American Airlines - change fee

[maxaroni]

I may be missing it, but can’t seem to find how much it would be to change an already ticketed flight to another day. I am presuming it is $200 per ticket but saw something (not on AA site) that indicated foreign travel may be higher. This would be PHL to Jamaica. DH suggested adding a day or 2 to our trip....Hmmm, I asked him specifically before we booked.

 

[bumbershoot]

Almost at the bottom: https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/optional-service-fees.jsp

200 domestic. Different internationally. But as far as I know, you pay the fee AND any difference in fare per ticket.

If the flight changes time by an hour or more-ish you can change with no fee. So hope for a time change. Makes it hard to arrange hotels, though.

 

[sam_gordon]

I may be missing it, but can’t seem to find how much it would be to change an already ticketed flight to another day. I am presuming it is $200 per ticket but saw something (not on AA site) that indicated foreign travel may be higher. This would be PHL to Jamaica. DH suggested adding a day or 2 to our trip....Hmmm, I asked him specifically before we booked.

Up to $750 for international. https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/optional-service-fees.jsp#ticketing.

I suggest calling to ask.

 

[Shanti]

I may be missing it, but can’t seem to find how much it would be to change an already ticketed flight to another day. I am presuming it is $200 per ticket but saw something (not on AA site) that indicated foreign travel may be higher. This would be PHL to Jamaica. DH suggested adding a day or 2 to our trip....Hmmm, I asked him specifically before we booked.

The change fees are killer, and yes, they are on top of any fare increase. I recommend booking a separate, refundable hotel reservation (even if it's at the same hotel you're at for the rest of the trip), for the 2 extra nights you want, and keep your fingers crossed that maybe AA will change your current flight itinerary enough to qualify you to cancel your original flight & rebook another. AA does change itineraries a lot (often without notice, so periodically log-on & check your reservation on their website), so this is a real possibility. The hotel would probably let you combine your two reservations into one at that point. If the flights don't end up changing, then you could just cancel the extra hotel reservation.

 

[maxaroni]

Thanks all.....

“Back in the day” it used to be fairly easy to make all sorts of changes. I know times change, evolve etc, and knew the change fees are part of life now. I will keep an eye on any changes that may occur. Last year we started out with a few extra days and day of departure home, on the plane, started to taxi out and back to the gate. Flight canceled and we staye another night. This year, DH said he didn’t want the extra days and now reconsidering. However, for that much money it’s hardly worth it. So, best hope would be a flight change.

 

[JimMIA]

AA does change itineraries a lot (often without notice, so periodically log-on & check your reservation on their website), so this is a real possibility. The hotel would probably let you combine your two reservations into one at that point.

This is exactly right, and it's priceless advice.

Do NOT assume you will be notified of a flight change, and if you are, don't assume it's a minor change. Check at least every month early on, and weekly as you get closer to departure.

We had a flight last summer where we got a notification a couple of months before our trip that the flight number had changed -- no mention of times. No big deal, I thought -- until I checked our itinerary. It was a different number all right -- but the arrival time in SFO changed from 1030 AM to 1115 PM. That's more than 12 hours later, and the loss of an entire day! Naw. I rescheduled without difficulty and without any charge.

 

[maxaroni]

This is exactly right, and it's priceless advice.

Do NOT assume you will be notified of a flight change, and if you are, don't assume it's a minor change. Check at least every month early on, and weekly as you get closer to departure.

We had a flight last summer where we got a notification a couple of months before our trip that the flight number had changed -- no mention of times. No big deal, I thought -- until I checked our itinerary. It was a different number all right -- but the arrival time in SFO changed from 1030 AM to 1115 PM. That's more than 12 hours later, and the loss of an entire day! Naw. I rescheduled without difficulty and without any charge.

Wow. Not good.

 

[JimMIA]

Wow. Not good.

It's neither good nor bad -- and it happens with all airlines, especially the larger ones. It's just part of the environment we're dealing with. It was easily and satisfactorily fixed, but the consumer must be aware of what they are doing.

