lorkers

Can someone please help me in trying to debug the answers I’m getting from AA when I try and rebook a ticket?

Situation: Three years ago I booked a ticket from IST-LHR-JFK-ORD, and the same route in reverse. In Business / First, all revenue.
Two and a half years ago I flew the outbound, but in ORD Covid struck, the world closed, and I returned to Australia, where I was marooned and forbidden to leave the country for two years.
After months of chasing, AA contacted me six months later in October to say:
> your AA 6145 flight from John F. Kennedy international airport to London, Heathrow scheduled for April, 2020 was cancelled.
> Our records show that your Reservation xxxxx is in CANCELLED status and your most updated ticket xxxxxx in OPEN status to be reused until 31 December 2021.

Now, I can fly again, and AA a year ago said:
> I've made an exception and put an authorization in your record to extend your ticket for travel to be completed by December 31, 2022.
I asked them what this voucher was, and they said:
> it is not permitted to disclose information on partially used tickets refund amount estimation.

I replied '???'

However, whenever I phone the call centre each agent has different ideas as to how to interpret this:
I’ve kept a log of all the agents I’ve spoken to over the past few weeks, and these are the responses
1. This ticket is invalid.
2. No problem, books route, sorts out final ticketing, then after 45 minutes, then the line cuts dead.
3. Says he cannot find a single flight from Chicago to New York.
4. Says I can fly any route I wish, but then says he cannot find a single flight in First out of LHR to anywhere in Europe (I KNOW – I try to explain it has to be Business). He hangs up.
5. Says yes, can just reinstate the flights, but says no D,D, J class left until the end of year.
6. Keeps me on hold for an hour, says she has no idea how to deal with a voucher.
7. Tell me the voucher is worth 812 euro? Waaaa? No idea how this is calculated?
8. Says I need to book the route myself, then claim back the cost of the voucher. But says they cannot tell me what the dollar value is as ‘it is not permitted to disclose’.
9. Says will start with a new booking, and 'if I wish' I can claim back the some of my original ticket at the final booking stage. Finally get there, and tell me the over $8000 cost: I keep on hold and price the cost of one way ticket myself and it seems the ‘forbidden to disclose’ value is $11.
10. Says yes, can just reinstate the flights, but original route flights no longer exist, so I will have to re-reroute, and that is not permitted.
11. Get an agent who knows what they are doing, tells me that "booking a one way ticket in the same classes to complete this booking will of course be much more expensive than the original fare return segment." and manages to book same route in same classes, but can’t get this to book as a replacement return. Says there will be no cost, but he gives up.

I emailed AA in desperation with this simple question:
> Is this:
> 1.A voucher to rebook the original itinerary - IE, the same route in the same class
> Or
> 2. It has a dollar value for use on any AA flights?
> If it is 2, in which case can someone, please, possibly tell me ***what the dollar value is***????

And AA responded:
> I appreciate the chance to address your concerns.
> As an exception, I can take the unused value of your ticket and provide you with a paper voucher via USPS (mail).
> If this option works for you, please reply with your mailing address and your best contact phone number.

Waaaaa? I love how AA love to address my concern, but then don’t even read the question?

Are AA always so awful to deal with? Why are they finding it impossible to answer a question a six year old could understand?
And can anyone try and work out what the ‘voucher’ I hold actually is, as I can't and AA won't tell me.

PHL

Was your trip booked as a complete roundtrip itinerary, or two separate reservations like:
1.) IST-LHR-JFK-ORD
2.) ORD-JFK-LHR-IST

If it was 2 tickets, then you have two separate ticket numbers. The first one was flown and used. The 2nd one is the one in contention here. If it was a roundtrip, then usually they would have given you a credit back for the unused segments if there was a cancelation.

Was your JFK-LHR AA 6145 canceled on your original routing (April 2020)? If so, then you would have been/should be entitled a refund for unused segments on that routing. Back then, AA and many airlines were not being completely up front with people and giving them credit vouchers when the passengers would have been entitled a refund to original form of payment if any part of their itinerary was canceled. Many didn't know/think to ask and just accepted the credits.

So, the first thing is to have the ticket number handy from your original booking. It should start with the number 001 and would been your original booking confirmation email. Do you see any credits in your wallet on aa.com or on the app?

At this point, if they have extended the validity of that flight credit through 2022 you need to either find out exactly what the value is, or even push back and tell them you didn't accept the credit and wish for a refund for the unused segments since they canceled the flight and not you. The reason I earlier asked if it was booked as 2 one way trips is because if it was booked that way, then you should be entitled to full refund of that return trip, or full flight credit for the entire routing that you paid for. If it's part of a roundtrip, then they are doing some pro-rating to give you the residual value calculation.

