FlyerTalk Forums - $100 Change Fee

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Hi there. I was just charged $100 change fee when I upgraded from PE to business class for my upcoming trip. When I called back, the agent said that it was the booking fee for upgrading, over the phone. Is this the standard practice from CX?

My flights from LAX to TPE have been cancelled. I called in to confirm the changes. While I was on phone, I asked about the upgrade price (one way) and it was cheaper than I would’ve paid if I booked it online earlier. I went ahead with the upgrade over the phone. However, the agent never mentioned the $100 fee.

Chan J.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronin98syu (Post 32579645)

Sounds like a change fee (penalty), not a service fee, but we would need more details (fare basis, routing/origin, date of issue, dep. date) to tell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernestnywang (Post 32579940)

Sounds like a change fee (penalty), not a service fee, but we would need more details (fare basis, routing/origin, date of issue, dep. date) to tell.

Hi there. Here is the info for my flights:

Original tickets: (purchased online on 16/6/2020)
16/9/2020 CX 885 LAX - HKG Class: E. Fare basis: ELXSPCL. B777-300ER
17/9/2020 CX 408 HKG - TPE Class: H. Fare basis: ELXSPCL. A330-300

Then both flights got cancelled, and they put me in the following flights. Both flights will now be Airbus 350-1000. I was able to ask the CX rep to move me to the premium economy class on the second leg. (confirmed the changes on 3/8/2020)
16/9/2020 CX 881 LAX - HKG Class: E. Fare basis: ELXSPCL. A350-1000
17/9/2020 CX 402 HKG - TPE Class: E. Fare basis: ELXSPCL. A350-1000

Then I inquired about the upgrade price and subsequently paid for the upgrade. (paid for the upgrade on 3/8/2020)
16/9/2020 CX 881 LAX - HKG Class: I Fare basis: IXSPCLRT. A350-1000
17/9/2020 CX 402 HKG - TPE Class: I Fare basis: IXSPCLRT. A350-1000

Thank you!
Chan J

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronin98syu (Post 32580069)

E class warrants a change fee. Only R and W don’t.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CXFlyerBoy (Post 32580881)

E class warrants a change fee. Only R and W don’t.

Thank you.

Free and unlimited changes in one year

Quote:

Originally Posted by CXFlyerBoy (Post 32580881)

E class warrants a change fee. Only R and W don’t.

When I purchased my tickets (16/06/2020), Cathay also advertised free and unlimited changes for one year. Did this offer apply to my situation? Just curious.

Thank you.

The free and unlimited change is appliable for date-change and rerouting only, as far as I understand.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronin98syu (Post 32580069)

Correct. 100USD is the change fee. See bolded part below:

Code:

V FARE BASIS AP FARE-OW FARE-RT BK SEASON MINMAX RTG

1 ELXSPCL ¥ 1196.00 E¥15AUG-07DEC -/ 6M PA01

PASSENGER TYPE-ADT AUTO PRICE-YES

FROM-LAX TO-TPE CXR-CX TVL-16SEP20 RULE-5600 IPRP/3

FARE BASIS-ELXSPCL SPECIAL FARE DIS-E VENDOR-ATP

FARE TYPE-ZEX RT-PREMIUM ECONOMY EXCURSION

USD 1196.00 0186 E13MAY20 D31DEC20 FC-ELXSPCL FN-81

SYSTEM DATES - CREATED 14MAY20/2209 EXPIRES INFINITY



16.PENALTIES

CANCELLATIONS



ANY TIME

CHARGE USD 150.00 FOR CANCEL/REFUND.

CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.



ANY TIME

CHARGE USD 150.00 FOR NO-SHOW.

CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.

NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.

1. IN THE EVENT OF NO-SHOW CHARGE BOTH

CANCELLATION FEE AND NO SHOW FEE.

2. CHILD/INFANT WITHOUT SEAT/INFANT WITH SEAT -

DISCOUNT APPLIES TO PENALTY FEE.

3. WHEN THIS FARE IS COMBINED WITH ANOTHER FARE -

CHARGE THE HIGHEST PENALTY FEE WITHIN THE

PRICING UNIT.

4. PARTIALLY USED TICKET - FLOWN PORTION MUST BE

RE-PRICED USING THE SAME OR HIGHER BOOKING CODE

AND THE NEW FARE AMOUNT MUST BE EQUAL OR HIGHER

THAN ORIGINAL.

5. THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATION/SERVICE/HANDLING FEE

MAY APPLY.

NOTE 6 - CX CUSTOMER COMMITMENT -

FOR PURCHASERS IN THE US AND BOOKING MADE 7 DAYS

OR EARLIER BEFORE DEPARTURE INVOLVING

ITINERARIES TO/FROM USA

PURCHASERS MAY

1/ FOR BOOKINGS MADE ON OUR US WEBSITE

WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER PURCHASE

CANCEL PAID RESERVATIONS FOR A FULL REFUND

OR

2/ FOR BOOKINGS MADE VIA OUR US RESERVATION

OFFICES AND COUNTERS

HOLD BOOKINGS FOR 24 HOURS AT QUOTED FARE

WITHOUT PAYMENT

CX WILL ONLY PROCESS TICKET REFUNDS FOR TICKET

ISSUED BY CX



CHANGES



ANY TIME

CHARGE USD 100.00 FOR REISSUE/REVALIDATION.

CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.



ANY TIME

CHARGE USD 150.00 FOR NO-SHOW.

CHILD/INFANT DISCOUNTS APPLY.

NOTE - TEXT BELOW NOT VALIDATED FOR AUTOPRICING.

1. IN THE EVENT OF NO-SHOW CHARGE BOTH CHANGE FEE

AND NO-SHOW FEE.

2. CHANGE OF AIRPORT WITHIN SAME CITY DOES NOT

CONSTITUTE AS REROUTING.

3. CHANGE MUST BE MADE WITHIN TICKET VALIDITY.

4. PENALTY FEE APPLIES PER TRANSACTION PER PERSON.

5. INFANT WITHOUT SEAT - NO PENALTY FEE APPLIES.

6. WHEN THIS FARE IS COMBINED WITH ANOTHER FARE -

CHARGE THE HIGHEST PENALTY FEE OF ALL CHANGED FARE

COMPONENT PER TICKET.

7. WHEN THE NEW ITINERARY RESULTS IN A HIGHER

FARE - COLLECT FARE DIFFERENCE AND PENALTY FEE

IF APPLICABLE.

8. WHEN THE NEW ITINERARY RESULTS IN A LOWER FARE

- REFUND FARE DIFFERENCE AND COLLECT PENALTY FEE

IF APPLICABLE.

9. TICKET MUST BE REVALIDATED/REISSUED BEFORE THE

TICKETED FLIGHT/DATE/TIME OR ELSE NO-SHOW FEE WILL

APPLY.

10. THE LOCAL ADMINISTRATION/SERVICE/HANDLING FEE

MAY APPLY

//////////// REPRICING CONDITIONS /////////////

----------------

BEFORE DEPARTURE

----------------

RE-PRICE WITH BELOW OPTIONS AS APPLICABLE AND

PROVIDE THE BEST FARE TO PASSENGER -

1. USE ANY CURRENT CX/KA FARE FOR RE-PRICE AND

MEASURE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS FROM TICKET

REISSUE DATE. NEW TICKET VALUE MUST BE EQUAL OR

HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS TICKET OR

2. IF SAME ROUTING BUT DIFFERENT BOOKING CLASS -

ANY CX/KA HISTORICAL FARE MAY ALSO BE USED FOR

RE-PRICE AND MEASURE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS FROM

TICKET REISSUE DATE. NEW TICKET VALUE MUST BE

EQUAL OR HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS TICKET OR

3. IF SAME ROUTING AND BOOKING CLASS -

ANY CX/KA HISTORICAL FARE MAY ALSO BE USED FOR

RE-PRICE AND MEASURE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS FROM

TICKET REISSUE DATE. NEW TICKET VALUE MAY BE

EQUAL/HIGHER OR LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS TICKET.

---------------

AFTER DEPARTURE

---------------

RE-PRICE WITH BELOW OPTIONS AS APPLICABLE AND

PROVIDE THE BEST FARE TO PASSENGER -

1. USE ANY HISTORICAL CX/KA FARE FOR RE-PRICE AND

NEW TICKET VALUE MUST BE EQUAL OR HIGHER VALUE

THAN THE PREVIOUS TICKET OR

2. IF SAME ROUTING AND BOOKING CLASS - ANY CX/KA

HISTORICAL FARE MAY ALSO BE USED FOR RE-PRICE

AND NEW TICKET VALUE MAY BE EQUAL/HIGHER OR

LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS TICKET.

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ronin98syu (Post 32581727)

When I purchased my tickets (16/06/2020), Cathay also advertised free and unlimited changes for one year. Did this offer apply to my situation? Just curious.

Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KO2546 (Post 32581946)

The free and unlimited change is appliable for date-change and rerouting only, as far as I understand.

Honestly, I think the CX policy is unclear on this one: https://www.cxagentsusa.com/assets/f...free-offer.pdf

CX seems to make a distinction between "rebooking fee and rerouting fee" and "change fee" (2nd and 4th FAQs), but it's not clearly defined. Unfortunately, in such cases, CX's interpretation prevails. You can however cite it and see what the agent will say, though.

https://www.fti-ticketshop.ch/filead...XFLY20_FAQ.pdf does hint (last FAQ) the inability to change between different fare types.[/code][/code]

Thank you so much for the detailed info!!

Best,
Chan J :)

In terms of changes, I think it’s easiest to think about it this way: changes are free and unlimited so long as you keep the same individual segments, stay within the parameters of the fare rules (min, max stays, advance purchase, and the booking inventory, such as E). As such, CX is essentially just revalidating the existing segments to be new days/flights. Any other changes to the ticket may cause a change in the fare (you’d pay the difference between the fare you paid and the new fare), BUT you won’t have to pay the additional fixed “change fee”, such as USD100. If a pax wants to do a reroute (for example, new origin, destination, connecting points, etc, then the pax might need to pay the difference in fares (if the new ticket is higher priced), but won’t need to pay the fixed additional service fee (Ie, reroute fee).