ATLpat

My work booked me a goofy BE award at low ATL FCO CDG MUC ATL.

I'm PM so I'm monitoring better options for ATL MUC. IF something better opens up, can I change just the outbound without impacting the price? Or, do I need to make sure the return stays low before making a change?

fti

You should be able to change just the segments in question, leaving the other flights as they are. I have done that more than once in the past when I had PM status.

ATLpat

Thanks FTI...keeping my fingers crossed that some better options open up

MSPeconomist

You'll need to call to do this. Before proceeding, try to assess the competence of the agent. Stress that you only want to change the particular segments without losing your low award space on other segments and instruct the agent not to touch the rest of the ticket. If something seems to go wrong, ask for a supervisor right away.

flyert

In a similar situation as the OP, but I have no status on Delta: I'd like to change the outbound segments of a Low Business award US to Europe on KL (12/2013), but leave intact the inbound segments on AF (4/2014)-- for which availability is now virtually impossible to find.

MSPeconomist's comment is very nerve-racking, suggesting that making an outbound change could end up canceling the inbound if the agent is not careful-- and once canceled, that award space is often impossible to reclaim.

So could some of you more experienced SkyMilers out there confirm:

1) can award tickets be partially changed without risk of losing segments, or as Delta's Fee chart implies, do changes always involve a risky cancel/redeposit/reissue scenario?

2) what about changes to award tickets made online (ie. when one clicks the "change" button on an existing, ticketed award?). Does this cancel and reissue the ticket, with the attendant risks of losing existing segments-- or can individual legs be safely changed?

Thanks for clarification on this rather crucial point, which I don't see discussed much!

suvayanr

If they are DL metal worst case a supervisor can forcibly open up Low again and you're fine. The trouble is with partner segments. If you lose one of those then you better be hoping it's still available in low.

flyert

Yes, that's the issue: all segments are on partner airlines (AF/KL), and none of the segments have award availability any longer.

Any of you experienced SkyMiles redeemers have good/bad experiences changing partner awards? Specifically, I should rephrase my two questions to emphasize "partner awards":

1) can partner award tickets be partially changed without risk of losing segments (ie. do changes involve a risky cancel/redeposit/reissue scenario)?

2) what about changes to partner award tickets made online (ie. when one clicks the "change" button on an existing, ticketed award?). Does this cancel and reissue the ticket, with the attendant risks of losing existing segments-- or can individual legs be safely changed?

(note I have no Delta status)

archrr

Bumping to see if anyone can answer these questions - I'm planning on booking a partner (VA) award with a return date earlier than actual (since it hasn't opened up yet) and call in to change only the return when it is available - any ideas if that is the right way to 'lock in' my outgoing dates? No status yet, but am fine with paying the change fees if that means I can lock in my outbound before the return opens up.

ATLpat

I was successful in changing one leg. I would only do this over the phone and be really clear that you don't want to redeposit and book a new flight, but you want to change one leg.

DaDaDan

I was able to make numerous segment swaps on VA without impacting other segments. Did it over the phone emphasizing I only wanted to change the subject flights and asking to confirm exact mileage before telling the agent to hit go. Worked fine everytime. SkyMiles statement reflected a full refund and new charge. However the receipt showed it as an exchange with form of payment as the old ticket number.

Long story short: Call, be very clear, and you should be good.

archrr

Thanks ATLpat and DaDaDan!

I've heard anectodally that it is much 'safer' if your changes involve just date changes, and nothing too complex (like adding/removing segments). Is this a well accepted guideline? Would I have too much trouble if I wanted to add a jaw/return segments to an award ticket if I only booked the outgoing the day it was available?

dd1612

Not true. I have made changes to the return portion of a Europe -USA award ticket many times .... changing carriers and departure cities or intermediate cities. Gone from a 1 or a 2 stop to a direct flight.

But the best way to do this is to call in and ask. Make it clear that nothing should be changed till you okay the change.

JPG3392

Do you mean that the return flight you want currently has no award availability or that it's too far in advance to book travel on your preferred date? If the latter, you need to make sure that the date is within the time frame permitted for a RT ticket (one year from booking, I think, but I'm not sure of the details).

archrr

Great point, thanks for mentioning that! The current T&C do state that "Award Tickets are valid for one year from date of issue." Thankfully it's only a two week trip so I should be fine since the return will open up 2 weeks before the end of the one year validity period...

... as long as they let me add a return to a one-way award without having to cancel and reissue the outbound, of course :P

JPG3392

DL does not offer one-way awards for half the miles (as AA and UA do). Your original post left the impression that you planned to book a RT flight and change the date of the return. There's some risk in all of this, of course, but booking a RT and later changing the return date seems safer than booking one-way for the full mileage and later attempting to add a return flight to your ticket.