Thank you. I asked the TA and he said he will have to charge both the change fee and a new fare and he insists that he can't use my currently ticketed fare, even after I showed him the above fare rule.

So, I'll fly the first flight to HKG and then ask CX to change the next flight while I'm at the stopover. Looking at the current inventory, I hope that at least some R or discount Y seats are available and help us out.

It is considered re-ticketing if you change it before your first flight. Original fare doesn't apply anymore.

I think you can give CX a call just to see if CX is willing to change for you now. If CX is not willing to, all you will lose if a few minutes on the phone. On the other hand, you can potentially have the peace of mind you are looking for.

CX said they can change it only after I fly the first segment, since it's booked by TA. I asked the CX what the "1ST FLIGHT COUPON" meant, and the CX agent said if my US domestic segments and CX segments are separate tickets in a single PNR, then 1ST FLIGHT COUPON is the first CX segment. If they are both in the same ticket number, it's the first US domestic segment. Each segment is a separate "flight coupon".

Based on that, the fare rule should allow rebooking *now* using the currently ticketed fare. But my TA says he will have to reprice using current fares. So, I'll fly the first segment and then contact CX. Hope the R class inventory is still available for my new date. Sigh, I thought I've found a great TA, but I'm not sure if he's correct based on what the fare rule says.

In spite of the fare rule that says something to the contrary? I've quoted it in post #13 in this thread.

This is completely correct. Fare rules only govern the specific ticket and has nothing to do with what comes before or after, even if they are in the same PNR and per oneworld rules bag will be thru-tagged. This is an extra perk oneworld gives to its pax and is not obligated to nor is it related to fare rules. I don't know if you have seen paper tickets before it all went electronic. If you remember, each ticket has 4 coupons, good for 4 flights. Each time you take a flight, a coupon is taken. A ticket can have a maximum number of 5 cities listed, A-B-C-D-E, and that's why it is 4 flights per ticket. If you have a transit and boarding pass is issued, the subsequent ticket coupon will be stapled to your onward boarding pass, so it can be collected at the next airport. This is also why you will have more than 1 ticket number if you have more than 4 flights (which is still the case now) and why open-jaw counts as a segment (which is still the case now), as B and C both need to be written on the ticket for an itin such as A-B//C-D-E (open-jaw at B-C).

Your TA is probably trying to play safe. I have to admit that if I didn't look into the fare rules, I would have thought by instinct that a reprice is needed whenever a change is made before first flight coupon is used. Most airlines require this to be done and fine the TA if this procedure is not used. The ticketing desk I work with sometimes insist this, too, and a lot of communication is needed, and I cannot always have them do what is supposed to be right according to the fare rule.

Thanks. Does anyone have experience with Amex IAP on whether the follow the fare rules correctly when a passenger tries to change tickets rather than simply trying to reprice based on experience?

In case it helps others, I flew the first leg to HKG, and I went to the CX ticketing desk in HKG. They charged a USD 100 change fee and changed the date of my flight from HKG to MLE. No fare difference charged, they didn't even look at the fare difference since my ticket allowed changes after the first flight segment by just paying the change fees if seats were available in the same fare class on the desired dates of travel (and they were).