epicurus

last time I cancelled a UA ticket purchased through TY website on United.com, within 24 hours of booking, then call Citi to get the point back, no problem.

today when I called TY center trying to cancel a UA ticket I purchase this morning, I was told there is a $35 per ticket fee charged by the TY travel agent.

is this true or just an ignorant CSR?

Happy

May be there is new rule? Is there any information on the site regarding the cancellation fee at the time of booking?

When was your "last time" booking?

epicurus

Not too long ago... about 3 months

Happy

I were you I would go back to the site and do a dummy booking - i.e. not finalize it, but scrutinize the site to see if there is any mentioning of the agency cancellation fee.

EDIT:

Here is what mia has found, on another thread related to TYP booking (thru Spirit).

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18918429-post99.html

In any event, here is the policy as a starting point:

Quote:
Airline tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-CHANGEABLE unless permitted by the terms of the fare and are subject to airline rules, penalties and fare difference. A $35.00 per ticket service fee for domestic flights and $50.00 per ticket service fee for international flights will be collected by CLTS for all exchanges, modifications, or cancellations, in addition to airline penalties and fare difference.

philemer

Did you read the FAQs here? https://www.thankyou.com/help.jspx

Middle_Seat

From the FAQ:

travelinfoo

I booked a ticket via TY site with points + cash 5 weeks ago. The T&C specifically say that points are non-refundable in the event of cancellation AND there is a TY fee for any changes to the original ticket in addition to any fare differences and change fees from the airline.

I had been doing dummy bookings for 1 month prior to finally booking. The T&C have been consistent as above during that time (about 2.5 months before this weekend). I never saw any wording about TY points being refunded.

TY does NOT have a refundable 24 hr grace period after booking and also states no refund of the points used (price of the old ticket will be applied to a future ticket less all airline fees).

Since you cancelled via United last time, can you do the same this time?

Happy

The poster was complaining about a $35 fee claiming the CSR is ignorant.

It seems clear there is a TY fee imposed on top of the airline's own cancellation fee and fare difference. The TY points are also not refundable.

Based on the T&Cs posted here, I am not sure who is the one being ignorant.

May be if cancellation directly done with airline, there is no TY cancellation fee but then airline may charge a fee "to take ownership" of the booking which is not originally booked thru the airline direct. If the OP was not charged such a fee, he was lucky because my experience was, CO charged such a fee for "agency booking" before it would do anything on the ticket. Most of the CO rules / practice have been UA rules now based on what have been reported after 3/3.

cnc1246

hi - brand new to this forum, so not sure if this is the right location to post this...

i booked a flight earlier this week using my thankyou points plus some cash. turns out i need to reschedule the flight.

upon calling citi travel, they told me in order to get the points back i will need to pay a $185 fee. the value of the points i am trying to recoup is around $400-$450 (~34,000 miles i think).

does anyone know a way to get around this, or somehow minimize the fee?

thanks so much!

mrkymark

Why dont u call the airline...
- take over the ticket (control away from TYP travel agent)
- then reschedule/ pay cash reschedule fee
- or ask for refund of balance minus change fee in airline voucher?

I would not personally deal with TYP after the fact as they are sure to mess something up.

jjmiller69

Once the ticket has been booked I would think all the changes have to go through the Airlines. So I would also call the airlines for any changes. Good luck.

cnc1246

just spent half an hour waiting to speak with someone from american and they told me to call citi. sigh.

Happy

Basically either way you would be out of at least $150 fee because that is the ticket change fee on non-refundable domestic tickets.

You have 2 options:

1) go with what Citi told you - essentially you are paying the $150 + $35 - $150 Citi would pay the airline, $35 is the administration fee. Not unreasonable.

2) call AA back and ask if they can take over the reservation from the travel agency - this would cost $25 in the past. Not sure how much it is now. Sometimes the agent may forget to charge it but that is the fee if it is charged.

Then you can either change your ticket by paying the $150 or simply cancel the itinerary - the value would be kept by the TICKET NUMBER, (NOT the PNR), and is good for one year from the date the ticket is issued, NOT your travel date. When you book a new itinerary against the canceled ticket, the $150 would be deducted first, and the residual value would then compare to your new ticket's price - if not enough, you pay the difference, if there is still residual value, you get an AA paper voucher.

If it were my ticket I would go for 2).

kyunbit

I booked a ticket yesterday using Citi Thank you points. The prices have dropped since then. I am within the 24 hours period, so I wanted to cancel and rebook. However Citi told me there would be a $35 fee even if I cancel within 24 hours.

Is this true? Does anyone have any experience in waiving it?

FlyingBoat

I have been trying this with American as well. They have no idea what I am talking about when I ask if I can take over the ticket and pay a fee. They say only the travel agency can do anything about it. They said this is a bulk ticket bought at discount and they don't even have a price on it at American.

Seems there is conflicting information here. Some are saying points cannot be returned and others are saying Citi said they would return points minus their and the airlines fees.

Citi's own terms don't seem to make a lot of sense.

"Quote:

If I cancel my flight, will I lose my ThankYou Points?

Once an airline ticket reservation has been booked, cancellation is not permitted and the points will not be returned. Only one change to the travel booking may be allowed and the ticket value will be applied to a future purchase with the same airline, less the applicable change fees and the possibility of a fare difference."

So if I cancel and points are not returned, how would I apply the ticket value to a future purchase with the same airline, less the applicable fees? It sounds like what they are referring to here is a voucher.

I will be calling Citi to see what can be done. It looks like with American that is the only option.

Edit: Called Citi

I called TYP and they got me to the "Exchange Department". Here is what they told me. I can Cancel the ticket and $200 plus their $50 will be deducted. American will hold that credit on this ticket and Citi can book a ticket using that credit for travel which completes one year from time of original booking.

I asked if this is a voucher. He said it is not a voucher, there is no physical voucher. And unlike a voucher it cannot be applied to someone else, it can only be used on him.

I had hoped to get a travel voucher so I could perhaps apply the funds to someone else or extend them by buying a fully refundable ticket and then cancelling them which would get me another 12 months on a new voucher. Perhaps they could do that with this as well, but I am not sure? I am thinking not, due to their "one change" statement above.

Problem is, the person I bought this ticket for cannot take off from his new job now, and I am concerned he wouldn't be able to take off from his job by 6/15/14 either, and can't envision any travel plans he would be wanting to go on anyway in particular for the cost of the $600 which will be left on this ticket.