Jan 11, 2014, 10:36 am
Last edit by: EqualOpp
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, $30-200. 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
Feb 16, 2021 | 11:32 am
#1141
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 175
Quick update on my saga...
After getting many consistent confirmations from various teams, including the super-secret Spanish only group that can make manual changes, it seems apparent that Avianca will only move your flight, once, into flights in the same fare bucket. While they will not add a penalty charge, they will charge the difference in miles plus some very onerous taxes, so for all intents and purposes, they will only move you to flights where there is availability in the same fare bucket as your original award ticket. They did suggest that I get in touch with LifeMiles for a cancellation under the circumstances, but LifeMiles consistently tried to charge a $200 cancellation fee per award ticket, saying that it really isn't their issue that Avianca can't figure out how to move a flight. I was on hold for a combined 8+ hours, and also chatted with several facebook and whatsapp agents and the message was unchanged throughout.
At some point, I realized that I could move the dates by two days and that might actually work out better for me overall, and they did have availability for the new dates - so went that route, and hopefully can make it happen. They charged a phone booking fee of $30 per ticket, but I was sufficiently beaten down by that time to call it a win.
After getting many consistent confirmations from various teams, including the super-secret Spanish only group that can make manual changes, it seems apparent that Avianca will only move your flight, once, into flights in the same fare bucket. While they will not add a penalty charge, they will charge the difference in miles plus some very onerous taxes, so for all intents and purposes, they will only move you to flights where there is availability in the same fare bucket as your original award ticket. They did suggest that I get in touch with LifeMiles for a cancellation under the circumstances, but LifeMiles consistently tried to charge a $200 cancellation fee per award ticket, saying that it really isn't their issue that Avianca can't figure out how to move a flight. I was on hold for a combined 8+ hours, and also chatted with several facebook and whatsapp agents and the message was unchanged throughout.
At some point, I realized that I could move the dates by two days and that might actually work out better for me overall, and they did have availability for the new dates - so went that route, and hopefully can make it happen. They charged a phone booking fee of $30 per ticket, but I was sufficiently beaten down by that time to call it a win.
Feb 17, 2021 | 8:03 am
#1142
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Germany
Programs: AV,ST,OW Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 209
Has anyone recently booked TK ticket using LifeMiles? Ive read up on the horror stories and has been super hesitant. Im looking to travel to Dubai next month and I know flights between Istanbul and Dubai have resumed. Leaving from
jfk. Any assistance would be much appreciated.
jfk. Any assistance would be much appreciated.
Feb 17, 2021 | 9:37 am
#1143
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 488
It's amazing that it's 2021 and they don't have a way to do this online. It would save everyone a lot of time.
Feb 17, 2021 | 9:47 am
#1144
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,721
Feb 18, 2021 | 8:15 am
#1145
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Germany
Programs: AV,ST,OW Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 209
Its simply a terrible service at the Call Center. I speak spanish but just to talk to a person to change my flight its a 50 to 60 minutes wait. I wasted 2 hours yesterday. I have not seen worst.
Feb 18, 2021 | 8:17 am
#1146
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 488
Feb 18, 2021 | 10:32 am
#1147
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Germany
Programs: AV,ST,OW Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 209
I just need to change my flight back from LIM to DUS. Looks like i will have to get another ticket somewhere else and let my return just expire... Thanks.
Feb 18, 2021 | 10:52 am
#1148
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,721
This is ridiculous. I will stop using Lifemiles after this. Nothing works. I am stuck, they pass me over to another department, and back to the main menu , starting from 0.. Rinse and repeat.. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know,
I just need to change my flight back from LIM to DUS. Looks like i will have to get another ticket somewhere else and let my return just expire... Thanks.
I just need to change my flight back from LIM to DUS. Looks like i will have to get another ticket somewhere else and let my return just expire... Thanks.
Cancel the ticket. Redeposit the miles. There is no fee until 31 March.
Dispute the entire fee with your credit card. They have in all instances refunded the whole amount because LM never responds in time. So you get the $25 DIS-service fee back too...as you should.
Then rebook online.
Don't bother to try to change unless you call between 9am and 2pm their time...AND you get really lucky. Otherwise the staff is incompetent.
Feb 18, 2021 | 10:55 am
#1149
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,721
They are already in a big mess in Colombia for the delays in refunding passengers.
At this point I don't want their miles. Unless you are willing to deal with hours and hours of incompetence, cancelled reservations because they have no clue on how to reissue tickets or because the operating carriers don't want to honor AV miles... just forget it.
I want to use my last miles and be finished with them. They're horrendous.
Feb 18, 2021 | 10:14 pm
#1150
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 8,792
Got 2 Biz tickets SE Asia to Europe in Sep 2021 trying to use all my miles. Though am still somewhat doubtful we can travel as planned (safe to travel). If not possible to travel, I'm just hoping a schedule change or such will allow a free cancellation and miles redeposit. The booking fee of 25$ be damned, small price to pay.
