Jan 11, 2014, 10:36 am
Last edit by: TEDisgone
WARNING - The cancellation fee has been increased up to $200 for long haul premium awards as of Feb 2017 .
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
- Lifemiles tickets cannot be canceled or changed online, you need to call the Avianca/TACA call center
(+1 800 284 2622)(number updated to +1 866 919 0081 as of February 2024). #2 for English, then enter your Lifemiles number, enter #3 for Lifemiles then #3 again for transactions. - The cancellation fee is variable, $50-200. The change-fee is $150. This is per passenger/ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- The cancellation fee for Awards booked after 20th/2/2017: Award Tickets are reimbursable by paying a fee that varies depending on the redeemed route, the redemption channel and other circumstances, Accurate information of the reimbursement cost shall be informed at the time of redeeming the Award Ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- You need to set-up a phone PIN to do any changes to tickets on lifemiles.com before or during the call. Do this before you call as doing this while calling can add a couple of minutes to the call
- Make sure your address and phone number are up to date in your lifemiles account. This will help immensely as spelling out everything letter-by-letter to the phone agent.
- Your credit card information is collected via an automated system on the phone and not by the agent. The system first asks you for your card number (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express), followed by the expiration month/year in MMYY format, then followed by the Security Code. Press * to correct mistakes in entering numbers.
- You need to enter/confirm credit card information for every ticket seperately. The process is simpler for remaining tickets as you only need to: first confirm the last 4 digits of the card (1 - Yes; 2 - No); followed by the expiration Month; followed by the expiration Year; followed by the Security code. For AMEX,(and sometimes for visa too ) the whole cared number has to be entered again
- Similarly if you have used credit cards before, the system keeps information about your credit cards, so even for the first ticket, the process is simpler as you only need to confirm the last four digits of credit card, then expiration month, then expiration year last two digits only followed by the security code
- Be prepared to spend between 20 minutes and 3 hours on the phone to get your changes / cancellation done, depending on the agent you get, or if you're really unlucky, you may spend days getting it sorted out.
- Avianca transactions may trigger fraud alerts on your credit card, you may need to contact your bank about this.
- Miles should be back in your account instantaneously, tax refund can take longer (2-3 weeks)
- Money paid for miles purchased as part of "more money/less miles" choice will NOT be refunded in cash but as miles.
- As soon as your flight is ticketed, the refund for a cash & miles booking will be only in miles
- BE PATIENT: some agents are very knowledgeable and fast, others take hours to get a simple cancellation done
- TAXES ARE REFUNDABLE: if an agent claims that taxes are non-refundable you may need to write an email to [email protected] to follow-up
- You should be able to see your cancellation receipts under "Your Lifemiles" - "Print receipts" (Only works with Internet Explorer!)
- NEW RULE - Ticket cannot be cancelled in the T-48 to T+24 window. Ticket can be cancelled after T+24 as long as ticket is valid, which is up to 365 days after issuance date (not travel date!)
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
Cancellation of Lifemiles ticket
Mar 28, 2018, 4:30 pm
#616
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
Apr 9, 2018, 4:39 pm
#618
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: NYC/PHL/HKG
Posts: 210
Haven't had to cancel a ticket for a few years, and pleasantly surprised by how quick the process was this time around...maybe I got a good agent? 6 minutes from dialing number to having the miles back in my account. Agent proactively mentioned that taxes would be refunded less the booking fee.
Apr 23, 2018, 5:46 am
#621
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
If you have enough miles, book new ticket then cancel old one. If you dont, call them to change the ticket for the change fee. your ticket expiry date would not change (from previous date of booking).
Apr 23, 2018, 6:03 am
#622
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PVG
Programs: SK*G, QR*G
Posts: 514
So it's possible to rebook into another class ? That would be cheaper than cancel and book again. Guess I have to call anyway.
Apr 23, 2018, 5:45 pm
#623
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
it's possible to rebook into another class, but I suggest to use this only if you must go that route!
there are of course many downsides, most commonly being;
1. Shorter expiry of the ticket (as mentioned above)
2. Chance of the call center botching up your ticket (it is not a real-time change. your ticket changes will be forwarded to a "booking department" etc...in the meantime, the F award space might disappear, and your C award might be cancelled)
3. Chance of your payment not working seamlessly during the call (there are issues as usual with credit card authentication)
4. Call center English agents unavailability (you might be asked to wait till a time the "Lifemiles team" comes back.
If you dont have enough miles to book new ticket then cancel old one, and are willing to do the change as an experiment (dont mind the issues above) go ahead!
there are of course many downsides, most commonly being;
1. Shorter expiry of the ticket (as mentioned above)
2. Chance of the call center botching up your ticket (it is not a real-time change. your ticket changes will be forwarded to a "booking department" etc...in the meantime, the F award space might disappear, and your C award might be cancelled)
3. Chance of your payment not working seamlessly during the call (there are issues as usual with credit card authentication)
4. Call center English agents unavailability (you might be asked to wait till a time the "Lifemiles team" comes back.
If you dont have enough miles to book new ticket then cancel old one, and are willing to do the change as an experiment (dont mind the issues above) go ahead!
