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
Jul 24, 2019, 10:46 am
#706
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: SJO
Programs: Avianca LifeMiles. Hilton (G), Meliá (G), Radisson (G). National Car (EE), Hertz (PC), Avis (PC)
Posts: 188
Last night I booked SJO-SAL-EWR on AV (everything on 'economy promo'), as the first leg of a SJO-TLV trip with separate tickets. But then while selecting the flight to TLV, I learned the availability on UA was none. So I called to LifeMiles Customer Support to request cancellation and refund. I was told I had to pay a $150 penalty, plus a $100 miles redeposit fee. I explained that the availability suddenly changed on the time between flights selection and final payment. After a 5 minute hold, they made the change at no cost. The miles appeared credited this morning. I was freaked when they talked about those penalties, but I managed to give a good point and they understood.
Jul 24, 2019, 7:52 pm
#707
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Lifetime *G (MP), Lifetime PE (Bonvoy)
Posts: 1,465
I've made a booking for three passengers and it now looks as though one of them won't make it. Sounds to me as if I should just suck up the lost miles (15K) rather than go for a cancellation
Jul 24, 2019, 9:14 pm
#708
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
Otherwise, at 1.3cpm, I wouldn't even bother going for canx fee.
Jul 25, 2019, 11:23 pm
#710
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: Lifetime *G (MP), Lifetime PE (Bonvoy)
Posts: 1,465
Jul 30, 2019, 3:43 pm
#713
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
Jul 31, 2019, 1:57 am
#714
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
its not written in the T&Cs, so it’s not a right!
Aug 3, 2019, 5:07 pm
#716
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
There's a cancellation fee for all tickets regardless of class of travel (outside of the first 24 hrs of booking window). You get all the miles and taxes refunded.
Aug 5, 2019, 3:35 am
#717
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
Cancellation fee for your ticket is 200 USD, by the way.
It’s written on your eticket by the way, something like this.
Restriction(s)/Endorsements
: Non End/Ref Fee 200Usd/Chng 150Usd/Lifemiles Award/No Miles
Aug 5, 2019, 8:22 pm
#718
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 229
Definitely. You get back all the miles and taxes, minus the 25 USD booking fee.
Cancellation fee for your ticket is 200 USD, by the way.
It’s written on your eticket by the way, something like this.
Restriction(s)/Endorsements
: Non End/Ref Fee 200Usd/Chng 150Usd/Lifemiles Award/No Miles
Aug 6, 2019, 6:29 am
#719
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
You would need to find the award space first before the change can go through.
Absolutely change of departure airport or arrival airport is allowed.