but when I pushed her a little, she submitted one for me with the statement that I was unaware of the policy change. Now it's just a wait to see if I get the refund.

To follow up, I received the full refund on this flight.

JPG3392 and alex67500 like this.

Jun 5, 2020, 10:34 pm

#693

amejr999

Join Date: Aug 2004

Programs: Marriott Plat

Posts: 946

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raymond Lu

Has anyone used the cancelled ticket for a new trip? I called AA and the supervisor told me that I cannot book in a lower class fare. The class should be the same or higher. I booked main cabin and want to book a new ticket with basic economy. I didn't see any policies related to this on the website or on the cancellation email.

I'm hearing the same; did you have a resolution to this?

Jun 8, 2020, 12:31 pm

#694

tomj888

Join Date: Dec 2009

Location: Los Angeles& Telluride

Programs: UA1K, 1MM,AA Exec. Platinum, Global Entry, Nexus

Posts: 731

Hello all, I called AA Executive Platinum desk to cancel two LAX-LHR trips for July. I was told its taking 7-10 days for credit to post back to CC. In addition, I had 2 SWU's to get credited back. Are people finding these time frames to be correct? Are people having a hard time getting their CC credited back?
thank you

Nephoi likes this.

Jun 9, 2020, 2:54 am

#695

Donsyb

Join Date: Jul 2018

Programs: Aadvantage platinum; IHG Spire

Posts: 546

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomj888

It took a few weeks for ours to be approved, and then about another week for the money to appear after it was approved.

Jun 9, 2020, 8:16 am

#696

Barnaby100

Join Date: Aug 2010

Location: UK

Posts: 1,736

I had an AA booking - from UK to USA in July. 4 flights were on BA and 5 on AA. It has been changed numerous times across the past couple of months but I have now received this

AA have not given an option to rebook- can I insist that they do? The revised outward flights are still flying- the return looks more tricky. Does EC261 apply? Date of first flight is 18th July-notified yesterday- 8th June. The price was very good and it is 5 times the price to rebook today

One of your flights was canceled and we're unable to rebook your trip. Don't worry, the value of your ticket is safe.

If you'd like to travel within the next 72 hours, please call 800-541-3692 for help. If you don't plan to travel within that time, there's no need to call right now.

You can either:

1. Wait until you're ready to rebook your new trip and call to use the value of your unused ticket and seat purchase.

2. Request a refund for your ticket.

Thanks

Jun 10, 2020, 7:55 am

#697

miandrew

Join Date: May 2015

Location: <60¤N

Programs: LH,ITA,BA Silver,AY Gold

Posts: 74

Cancellation notification from AA?

Hello, I would appreciate your advice.
I have a trip in Oct. which has a connection in HEL to LAX then SAN. The ticket is AA stock, the flight HEL-LAX is AY, and marketed by BA. Finnair has announced that HEL-LAX is cancelled until 3/21. I have not seen that cancellation from any of the three airlines involved, but that flight segment has disappeared from all the apps except BA. Do I need a cancellation email from AA, the ticketing carrier to initiate a cash refund? If so, when is it reasonable to receive that. If not, what is the best way to handle this. I will request a refund back to the CC used for payment, no voucher would be useful.
TIA
MA

Jun 10, 2020, 8:00 am

#698

MASTERNC

Join Date: Jul 2011

Posts: 1,138

Just heard that our New Zealand cruise in December was canceled. We have award flights to Sydney that we booked back in January. Wasn't sure how our refunds would work (or if we would be charged a fee) since our travel and booking dates seemed out of the ranges cited on the AA website. I hit the cancel button and had my miles back within 2 hours. Wish my other flights (with Virgin Atlantic) were that easy to cancel.

Last edited by MASTERNC; Jun 10, 2020 at 11:09 am

Jun 11, 2020, 2:37 pm

#699

UKtravelbear

FlyerTalk Evangelist

Join Date: Nov 2011

Location: Brighton. UK

Programs: BA Gold / VS /IHG Diamond & Ambassador

Posts: 14,203

I used the web contact form to message AA to chase up my redund as I'd been waiting more than a month on 4th May.

I got a response today saying they normally deal with issues within 7 days! What an absolute joke.

I also emailed the DoT at the same time. I got their response (we will send contact AA etc) on Tuesday.