Apr 23, 2018, 7:26 pm
#624
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PVG
Programs: SK*G, QR*G
Posts: 514
it's possible to rebook into another class, but I suggest to use this only if you must go that route!
there are of course many downsides, most commonly being;
1. Shorter expiry of the ticket (as mentioned above)
2. Chance of the call center botching up your ticket (it is not a real-time change. your ticket changes will be forwarded to a "booking department" etc...in the meantime, the F award space might disappear, and your C award might be cancelled)
3. Chance of your payment not working seamlessly during the call (there are issues as usual with credit card authentication)
4. Call center English agents unavailability (you might be asked to wait till a time the "Lifemiles team" comes back.
If you dont have enough miles to book new ticket then cancel old one, and are willing to do the change as an experiment (dont mind the issues above) go ahead!
there are of course many downsides, most commonly being;
1. Shorter expiry of the ticket (as mentioned above)
2. Chance of the call center botching up your ticket (it is not a real-time change. your ticket changes will be forwarded to a "booking department" etc...in the meantime, the F award space might disappear, and your C award might be cancelled)
3. Chance of your payment not working seamlessly during the call (there are issues as usual with credit card authentication)
4. Call center English agents unavailability (you might be asked to wait till a time the "Lifemiles team" comes back.
If you dont have enough miles to book new ticket then cancel old one, and are willing to do the change as an experiment (dont mind the issues above) go ahead!
Also the miles will take 24 hours to get redeposited when you pay with a us credit card. So I hope the new ticket is still available when I get the miles back and can make a new reservation.
Apr 24, 2018, 7:59 am
#625
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
Data points...
Cancelled a ticket several months ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Argued and got them back immediately. (I needed them to book another ticket.)
Cancelled a ticket about 10 days ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Did not argue. Took 72 hours to get miles back.
Question - how accurate is the wiki about cancellation close in? T-48 hours accurate? I have heard reports of T-72 or lose the miles.
Cancelled a ticket several months ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Argued and got them back immediately. (I needed them to book another ticket.)
Cancelled a ticket about 10 days ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Did not argue. Took 72 hours to get miles back.
Question - how accurate is the wiki about cancellation close in? T-48 hours accurate? I have heard reports of T-72 or lose the miles.
Apr 24, 2018, 8:14 am
#626
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,404
Data points...
Cancelled a ticket several months ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Argued and got them back immediately. (I needed them to book another ticket.)
Cancelled a ticket about 10 days ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Did not argue. Took 72 hours to get miles back.
Question - how accurate is the wiki about cancellation close in? T-48 hours accurate? I have heard reports of T-72 or lose the miles.
Cancelled a ticket several months ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Argued and got them back immediately. (I needed them to book another ticket.)
Cancelled a ticket about 10 days ago. Told it would take 2-3 days. Did not argue. Took 72 hours to get miles back.
Question - how accurate is the wiki about cancellation close in? T-48 hours accurate? I have heard reports of T-72 or lose the miles.
It is true you cannot cancel close in - or that used to be the case at least. But you had one year to actually call up and cancel and get the miles back.
Apr 24, 2018, 9:14 am
#627
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
https://www.lifemiles.com/eng/abo/wnb/wnbtercond.aspx
The minimum anticipation time for redemption with Star Alliance Airlines is forty eight (48) hours prior to the flight.
The minimum anticipation time for redemption with Star Alliance Airlines is forty eight (48) hours prior to the flight.
Apr 24, 2018, 1:52 pm
#628
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
https://www.lifemiles.com/eng/abo/wnb/wnbtercond.aspx
The minimum anticipation time for redemption with Star Alliance Airlines is forty eight (48) hours prior to the flight.
The minimum anticipation time for redemption with Star Alliance Airlines is forty eight (48) hours prior to the flight.
Apr 24, 2018, 5:52 pm
#629
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,404
Reading several reports over the last year online trying to find a definative time. "close in" is not a time. Is it written anywhere that you can not fly and just get your miles back up to a year later or are those reports from users? Not doubting people's experineces, just want to know for sure.
Sorry, I am not understanding your statement. Are you saying booking a FF flight?
Sorry, I am not understanding your statement. Are you saying booking a FF flight?
Apr 24, 2018, 7:55 pm
#630
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: PVG
Programs: SK*G, QR*G
Posts: 514
So I called and he said it's not possible to rebook into another class, have to cancel.
Also the miles will take 24 hours to get redeposited when you pay with a us credit card. So I hope the new ticket is still available when I get the miles back and can make a new reservation.
Also the miles will take 24 hours to get redeposited when you pay with a us credit card. So I hope the new ticket is still available when I get the miles back and can make a new reservation.
Maybe the payment failed, in that case will the original ticket still be valid ? Guess I have to call again