FriscoHeavy

Good morning, folks.

With all the constant changes over the past year with all the airlines, I haven’t been able to keep up.

Long story short, what is AA’s current policy on refunding paid tickets?

I am looking to book and pay for Business Tickets from DFW-SJD-DFW In late June or early September.

If the silly testing requirements are still in force, we won’t travel, but wanted to know my options for getting a refund.

Thanks!

Often1

The rules for refunds have not changed in the past year.

1. If you purchase refundable tickets, they are refundable under their fare rules.
2. If you purchase non-refundable and AA cancels or significantly (4+ hours) changes the schedule, you are entitled to a full refund nonetheless.

If, for whatever reason, you do not want to undergo a simple Covid test, I would not even think about booking now. Nobody can say for certain, but it is highly unlikely that the US will drop its entry test requirement anytime in 2021, with 2022 a huge maybe. You may want to look at travel within the US and skipping domestic destinations which have pre-departure or quarantine test-out requirements.If it by some remote chance comes to pass that the scientists advising the CDC recommend relaxing the testing requirements for entry to the US, you could consider booking at that time.

FriscoHeavy

So, a long-winded way of saying non-refundable tickets are still non-refundable.

It’s a total bummer, but their rules and I respect that.

bse118

Often1's answer is accurate but incomplete.

Tickets aren't refundable, but they are changeable (i.e. date, destination changes) without penalty.

AA's current policies are stated quite clearly here: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...us-updates.jsp

FriscoHeavy

Thank you!

If we were to cancel and get airline credit, is there a timeframe for how long you have to use it or has that been suspended?

Sincerely,

TravelerMSY

A year ordinarily, but they’ve sometimes extended it. Keep in mind their language “flight credit” is somewhat misleading. It’s really your unused ticket with no active reservation attached. When you cancel the active reservation, the unused ticket is still there. It’s not some voucher that get sent to you to replace it. Same rules apply concerning no name changes and one-year validity, but they’re not doing change fees.

FriscoHeavy

Very informative. Thank you very much.

Often1

It completely answered OP's question which dealt with refunds, not "funny money" credits (interest-free loans to AA). Given OP's reference to testing as "silly" and the likelihood that testing will remain a requirement for a good long time, it would seem a poor investment to purchase a non-refundable ticket,