American Airlines has quietly updated its (formerly) generous policy when it comes to 24-hour refunds for tickets that are booked last minute, as flagged by View from the Wing. This is worth being aware of, as American now just complies with regulations, rather than going above and beyond in this area…
In this post:
American no longer allows free 24-hour refunds close to departure
Under Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, airlines are required to give passengers the option to refund a ticket for free within 24 hours of booking, assuming that they book at least a week in advance. However, many airlines have actually had a more generous policy than necessary, intended to put people at ease when they book a ticket.
Up until now, American has allowed passengers to cancel flights for a full refund within 24 hours of booking, as long as they were ticketed at least two days before departure. Now that policy has been updated, so you can only get a full refund when you book at least seven days before departure. That puts American exactly in line with the regulations.
Let me emphasize that this policy is about cash refunds to the original form of payment. As before, many types of tickets still quality for a travel credit that can be used within 12 months of the original date a ticket was issued.
As you can see, American has updated its customer service FAQs to reflect this change:
If I cancel my trip within 24 hours of purchase, can I get a full refund?
This content can be expanded You have 24 hours from the time you first buy your ticket for a refund if you booked at least 7 days before departure. The 24-hour refund policy applies to all ticket types, but you have to cancel the trip to get a refund. If you bought your ticket through a travel agency or another booking source, contact them for a refund. Reservations booked as part of group block do not qualify for the 24-hour refund.
The alternative to booking last minute tickets with flexibility
As mentioned above, American is now just following regulations. American has long been extremely generous when it comes to both refunds and ticket holds, on both revenue and award tickets. So it’s hard to be too mad at American, though it definitely eliminates one of the areas where the airline was more customer friendly.
Among the major US carriers, Delta continues to have the most generous policy in this regard, as the airline gives you that flexibility even until the day of departure. So if you book a Delta ticket the day before a flight, you can cancel it within 24 hours for a full refund.
If you are flying American and aren’t sure if you’ll be able to take the flight, you can always book through an online travel agency that allows passengers to cancel within 24 hours for a refund, even close to departure. You’ll want to check with the individual online travel agency, but this is a policy that you’ll find on sites like Expedia.
Bottom line
American has updated its policy for ticket refunds within 24 hours of booking. Up until now, you could get a full refund if you canceled a ticket within 24 hours of booking, as long as you were ticketing at least two days in advance. With this update, the window has been increased to seven days, in line with regulations.
This is of course a disappointing change, and definitely something to be aware of. If you aren’t sure about whether you’ll be able to take a trip and don’t value a trip credit, then it could make sense to book those last minute tickets through an online travel agency.
What do you make of American’s 24-hour refund policy update?
Despite the loss of functionality this means for me if other airlines like UA adopt it, I understand and would roll out the same if it were me.
People basically use this loophole to do all sorts of shady things like book in order to get into lounges and then cancel the ticket, hold places so they can game the upgrade, etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if award tickets start to have restrictions too.
i do find it interesting that this is an instance of AA leading the way on capturing value for shareholders, even as DL lags behind. not the pattern that the conventional narrative would suggest, of course (which is why it's interesting) but possible that it's yet another signal confirming the first material rev strategy shift for AA in ages
I hope AA treads lightly. They have a poor inflight service, awful on-time statistics, and bad IT relative to the competition. One of the things that keeps me loyal to them is that, unlike the competition, their policies are generally reasonable. If they start trying to mirror DL and UA in their policies, but not in their reliability and quality, I'll be left with no reason to remain loyal.
That sux. I used to book last minute on multiple tickets whenever i became 95% convinced my flight was about to be canceled but not know what the best option would be. Because once the flight is canceled the prices would skyrocket.
and this is likely, in part, why AA did what they did.
you can still book through expedia for same day cancelation.
Actually, AA is going beyond the DOT requirements. They're only required to either offer a 24 hour hold or an outright refund, but not both, but they do.
They tightened the window from 2 days to 7, that's all.
Everyone is crowing about how negative this is and there’s no denying it’s a negative change, but I have to wonder what the actual numbers are of people booking and canceling within 2-7 days. It can’t possibly be a huge number of passengers. Plus, with no change fees it’s not a sunk cost, worst case is a travel credit unless you [stupidly] book basic economy. At least the days of a $200 fee for so much as THINKING about changing your ticket are over.
A lot of people used to game lounge stays with last minute tickets and then cancel once they get into the lounge. We can't have nice things
That wouldn’t apply in this case because the minimum ticket cancel period for a refund was 2 days... Even so, with no change fees you could do that if you don’t mind getting a travel credit. I hope that’s not a widespread problem; based on the fact Admiral’s clubs are usually pretty full but not PACKED like DL Sky Clubs, I’d guess not. However, as you say if that becomes a persistent problem we will no longer have nice things.
lol America’s slogan should be let’s make America even worse.
American working their way to becoming a premium airline again!
Just don't take the flexibility of their miles booking or I will be completely out on them.
So much for AA's talk about becoming more premium.
I hate these all or nothing changes. Would be nice if they made it one hour to cancel if within a week. Plenty of people make a mistake in booking such as selecting the wrong day and don't realize until the confirmation email pops into their inbox. Would be nice to have some option for a refund due to a mistake like that.
Also, I always think the 24 hour policy should be reciprocal. Airlines should have 24 hours to cancel tickets in the event of a mistake fare.
I'm open to your one-hour rule for within 7 days. However, one caveat for your "Airlines should have 24 hours to cancel tickets"... add 'just' 24 hours, as-in, after that time, they can't 'correct' their mistakes (like, after that, you get to keep the 'sweet deal').
yeah, that's what I mean. If you book a really good deal 4 months out, the airline has 24 hours to say "oopsie, it was a mistake fare" otherwise they are stuck with it.
I like it, Tom. Good ideas!
It would be nice to have functional IT systems that don't glitch out and ground the entire fleet
Just don't take away the 24 hold. It gives me the ability to lock in a great first class fare and adequate time to move things around without stressing. If I can't I just cancel the hold.
As a Concierge Key, you should be able to do whatever you want, no?
CKs generally book fully refundable F class tickets anyway
Good point, mark. So, maybe, George was lying, and just feigning outrage, this whole time... *gasp*
This one does not and I can tell you most CK do not. I've never booked a fully refundable F fare in my life. You do realize that CK is based upon LPs not just dollar spent? Maybe (and 1990) not speak on what you do not know.
George, I wish you'd take your own medicine, sometimes, because all you seem to do on these blogs is sane-wash, apologize for, and promote right-wing pro-industry talking-points that harm most workers and consumers. So... wanna be more specific about what you 'do know,' like, who you 'batting for,' sir?
Once again, AA is cooked. Not as bad as jet blue, but they’re working towards circling the drain as well.
Jerry... Jerry... Jerry... (I can't help but chant it, even though I disagree with your hot-take.)
Use points/miles as a workaround. Can cancel as long as it is before the check-in cut-off/scheduled departure time. Otherwise, the 24-hour rule is actually one area where existing US regulations are actually better than UK, EU, and Canada's baselines; though, many airlines there also honor the 24 hours after booking. However, many foreign airlines do not, so always good to note before booking.