 

[Shanti]

Wow. Not good.

Yes, American has almost always eventually changed the itinerary of flights I've booked with them far in advance. And they haven't been proactive about giving notice. So do keep checking.

 

[Lynn CC]

I had to switch one time for an International Flight back to the U.S. I called American Airlines directly. She charged me $100 change fee per ticket. The flight was less money on that particular day than I already had booked so I got a refund within 3 days on my cc. I'm sure it could go the other way too if the flight was more expensive on the day you would like to fly.

 

[Shanti]

I had to switch one time for an International Flight back to the U.S. I called American Airlines directly. She charged me $100 change fee per ticket. The flight was less money on that particular day than I already had booked so I got a refund within 3 days on my cc. I'm sure it could go the other way too if the flight was more expensive on the day you would like to fly.

That's a super-low change fee. They're typically no less than $200 pp for even domestic flights. Was that recent or several years ago?

 

[Lynn CC]

That's a super-low change fee. They're typically no less than $200 pp for even domestic flights. Was that recent or several years ago?

It was 2014, sometimes I think you can just get a sympathetic rep on the phone if your lucky.
I’ve had great luck with AA in difficult situations in the past.

 

[Shanti]

It was 2014, sometimes I think you can just get a sympathetic rep on the phone if your lucky.
I’ve had great luck with AA in difficult situations in the past.

Yes, they've doubled their fees since then. It doesn't matter what rep you get, you're paying $200 minimum pp for a change unless it's their issue or you had a flexible ticket. I was even booked first class on them once and was still quoted that, because my ticket wasn't flex.

I'm not saying American is bad. I have had some good experiences with them. They will change or cancel without charge if it's due to their itinerary change & not yours. I also love how you can put a reservation on hold for free for a day!

 

[Lynn CC]

Yes, they've doubled their fees since then. It doesn't matter what rep you get, you're paying $200 minimum pp for a change unless it's their issue or you had a flexible ticket. I was even booked first class on them once and was still quoted that, because my ticket wasn't flex.

I'm not saying American is bad. I have had some good experiences with them. They will change or cancel without charge if it's due to their itinerary change & not yours. I also love how you can put a reservation on hold for free for a day!

Oh I didn’t know they doubled the price.
Is the reservation 24 hr. Hold so you can hold the price but search for a better price elsewhere? Just trying to think of instances where I might want to use this option.

 

[JimMIA]

Oh I didn’t know they doubled the price.
Is the reservation 24 hr. Hold so you can hold the price but search for a better price elsewhere? Just trying to think of instances where I might want to use this option.

Yes, it's a 24 hour hold, including holding seat selections. For me it's really helpful if I am booking something that is tentative depending on other people, hotel availability, etc.

 

[maxaroni]

We were a US Airway hub, so now AA. We do happen to fly AA more than anything else. Had a couple of issues in the past that we felt were taken care of more than adequately. I figured it would be at least the $200 per ticket to change plus fare increase, if applicable. Then saw something that foreign was higher but couldn’t find it on the AA site. I knew right off the bat that it wouldn’t be worth to change and told DH that. It’s nice that he wanted to extend it but think before we book. LOL.

Years ago, my parents took 3 weeks to go the Caribbean, 3 separate islands. They got to one, stayed a night, decided they didn’t like it at all, no clue what all the issues were but they decided to fly to another island. No problem with airlines, no extra fees. Another year, we were in St. Maarten and decided to add 2 days, no problem, no additional fees. I think my DH is living “back in the day”....LOL.

I have no issues with the parameters of all of this as things have changed and as long as you are aware of things when you purchase the ticket. I think DH was just trying to do something nice and forgot how it has all changed.

Another thing about how times have changed. My friend had a couple of hour layover at PHL, back in the day we could have gone to see her, meeting her at the gate. Not anymore as I wouldn’t want to have her need to go through TSA again, nor would there be time.

Oh well, it’s all about adapting to the evolving travel fun!

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm not sure of American's policy, but even if they change the flight by a couple hours, are you allowed to change DATES with no charge?