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
May 3, 2021 | 10:31 am
#1216
Join Date: Dec 2018
Posts: 1
Refunded successfully, 24 minutes
Using the information in this Wiki I was able to cancel 4 tickets on 3 itineraries with re-deposit of miles promised in 7-15 days and "partial" refund of taxes in 3-5 months. Got lucky I guess, got a rep who spoke English well and connected to her pretty quickly after the initial menu navigation. The Wiki instructions at the top were very helpful, thanks! She indicated there were no penalties or fees to re-deposit, but I assume the partial tax refund will deduct the $25 booking fees. Three of the four flights had major flight changes but they refunded all four with no issues. Not sure if it helped at all, but I did agree at the beginning of the call to answer the phone survey at the end of the call. After hearing all the horror stories about this process, I am counting my blessings!
May 3, 2021 | 9:41 pm
#1217
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: EK Plat
Posts: 252
As per this message, does anyone have any official source confirming there is a cancellation fee waiver until 31 May?
May 4, 2021 | 8:42 am
#1218
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AA Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 288
Data point: Just completed a refund request for two Lifemiles tickets book on Turkish. Took 8 minutes total. Will see within the next 7 days if the miles come through. Cancellation fees were waived minus the $25 per person booking fee. Said I should see the taxes refunded by July! lol.
May 31, 2021 | 12:50 pm
#1220
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: WAS
Programs: UA Plat, AA Plat Pro, ITA Exec, NK Gold, F9 Diamond
Posts: 62
Just another data point on this, I called today to cancel an ANA first class reservation for October for 2 pax. Agent picked up immediately after the phone menu tree, five minutes on hold with her and no fees charged. Miles back within 5 days, taxes "a little bit longer" (LOL) and she gave me a case number. Seemed pretty painless, as long as the miles come back into my account. Hope to see the taxes refunded some day, but they were a lot less than the normal cancellation fee so I'm not going to sweat it.
May 31, 2021 | 1:18 pm
#1221
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
Just another data point on this, I called today to cancel an ANA first class reservation for October for 2 pax. Agent picked up immediately after the phone menu tree, five minutes on hold with her and no fees charged. Miles back within 5 days, taxes "a little bit longer" (LOL) and she gave me a case number. Seemed pretty painless, as long as the miles come back into my account. Hope to see the taxes refunded some day, but they were a lot less than the normal cancellation fee so I'm not going to sweat it.
It's operational changes that require LM to reissue tickets which they cannot do properly.
Only once out of 7 times this happened to me were they able to do something basic... reissue a ticket :-)
And as you said... the taxes refunded... well, that's the other pain point. Unfortunately here they are not acting in good faith and the best suggestion I might have is to proactively open a dispute with your bank.
Jun 10, 2021 | 11:37 am
#1223
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: United, SPG
Posts: 294
In a positive surprise, the inability to set a pin actually saved me $200. I called LifeMIles and selected the option for website support and explained to them that the website wasn't allowing me to set a pin so I couldn't cancel my ticket. They said they are "updating the site" (even though this has been happening for the last week). I gave the agent the record locator, and she said she could cancel it without my pin, she just had to check with the supervisor. I didn't have to pay any extra fees. Didn't even provide my credit card. I suggest anyone trying to cancel, first try their web support and explain the above situation. It might save you $200.
Jun 13, 2021 | 5:35 pm
#1227
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 18
Swiss cancelled flight - options?
Used LM on Swiss, which just cancelled a flight in October 2021 and cancelled my business class seats (Swiss no longer operates one of the flights on my scheduled date).
Is there any hope of persuading Lifemiles to contact Swiss and get them to request additional award space on Lufthansa or a Star Alliance carrier? Right now there are no award seats anymore. I understand that EC 261 may require Swiss to help with rebooking, but when I called Swiss, they said there are no award seats available on the date I need (even though business class seats are available for sale on Lufthansa and United).
I am trying to figure out if I need to re-work my whole trip for other dates (I really want to avoid this) or if there is a way to get Avianca and/or Swiss to free up award seats (given that Swiss cancelled the flight for operational reasons).
Is there any hope of persuading Lifemiles to contact Swiss and get them to request additional award space on Lufthansa or a Star Alliance carrier? Right now there are no award seats anymore. I understand that EC 261 may require Swiss to help with rebooking, but when I called Swiss, they said there are no award seats available on the date I need (even though business class seats are available for sale on Lufthansa and United).
I am trying to figure out if I need to re-work my whole trip for other dates (I really want to avoid this) or if there is a way to get Avianca and/or Swiss to free up award seats (given that Swiss cancelled the flight for operational reasons).
Jun 15, 2021 | 8:07 am
#1228
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
IIRC, EC261/4 only comes into play if the cancellation is within 14 days from departure. In your case no dice with LX and AV/ LM won't do much when you contact them other than to return the miles and tell you fees may come in 5+ months (they rarely do).
I'd get the miles back ASAP and look to rework / rebook rather than spending infuriating hours with LM on the phone and not getting anywhere. YMMV.
I'd get the miles back ASAP and look to rework / rebook rather than spending infuriating hours with LM on the phone and not getting anywhere. YMMV.
Jun 16, 2021 | 3:35 am
#1230
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denmark
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 13,886