Appreciate the circumstances and they are busy but to take over a month to respond is totally unacceptable.

Jun 12, 2020, 8:08 pm

#700

SpammersAreScum

Join Date: Jun 2014

Location: TPA

Programs: BA Silver; Hilton Gold; IHG Diamond Ambassador; Marriott Gold

Posts: 2,811

Do Not Trust AA's "Check Your Refund Status" Form

I submitted 2 refund requests on May 9, agreeing to accept eVouchers because of the 20% bonus. I periodically used the "Check Your Refund Status" box on prefunds, which continued to say "We emailed you May 9".

Finally, I got tired of waiting and DM'd AA. They informed me that 1) they'd approved and emailed the eVoucher info, and 2) when they use the "Request a Receipt" option it says so.

Sure enough, I had missed the emails (on May 17), and using "Request a Receipt" did work.

So the takeaway is that doing the logical thing -- using "Check Your Refund Status" -- gets you incorrect information; whereas doing the illogical thing -- using "Request a Receipt" (or "Request a Refund") -- gets you the correct information.

Jun 13, 2020, 8:21 pm

#701

SDM44

Join Date: Mar 2010

Posts: 38

Quote:

Originally Posted by SunkissedMommy

Would you say it's best to call in for my credits or is doing it via the AA website fine?

I didn't see above is this was answered or mentioned already, but I've already had to cancel 2 different trips this summer after booking and rebooking with AAdvantage points. The first time, I called the AAdvantage rep and they cancelled my flights due to quarantine restrictions at my destination, so that I could rebook for another trip. The points showed back up in my account within 10 minutes.

The second time (last week from this post - another restriction issue at the destination), I cancelled online but after 72 hours I didn't see the points in my account. I called up the Reservations and they transferred me to an AAdvantage rep and the rep said that cancelling flights online usually delays the points being put back into your account, and that it's better to call and speak to an agent as they can force the points reimbursement right away. After speaking to the rep, my points were back in my account within 30 minutes so it's better to speak with a live person if you need to cancel & refund award points on a flight right now.

Jun 15, 2020, 1:34 am

#702

danger

Join Date: Apr 2007

Programs: QF, VA, AC, Hyatt, Marriott

Posts: 3,784

Is it correct that AA revenue tickets purchased before 30 June 2020 for travel after 31 September 2020 are not at this time subject to any waivers for cancellation and change?

Jun 15, 2020, 7:05 am

#703

neo_781

Join Date: May 2000

Location: Chicago

Programs: AA EP, UA Gold-MM, UA 1K (former), GS (former),SPG LT Platinum, Hyatt Diamond, HH Diamond

Posts: 2,299

Headline:

I have a roundtrip with the outbound on PNR A and the return on PNR B. The return flight has been cancelled (PNR B). Can I also get a refund for the outbound flight (PNR A) as well?

For those interested a bit more detail:

There are two PNR's because the outbound has 4 passengers and the return is for 2 people.
The outbound flight has changed by 90 minutes.
First flight is in 16 July.

Is there anything specific to say on the call?

Jun 15, 2020, 9:29 am

#704

Illini_Fan

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: DFW (Highland Village)

Programs: AA Lifetime GLD, SPG Lifetime GLD

Posts: 384

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpammersAreScum

I had a different experience. I cancelled my DFW-OGG-DFW flights via an agent on 05JUN. The agent sent me the ticket numbers and I went to the AA refund site and submitted all three tickets for a cash refund. The status page showed "pending" up until yesterday. Yesterday, I got an email saying the refunds had been processed and included the card type and last four of the card. I went into the AA refund site to see the status and it matched exactly. Each ticket said "Issued to American Express Card ending in xxxx" I did find the site seemed to have a lag (maybe due to overnight batch vs real-time).

And the three credits were posted to my AMEX this morning - so all-in-all, pretty painless.

Jun 15, 2020, 2:19 pm

#705

sal8877

Join Date: Apr 2020

Posts: 8

just got my refund

update: AA cancelled my flight

called AA CS on 5/27 to cancel
got an email on 6/5 from AA that refund will post 7-10 business, just posted today to my cc 6/15.

best course of action is to dm them on twitter for a quicker response as im sure that aa is overwhelmed with questions.