🤣 1716=351=6210 🤣 American Airlines Cancellation Policy in 2022 (Updated)
If you’re like one of the many millions of Americans with ruined or changed travel plans over the last year or so, then you’ve likely cancelled or changed a flight recently. And if you’re a regular American Airlines customer, then there are some policy changes you may want to keep up with for flying this summer in 2021.
Whether you want to cancel a trip entirely for a refund or reschedule it to a later date, you should know about your options when booking an American Airlines flight.
American Airlines Cancellation Policy
Here are the high level policy, terms and conditions for cancelling or changing a flight on American Airlines:
- The good news is that American Airlines allows full refunds on any ticket within 24 hours of booking it so long as you did this at least two days before your departure.
- Cancellations on American Airlines only apply to purchases made directly with the airline. If you purchased your ticket through a third party site like Expedia, Google’s flight matrix, or a travel agent, then you must contact that organization directly.
- If you purchased directly through AA.com, you may request a refund online or contact reservations at 1 (716) 351-6210.
- If you purchased a nonrefundable ticket that you will not be able to use, you may cancel the flight anytime before departure and use the value of the fare towards a future trip. The future trip must be within 365 days of the original.
- If you’re looking to change a flight due to the heat wave, your change fee will likely be waived. See section below for details.
AA Travel Alerts and Waivers June, 2021
If your city and/or destination has been affected by the extreme heat wave this June, then you may be eligible to change your ticket with the change fee being fully waived. Here is the current list:
If you’re traveling to / through / from:
- Billings, Montana (BIL)
- Boise, Idaho (BOI)
- Bozeman, Montana (BZN)
- Eugene, Oregon (EUG)
- Eureka Arcata, California (ACV)
- Idaho Falls (IDA)
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)
- Kalispell, Montana (FCA)
- Medford, Oregon (MFR)
- Missoula, Montana (MSO)
- Portland, Oregon (PDX)
- Redmond / Bend, Oregon (RDM)
- Reno, Nevada (RNO)
- Sacramento, California (SMF)
- Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC)
- Seattle, Washington (SEA)
- Spokane, Washington (GEG)
Your change fee is waived if you:
- Are traveling on an American Airlines flight
- Are booked in any fare class, including Basic Economy
- Bought your ticket by June 23, 2021
- Are scheduled to travel June 25, 2021 – June 29, 2021
- Can travel June 25, 2021 – July 02, 2021
- Don’t change your origin or destination city
- Rebook in the same cabin or pay the difference
Keep in mind changes must be:
- Booked by June 29, 2021
- Completed within 1 year of original ticket date; difference in fare may apply
To change or cancel, simply log in to your American Airlines account and find your trip. If it is eligible to be changed or cancelled, you will have the option to select “Change Trip” or “Cancel Trip” from the toolbar.
When you’re ready to rebook your trip, you can call Reservations at 800-433-7300 and easily do so. You will be asked to provide your ticket number, sent to you in an email when you cancel, and a six-character confirmation code or record locator. Reservations are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you’d rather receive a refund for your ticket than re-book it, you can cancel your trip online and ask to be refunded for any segments of your trip that you have not flown.
Paid AA Tickets You Can Change or Cancel
The method that you used to pay for your flight will determine whether this travel waiver covers your ticket.
As highlighted above, all customers are eligible to cancel or change a flight within 24 hours of booking it without penalty.
Refundable Tickets
Refundable tickets are fully refundable. The travel voucher is not necessary for these tickets.
You may change or cancel a trip at any time before your flight with a refundable ticket at no additional cost. You will then be given the option to receive a refund or rebook for a later date.Your refund may be issued in full to the original method of payment or to a travel voucher to be used on a future flight, if you prefer.
Non-refundable Tickets
Non-refundable tickets can be changed or cancelled in advance of a flight, but this is costly. A fee of $200 is charged for cancelled/changed domestic non-refundable tickets and a fee of up to $750 is charged for cancelled/changed international non-refundable tickets.
Award Tickets
Award tickets must be cancelled at least 60 days in advance to be eligible for fee waivers. Otherwise, your awards status will be used to determine what you will be charged, with the highest statuses offering the most flexibility and charging the lowest fees.
For example, if you cancel between seven and 59 days before a flight and you are a Platinum member, you will need to pay $75. If you cancel within seven days and you are a Regular status member, you will need to pay $150. Those with Executive Platinum membership do not pay any fees, no matter when they cancel. See this page for the full fee chart.
Elite Status
Also worth noting is that American Airlines has lowered their elite status threshold for 2021, making it easier to qualify for Gold, Platinum, Platinum Pro, and Executive Platinum status.
| Gold | Platinum | Platinum Pro | Executive Platinum | |
| Elite Qualifying Dollars | $1,500 | $4,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 |
| Elite Qualifying Miles | 15,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | 60,000 |
| Elite Qualifying Segments | 15 | 30 | 45 | 60 |
These changes are in effect for all of 2020.
Tickets Purchased With Credit Card Points
Any ticket purchased using credit card points will have the same change fees applied. There are no exceptions here currently.
That means that if you purchase a non-refundable ticket using credit card points, you will still be charged a change fee if you make changes to your flight. Likewise, if you make changes to a trip more than 60 days before scheduled departure and you have elite status, you will not be charged extra.
To change or cancel an eligible American Airlines ticket that you’ve already paid for, log in to your AAdvantage account and find the trip. You can get to this through the Your Trips / Check In section of the homepage. Select the View/Change option beside this flight.
Now, indicate whether you would like to change or cancel your trip by selecting the corresponding option at the top and follow the instructions from there. Your rebooking and refund options will be presented.
How to Get a Refund When You Cancel
As you might expect, it’s not easy to get a refund for cancelled American Airlines flights that are non-refundable. One of the only situations that qualifies you for a full cash refund is when the airline itself cancels your flight or changes the schedule significantly. If American cancels a non-refundable flight, it will try to reschedule another trip for you. If a change is made to your original schedule that prevents you from being able to take your flight, you might be able to ask for a refund.
For example, on March 21, 2020, the U.S. and Canada issued a travel restriction on all non-essential flights. At this time, many American Airlines passengers scheduled to fly at this time had their trips automatically cancelled by the airline and were eligible to receive their money back or reschedule at no cost.
How to Avoid Change or Cancellation Fees
The best piece of advice to offer for trying to avoid change or cancellation fees with American Airlines is to refrain from making same-day changes whenever possible. This costs most passengers, with the exception of those that have Executive Platinum or Platinum Pro status, $75. This is not refundable.
We know life happens and sometimes cancelling or changing trips is unavoidable even right up to your departure time. In this case, we recommend staying on top of all American Airlines travel alerts and updates for possible travel waivers.
Using Trip Credits
American Airlines has recently replaced eVouchers with Trip Credits. These are given to customers that have cancelled a trip in place of cash, and they are automatically generated by American Airlines. If the airline has to cancel your trip for any reason, you will most likely receive Trip Credit as compensation worth the full value of the cancelled trip.
To use your credits, find the email that was sent to you automatically when you were issued Trip Credit after a cancellation. Then, call Reservations and ask to use your Trip Credit. An agent will ask for the 13-digit code at the top of your email and you will be able to specify the details of your desired trip. If you are combining multiple credits, have each of their numbers ready. If your Trip Credit is not enough to cover the cost of your rebooking, you will need to pay the difference via credit or debit card.
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