AA Refund?

[Keacc]

Has anyone ever got a refund due to extenuating circumstances from American? On their website it says: "We understand that many extenuating circumstances can affect a passenger's need for a refund. If you feel that you have such circumstances associated with your refund request, mail all documentation supporting your request to the address below."

I purchased 7 tickets for myself, my wife, 3 sons, daughter-in-law and grandson for an Orlando vacation on December 27th thru January 3rd. We just found out that my oldest son and his wife will be expecting their second child on December 26th. Therefore, they and my grandson will not be able to come with us. I would like to get a refund or at least a voucher for their tickets. I hope that American will do so.

 

[sam_gordon]

Has anyone ever got a refund due to extenuating circumstances from American? On their website it says: "We understand that many extenuating circumstances can affect a passenger's need for a refund. If you feel that you have such circumstances associated with your refund request, mail all documentation supporting your request to the address below."

I purchased 7 tickets for myself, my wife, 3 sons, daughter-in-law and grandson for an Orlando vacation on December 27th thru January 3rd. We just found out that my oldest son and his wife will be expecting their second child on December 26th. Therefore, they and my grandson will not be able to come with us. I would like to get a refund or at least a voucher for their tickets. I hope that American will do so.

Congratulations! And I wish you luck with American. *I* would qualify that as "extenuating circumstances", especially if you booked the tickets before the pregnancy was known to the couple. If you just booked last week however, I might not be as forgiving.

This is such a specific case, I'll be very surprised if anyone has had a similar case to give you any hard advice.

 

[Greysword]

The good news is that (at the moment) American has good customer service, so they may be willing to work with you. However, you'll likely need to pay the change fee per ticket, which seems to have recently been increased to $200 from $150.

In the end, it can't hurt to ask.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

When my family was unable to fly on American Airlines due to a medical situation, I was able to apply the cost of the tickets to a future American flight (within 12 months of the original ticket purchase) for a change fee of $150 per person plus the difference in the fare. I had to do this twice in one year. Neither case was due to pregnancy, but both cases were medical. Getting a full refund or even getting a refund with a $150 per ticket penalty were not options.

American would not waive the change fee despite the medical reason for the change and even though I have Platinum elite status with American.

American's Help page for refunds is at https://prefunds.aa.com/refunds/help.asp

Here's a key excerpt from that page:

Non-Refundable Tickets:

Nonrefundable tickets generally cannot be refunded. However, exceptions may be available under the following circumstances:

• Death of the passenger, immediate family member, or traveling companion.
• Schedule changes implemented by American Airlines.
• In addition, certain illnesses may be considered if your ticket involves international travel, which includes travel to or from the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.

Be sure to read the rest of the page.

Go ahead and submit your request to American. I wish you success. However, be prepared to receive a reply that your ticket is nonrefundable, citing the same bullets that I quoted above.

In the future, one way to prevent this risk is to purchase travel insurance at the time that you buy your tickets. Also, American now lets you avoid change fees if you book the Choice Essential option. For a modest fee, you get No Change Fee, Priority AAccess, and a Checked Bag.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

I don't think you're going to get them to refund you, but they will most likely offer you a credit for a future flight for a period of time (AA I believe is 12 months) minus a change fee (the full amount will be credited, but when you go to use it, they will deduct the change fee - $150 - $200 in most cases).