Heck I even rather pay $200 cancellation fee if a redeposit would not be free any longer at that time & if no other option to get miles back and rather book new / fresh myself online than dealing with their Contact Center / "Help Desk" to change flights (and maybe pay 150$ for that privilege on top of it if flight was to be operating and no change fee waiver applicable).
Feb 27, 2021 | 9:47 am
#1151
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,985
Hi. A lot of helpful information posted over the past 90 days.
I've had good luck with LM pre-COVID. LM was able to piece together a few complicated itineraries with minimal difficulty and I've found the redemption rates to be of good value.
My specific concern has not been mentioned. I understand that I can make date changes 3X at no cost (expect maybe a fare difference) or outright cancel with a fee for tickets purchased before 31 March. However, if I book a ticket for May and the destination closes to US citizens OR if a COVID test is not available in a timely manner, I suppose that is the risk I have to take, and cancel with a fee.
(I know I can make a date change, but not a routing change. It would be unlikely that I could ever use a ticket, say CAI->ATH, anytime again in the near future.)
Thanks!
I've had good luck with LM pre-COVID. LM was able to piece together a few complicated itineraries with minimal difficulty and I've found the redemption rates to be of good value.
My specific concern has not been mentioned. I understand that I can make date changes 3X at no cost (expect maybe a fare difference) or outright cancel with a fee for tickets purchased before 31 March. However, if I book a ticket for May and the destination closes to US citizens OR if a COVID test is not available in a timely manner, I suppose that is the risk I have to take, and cancel with a fee.
(I know I can make a date change, but not a routing change. It would be unlikely that I could ever use a ticket, say CAI->ATH, anytime again in the near future.)
Thanks!
Feb 27, 2021 | 10:01 am
#1152
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,721
I'm a little confused by this.
And you redeem it between October 1st, 2020 and March 31st, 2021 regardless of the flight date:
You can change it one (1) time without any penalty only if you reschedule before the date of the trip and to fly before December 31st, 2021 and as long as you do it on the same route or to common points. No fare difference is exonerated.
I have been told that you can never change airlines... just dates... is that correct?
I'm referencing this: https://www.avianca.com/us/en/experience/covid-19/
And you redeem it between October 1st, 2020 and March 31st, 2021 regardless of the flight date:
You can change it one (1) time without any penalty only if you reschedule before the date of the trip and to fly before December 31st, 2021 and as long as you do it on the same route or to common points. No fare difference is exonerated.
I have been told that you can never change airlines... just dates... is that correct?
I'm referencing this: https://www.avianca.com/us/en/experience/covid-19/
Last edited by bostontraveler; Feb 27, 2021 at 10:13 am
Mar 1, 2021 | 1:23 pm
#1153
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 1
Hi everyone! I'm a newbie here, so please forgive me for any lacking knowledge.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Mar 1, 2021 | 1:35 pm
#1154
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Paris
Programs: AA LT Plat (4m+), AF Plat, A3 Gold, Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, Marriott Plat, IHG Plat/Ambassador
Posts: 2,721
Hi everyone! I'm a newbie here, so please forgive me for any lacking knowledge.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Gosh, I am sorry. I would write them today but to the customer relations... and if you can find an email to their executive offices...
It can't hurt...
It's so annoying how these people "conduct" business....
Good luck!
Mar 1, 2021 | 2:40 pm
#1155
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,985
Hi everyone! I'm a newbie here, so please forgive me for any lacking knowledge.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Between my SO and I, we scrounged up a mixture of miles and cash to purchase basically 6 one-way, first class tickets between LAX and Asia in November 2019 for October 2020. They got canceled by Avianaca. Lifemiles DID NOT even notify us of the cancellation, they just cancelled and then I had to check my confirmation numbers on their site to see what was up with our flights, only to find that these confirmation numbers didn't exist in their system.
I chatted with someone on the Avianca side because Lifemiles said that they couldn't help me with any updates. In my chat with the support on 9/11, they said that we had until February 28th, 2021 to request to rebook our flight (had to be the same class and departure/destination airports). I asked when the deadline was to request a refund of miles, they said it was when our tickets expired. I read that as our tickets expired on February 28th, 2021 for rebooking or requesting a refund of miles, so I kept checking between September and February to see if our routes would come back online, but it hasn't been an option to even book. So finally in the last week of February (which I know was my fault for holding out/waiting so long), I reached out to LifeMiles to initiate the miles redeposit.
They said that our tickets expired in November 2020 per the 1-year expiration date, so they can't do anything about it. I'm kicking myself for misinterpreting the chat person's response and I'm frantically trying to figure out an alternative now that it's 3/1. My question - has anyone had success in getting either a refund or rebooking based on grace periods? I'm so upset with myself since we sank a good amount of miles (this took like 3 different credit card bonuses + money) into this trip. I'm on the phone waiting for Avianca customer support, but it seems like Avainca and LifeMiles operate separately. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.