General award ticket change/cancellation/redeposit/fees questions [2015-2016]
 

Am 1k and am wondering whether can cancel an award ticket 5-6 hours before the actual flight?

Yes!

How close can I cut it? 1-2 hours even?

yes and after the flight also (aka -- be a no show). The only limitation is the ticket must be used within a year of original purchase to avoid redepositing miles.

Great. Thanks. Guess can also redeposit for free as 1k even after flight time

OK

Doesn't it state a star alliance award ticket change must be made 24 hours before departure.

For ANA it says 4 days.

Isn't a cancellation a change to your itinerary?

What happens if you don't follow this rule?

thanks

Yes but these restrictions are not enforced in practice.

No, a cancel is a cancel. Different fees, different rules.

HAHA. OK. I guess until someone sitting in front of a computer in some foreign country decides they want too.

Your question was about cancels within 24 hours and the answer is, no, you are wrong, there is no 24 hour restriction on cancelations. Cancels are not changes.

A separate question is whether UA will make changes to an award itinerary within 24 hours of departure. They will, although it can get dicey with some carriers inside of 24 hours and there's a risk you wind up at the airport but without a valid ticket.

So I can cancel ticket but not redeposit and do the rebook later option <5 hours before flight correct?

1. As a 1K, why would you not redeposit? Is this a pre-deval award? If so, that raises its own issues.

2. You can try to book inside T-5. As mentioned in my previous post, if you're trying to book on a *A partner inside T-24, there may be problems getting the ticket issued in time. I wouldn't even try unless there was absolutely no other option.

1. Yes pre-decal. What issues does it raise?

2. Wouldn't reissue for immediate travel so that's not an issue

I am about to travel on a business saver r/t award to Asia, on UA and BR. I have learned I might be faced with a situation where I need to return home on short notice, earlier than planned.

What are my options in this situation? Does a saver class seat have to be available in order to travel in business?

Yes, you'd need to have saver space available on any flight you wanted to switch to. If that wasn't the case, everybody would book some random return date they didn't want (but was available as a saver fare) and then change once the trip started. I normally book as two one-ways so I'm not familiar with the mechanics of killing the return of a round-trip and then booking again. If you're below Plat elite level, you'll have some fees to pay.

Yes. The good news is that January is a great time to score business saver awards to and from Asia. Fee for changing the award within 21 days of departure is anywhere from zero to $100 depending on your status.

The cost to change an award is the same regardless whether it's booked as a OW or RT. "Killing the return" would be the wrong approach, as that will trigger a redeposit fee.