You can reply to them that you are not interested in any voucher and want a refund for the entire routing ORD-JFK-LHR-IST since AA outright canceled the trip and never gave you the option to take a refund, even though they canceled the flights.

lorkers

Thanks PHL.
Yes, it was a complete round trip, with only the outbound flown.
Yes, the AA 6145 was cancelled by AA.
I've been trying for two and a half years to extract what the 'return' value is, but as you can see the call list, not one of the agents is willing to tell me, except one of which that dropped in it was 812EUR, which makes no sense.
No credits on aa.com, nor on the app.
However, what seems to be confusing, is that when AA cancelled it, they said they'd give me a 'voucher' I could use to 'rebook' the return routing. Reading between the lines - although what noone, least of all AA, will tell me - what I've actually been given is a ticket with some value on it. If only I could find out what it is!

seawolf

Do you know the ticket number? Without that it would be difficult for to book new flights or refund. Generally speaking, it would be around half the total ticket cost. Actual value would vary due to different airport taxes in the inflows segments.

lorkers

Oh yes, I know both the original ticket number, and the new one I was issued with what was called the 'voucher'. And the agents can find them no problems - it's just telling me what is on it which gives me SO many different answers.
If they'd tell me it was worth 'x' that would mean I could actually use it, but it's extracting that information that is proving the hard task!

seawolf

Front line agents typically would not know the value. Their support (tariff/fare desk) would need to research to determine actual value.

lorkers

Yep, that's why I'm amazed when I ask them to find it out, they seem helpless and just tell me they can't do that.
There must be a way of extracting that information.
I just wondered if anyone knew the exact way of phrasing a question to get them to find out!
Or indeed, DOES it have a value, as they were pretty sure a few years back I could just rebook on the same route in the same classes... That is the other question noone seems to have a clue about.

jef787

Have you tried using the refunds site at aa.com with the ticket numbers you have?
I'm wondering if that's a quicker way to get the assessment you're looking for (though perhaps you're already off in voucher land and it won't be useful).

https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/

From that page - "We'll look up your ticket and advise you of your refund eligibility and options."

I don't believe its instantaneous, but it might be progress.

seawolf

Send a DM to AA Twitter asking for the residual value of the ticket/voucher.

If the return flight was cancelled by airline, you can get a refund at around 50% of value (as stated in prior post). If you cancelled it, then probably no value refundable as the roundtrip fare would have been refared as a one-way (one-way cost more than a round-trip).

The challenge I see is whether refund is even an option anymore given the ticket being so old.

Hindsight is 20-20 but if I were you, I would have asked for the refund years ago. You can't even dispute with the credit card anymore since they have a 540 day limit on chargebacks.

lorkers

Right, refund request sent, and DM on it's way.
however, I have little hope. When I've asked AA for this information before, as per my first post, I'm just told AA will not tell me that, or simply duck the question.

VegasGambler

I don't think that they are giving you the run around. They just don't know. The ticket was supposed to expire years ago, and has been extended due to unexpected circumstances. This is not an issue that they deal with every day. Most people have already accepted refunds or vouchers by now.

If they will give you a voucher for 50% of the value that is very reasonable. I would take it and consider myself made whole. If the voucher is for $11 I would push back and ask for 50%, possibly just as a customer service gesture.

PHL

IF you want the money back, however, I would push for a refund to original form of payment if they haven't actually sent you a paper voucher. They canceled the trip and that should have been their obligation rather than assuming everyone wanted future credit vouchers. Otherwise, make a mock booking and put it on hold. Call and say "I would like to apply a credit with ticket number 001xxxxxx. Can you please tell me what that amount is?" If they sent a paper voucher, the value would be printed on it.

fedechat

Did you try
https://www.aa.com/your-receipts/

enter ticket number and last name and check the total price, your return should cost around half of your ticket, more or less unless it was a big difference in price on both base fare.

lorkers

Alas, yes, just responds with an error code of 'out of range'. I guess as it's so old.

lorkers

Just to clarify, I very definitely don't want the money back.
I want the return half of my trip.
As per my original post, AA won't tell me if I'm given that option, or if I've been given some 'dollar value', but they won't tell me that either!
You can see my emails further up the chain, and I keep on asking a simple 'yes, or no, or what value' question, but AA keep on ducking the question.