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
Jun 29, 2018, 4:06 pm
#647
formerly 1984SW
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,058
Curious what day/time you called to not experience any wait time.
Jun 29, 2018, 5:52 pm
#648
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,408
Jun 29, 2018, 9:13 pm
#650
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,725
Called and talked to an agent tonight who was super helpful. Helped me clear up the issue within minutes. I've been on a streak with LM agents so far, fingers crossed!
So far the biggest obstacle in Lifemiles' customer service is their credit card system entry. It seems to frequently revert to Spanish only, or often plays a completely unrelated message (heard one about Avianca cargo today, lol). I've talked to about 5 different agents so far, and all of them have been perfectly fluent in English and very knowledgeable. No wait times either for an agent, and I've called at varying times throughout the day.
So far the biggest obstacle in Lifemiles' customer service is their credit card system entry. It seems to frequently revert to Spanish only, or often plays a completely unrelated message (heard one about Avianca cargo today, lol). I've talked to about 5 different agents so far, and all of them have been perfectly fluent in English and very knowledgeable. No wait times either for an agent, and I've called at varying times throughout the day.
Last edited by iluvdoco; Jun 29, 2018 at 9:27 pm
Jul 4, 2018, 7:52 am
#652
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
If you booked to/from the USA (regardless of carrier), yes you get a free cancellation and full refund. I have typically gotten resistance to start, but once I say I am in the USA, the fees are waived and the miles returned.
Jul 4, 2018, 6:56 pm
#653
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 261
Lastly - what evidence of being in the USA did you provide ? And is this an actual requirement.
I am thinking of trialling a bit of a hack to get some cheap(er) points.
Jul 5, 2018, 2:41 pm
#654
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 5,998
- I have done mine by calling.
- When they said there would be a charge, I simply stated I booked from the USA and I live in the USA so I have 24 hours. They put me on hold and then come back and process. (Maybe they look at my address or route while I am on hold?)
- If I needed to use the points immediately, I pushed them and they put them back immediately. If I don't it takes 3-4 days.
Jul 14, 2018, 7:17 am
#656
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,725
A note about entering in one's credit card info into their phone system. It seems the entering of the numbers must be performed at a reasonably fast pace, otherwise the system won't properly detect the numbers.
Their credit card entering system has one other problem. After entering one's card expiration, it declares that you've entered the wrong security code, at which point I enter the security code. Not sure if it properly recorded the expiration date/security code or conflated the two.
Their credit card entering system has one other problem. After entering one's card expiration, it declares that you've entered the wrong security code, at which point I enter the security code. Not sure if it properly recorded the expiration date/security code or conflated the two.
Jul 30, 2018, 9:07 am
#657
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: FLYINGBLUE Gold QRPC Gold OMAN SINDBAD Gold
Posts: 408
Hi all, I cancelled an award ticket with Avianca on the phone on july 17th , my ticket has been cancelled but the 200usd fee not been charged nor the miles been recredited to my account...
Is that normal ? I m worried something went wrong, because i didn t received any email from Lifemiles regarding this cancellation.
Thank you for your advice
Is that normal ? I m worried something went wrong, because i didn t received any email from Lifemiles regarding this cancellation.
Thank you for your advice
Jul 30, 2018, 9:47 am
#658
Join Date: Aug 2017
Programs: FLYINGBLUE Gold QRPC Gold OMAN SINDBAD Gold
Posts: 408
Follow up: called again Avianca, agent very helpful found out that my credit card payment of the 200 usd fee had not been processed the first time, did payment again, and wonderful miles recredited instantly ! took me exactly 14mn on the phone, happy with Lifemile service.
Aug 3, 2018, 8:33 am
#659
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
Best and surest way to confirm a cancellation is to log out and then log in again into your LM account while still on the phone (after she/he asks you what else they can do for you, ask them to wait while you confirm the miles are back).
Never hung up the call before confirming the miles are in your account.
The BS about miles taking time to get refunded is, BS. If the miles are not back, it means the refund wasn't successfully transacted. Continue with the call and ask him/her to double check.
Once miles are back, then taxes deducted and fees charged will show up on your CC eventually.
Never hung up the call before confirming the miles are in your account.
The BS about miles taking time to get refunded is, BS. If the miles are not back, it means the refund wasn't successfully transacted. Continue with the call and ask him/her to double check.
Once miles are back, then taxes deducted and fees charged will show up on your CC eventually.
Aug 3, 2018, 8:47 am
#660
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,725
I've been pleasantly surprised by the cancellation process. Had to cancel several tickets, and all of the LM reps I spoke to were knowledgeable and patient. Miles were redeposited within 24-48 hours and taxes refunds done promptly in about a week.