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Here’s how to cancel an American Airlines award without paying the $150 fee to reinstate your miles and cancel the award.
- Be an Executive Platinum canceling an award booked with miles from your account. The reinstatement fee is waived for Executive Platinums.
- Hope for a schedule change greater than 60 minutes on one of your flights, and call to cancel for free because the new schedule doesn’t work for you.
To help #2 along, when you are one month from departure, if you haven’t gotten the magic 60 minute schedule change, call to change your award to a later date for free. Change the award to a date as far in the future as possible. You are only limited by the fact that the new travel date must be within one year of the award’s original ticketing date. Now you have more time for a schedule change.
My Experience
I booked two awesome one way trips as one American Airlines award.
- Bangkok to Doha to Luxor with the first segment in Business Class on the new Qatar A380. (anatomy of an award)
- Cairo to Abu Dhabi to Washington DC with the second segment in First Class on the new Etihad 787. (anatomy of an award)
Combined these cost only 120,000 American Airlines miles, and I was excited to fly in ridiculous luxury.
Then I was invited to a wedding that made my trip impossible. Only a five minute change had been made to my itinerary since booking. (I did try to get a free cancellation for that change, but I had no luck.)
The flights were originally scheduled to begin April 30, 2015. Any changes made within 21 days of departure cost $75 to $150. But if you change an American Airlines award
- more than 21 days before your original departure
- your new flights are also 21+ days out
- you don’t change the cabin
- you don’t change the origin or departure
- you don’t change the airlines
- and you don’t change the award type (MileSAAver or AAnytime)
…your change is free.
My award had four flight segments, I searched for award space on those four segments as far in the future as possible. I started with my last segment and worked backwards. I found award space for all four segments in mid-February 2016 on the same routes in the same cabins of the same airlines. (Read the Anatomy of an Award posts linked above to see how I searched.) The only restriction on my new dates was that all flights have to be completed within one year of my original booking which was at the end of February 2015.
I called American Airlines and fed the agent my new flights by giving him the date, flight number, and cabin of each segment. He changed my itinerary for free and sent me a new confirmation email. Now I’ll wait.
If a schedule change is made, I’ll call to cancel for free. I’ll get my miles and taxes back. If no change is made, I’ll call in February 2016 and cancel. I’ll get my miles back but have to pay $150 minus what I already paid in taxes.
Right now I have plenty of American Airlines miles, but if I need these 120,000 desperately, I can always change my plan and cancel at any time for $150.
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Editorial Disclaimer: The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.
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What do you say when you call in after there’s been a schedule change? I mean, if your outbound flight leaves an hour later and you’re just flying say JFK-CDG, can you really make a case that your vacation is now ruined because you get to Paris one hour later and your week-long trip is in jeopardy? 🙂
I have a summer trip to Europe that I want to cancel and would love to know just how the conversation should go; thanks!
Just say: “Hi there’s been a schedule change. The new schedule doesn’t work for me.” That’s all there is to it. Don’t get into a debate with them about the severity of the change. It’s not really any of their business why it’s ruining your trip. I’ve also mentioned, “I never would have booked this schedule. You’ve change the flight times, and that’s punishing me. You changed the times. If anyone loses out, it should be you.” But that’s rarely necessary.
What do you say when you call in after there’s been a schedule change? I mean, if your outbound flight leaves an hour later and you’re just flying say JFK-CDG, can you really make a case that your vacation is now ruined because you get to Paris one hour later and your week-long trip is in jeopardy? 🙂
I have a summer trip to Europe that I want to cancel and would love to know just how the conversation should go; thanks!
Just say: “Hi there’s been a schedule change. The new schedule doesn’t work for me.” That’s all there is to it. Don’t get into a debate with them about the severity of the change. It’s not really any of their business why it’s ruining your trip. I’ve also mentioned, “I never would have booked this schedule. You’ve change the flight times, and that’s punishing me. You changed the times. If anyone loses out, it should be you.” But that’s rarely necessary.
Your new AA flights don’t need to be 21+ days out from the day you’re making the change. The rule is that the new flights need to be at least 21 days after the date of original ticketing. Much more flexible than the other legacies, which charge general members for any change (except Alaska, which allows free changes at least 60 days out).
Your new AA flights don’t need to be 21+ days out from the day you’re making the change. The rule is that the new flights need to be at least 21 days after the date of original ticketing. Much more flexible than the other legacies, which charge general members for any change (except Alaska, which allows free changes at least 60 days out).
This isn’t so much a trick as it is a lottery. I wonder if there are dates where there is a statistically higher chance of a schedule change.
I think my chances are above 50%. Etihad made huge changes to its North America schedule recently, but unfortunately my schedule wasn’t affected.
This isn’t so much a trick as it is a lottery. I wonder if there are dates where there is a statistically higher chance of a schedule change.
I think my chances are above 50%. Etihad made huge changes to its North America schedule recently, but unfortunately my schedule wasn’t affected.
If the original dates are at the off-peak rate, I’m assuming that you can’t switch to dates at the peak rate without putting more miles at risk, right? That’s my problem right now with a reservation in May that I can’t fly. It was ticketed last September, so I really have no way to push the dates back safely, do I?
If the original dates are at the off-peak rate, I’m assuming that you can’t switch to dates at the peak rate without putting more miles at risk, right? That’s my problem right now with a reservation in May that I can’t fly. It was ticketed last September, so I really have no way to push the dates back safely, do I?
Answering my own question – It doesn’t make any difference, since the eventual cancellation fee, if necessary to pay it, would be the same.
Answering my own question – It doesn’t make any difference, since the eventual cancellation fee, if necessary to pay it, would be the same.
are you referring to the AA Citi Executive Platinum card or something else? I contacted both AA and Citi to make a change as I have the Citi Executive Platinum credit card and was told I have to pay the change fees.
are you referring to the AA Citi Executive Platinum card or something else? I contacted both AA and Citi to make a change as I have the Citi Executive Platinum credit card and was told I have to pay the change fees.
I’m going to do #2 tomorrow. I had the same equivalent of a thing happen… I never have anywhere to go and a major event is taking place when I had an epic trip planned. I’m losing real money though too. I assume exec plat. Is not “having the card” but having the status. I was hopeful I could then get the card, but I “def” don’t have the status. I’m becoming very very fond of Southwest due to their no fee cancellation when booked with points.
Bummer!
I’m going to do #2 tomorrow. I had the same equivalent of a thing happen… I never have anywhere to go and a major event is taking place when I had an epic trip planned. I’m losing real money though too. I assume exec plat. Is not “having the card” but having the status. I was hopeful I could then get the card, but I “def” don’t have the status. I’m becoming very very fond of Southwest due to their no fee cancellation when booked with points.
[…] Airlines account, so I was only given the option to hold the award. (Why don’t I have 50k? I have 120,000 miles tied up in an award I want to cancel, but I am waiting for a schedule change to…, and I just booked a 90,000 mile award to fly Etihad First Class on its A380 from India to the […]