AA non refundable fares?

[happy cruzer]

So I have booked two AA tickets with non refundable fares for Sept., fully knowing that I might have to change or cancel that far out. I would like to see the fare rules but I can't find them online anywhere and they did not email them with my purchase confirmation.

 

Do I have to call to find out the details? I really would like to see something in writing. I would like to know the details about costs associated with changes? Deadlines to make the change etc.

[grandma*knows*best]

You can get this information on their website:

 

http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/changereservation.jsp

 

http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/sameDayTravel.jsp

 

http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/FAQs/reservations_FAQ.jsp

 

If you knew you would have to make changes, it might have been better to book refundable tickets. The change fee is $150 plus any difference in the new fare.

[greatam]

So I have booked two AA tickets with non refundable fares for Sept., fully knowing that I might have to change or cancel that far out. I would like to see the fare rules but I can't find them online anywhere and they did not email them with my purchase confirmation.

 

Do I have to call to find out the details? I really would like to see something in writing. I would like to know the details about costs associated with changes? Deadlines to make the change etc.

 

Is this a domestic or international trip? Varying fare rules mean different change fees.

 

IF you booked your ticket on AA.com, in the box that shows trip details is a link to YOUR ticket's fare rules. This is shown just before you enter payment details. Click on it and you can read (and print out) the entire fare rules. I have no idea how to "go back" if you didn't look at them before you purchased your tickets without calling AA and incurring a charge.

 

You can read about changes. You can even change tickets online now. Start here:

 

http://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/changereservation.jsp

 

More complete rules and info (I was surprised you can purchase AA tickets on Western Union-you learn something every day)

 

 

http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/FAQs/reservations_FAQ.jsp#s1q19

 

PLAN on $150 change fee for most domestic tickets. $250 for international tickets. That is pretty standard for most AA economy fare tickets with restrictions.

 

IF you are going to use the residual value after change fee, you MUST book your new ticket no later than 364 days AFTER you PURCHASED your ticket, NOT the date of your flight. Residual value is only good for one year after date of purchase or will be lost forever.

[happy cruzer]

Thank you, I saw those parts of aa's website. but it does not seem to clearly state the $150 change fee until you enter a change to make. And I guess I would be left assuming I could make a change up to flight check in time?

 

I am looking for the generic fare rules. And the reason I may make a change is there is a chance to qualify for some low cost classes at a community college near me so that would more than compensate for just throwing the entire tickets away but I will not know for sure for a couple of months. So this is all a good problem to have :).

[greatam]

Thank you, I saw those parts of aa's website. but it does not seem to clearly state the $150 change fee until you enter a change to make. And I guess I would be left assuming I could make a change up to flight check in time?

 

Yes you can change up to flight check in time. Tickets have varying change fees depending on the underlying fare rules. But generally $150 for domestic tickets.

 

 

I am looking for the generic fare rules. And the reason I may make a change is there is a chance to qualify for some low cost classes at a community college near me so that would more than compensate for just throwing the entire tickets away but I will not know for sure for a couple of months. So this is all a good problem to have :).

 

There are NO generic fare rules. Each ticket category has SPECIFIC fare rules. Even discounted tickets on the same plane in economy class can have VERY different fare rules. Choice Air/EZ Air, any kind of bulk purchase package travel generally has FAR different fare rules than buying a heavily discounted, lowest fare bucket ticket direct from the airline.

 

Since you missed the opportunity to read and print out the fare rules for YOUR ticket when you purchased (if on the AA website), the only option I know of now is to call AA and PAY for the info.

[happy cruzer]

All righty then :0

 

I did read it but I did not print it, lesson learned.

 

So 150 fee to change plus additional charge up till check in time, is info I can use.

 

Thank you!

[silkismom]

There is a good possibility that there will be a schedule change, in which case, I believe you can cancel w/o penalty.

[toberman]

Jeez... I thought you had a job!! ;)

You spend far too much time on this board... Kidding - Love your advice and knowledge. (And others on here as well)

[kenish]

There is a good possibility that there will be a schedule change, in which case, I believe you can cancel w/o penalty.

 

Untrue....non-refundable means exactly that. The only exception might be if the airline ceased or severely cut flights at the originating or destination city, with no way to reroute or change to a reasonably close alternate airport. Someone no doubt has an experience with an airline allowing cancellation after a schedule change but it would be a rare exception that can't be counted on.

 

The Contract of Carriage for most airlines state they do not have to get you to your destination at any specific time, or even date. They also say that published timetables and schedules are for reference and convenience only, and are not binding in any way on the airline.

[greatam]

Jeez... I thought you had a job!! ;)

You spend far too much time on this board... Kidding - Love your advice and knowledge. (And others on here as well)

 

No job-just a darn good time trying to make a living. They always say if you love what you do, you are very lucky. So I consider myself VERY VERY lucky.

 

Yesterday morning, I was sitting in my office at the warehouse listening to the forklifts and the drivers bang around loading the last trucks leaving NY. Plus signing paychecks as my admin got them ready. Give me a break. I need a little bit of diversion from dealing with the myriad problems of keeping everyone in this company on the right track. LOL

[happy cruzer]

Now it's getting time to decide what to do with these non-refundable tickets.

 

It turns out that I can travel at dates my tickets are good for. I just don't have the cruise reserved at this time. So I am exploring options.

 

One option that I am considering is using the outbound ticket as is and trying to return earlier. The tickets cover a two week round trip period DFW to Seattle. I am leaning to just a one one week trip.

 

So will AA fly me standby on the return with no change fee??

 

Another choice is to just cancel and book another flight next spring. Do I have to know the flight that I want to book now? Or can I just get a credit for the residual value after the change fee?

 

Thanks everyone.

[jsmeeker]

when you say earlier, do you mean earlier that same day or an actual day prior to the ticket date?

 

You may be able to do a free same day standby for an earlier flight. Changing to a different day? That's gonna be a change. if you have a ticket than incurs a change fee, you will have to pay the change fee PLUS any potential fare difference.

 

 

In the future, you may look into booking a Choice Essential or Choice Plus fare if you are flying AA. These are fares that actually have no change fee. They DO cost a bit more than the cheapest fare, but not by as much as the $150 change fee. If you think there is a decent chance your plans may change and you need to change the day(s) of your flights, this can be a good option.

[Budget Queen]

There is very little stand by space in Seattle. Loads especially now are over 95%. I agree there will likely be a fee if you want to leave days earlier.

[Gardyloo]

So will AA fly me standby on the return with no change fee??

No, and flying standby on AA from SEA is a terrible idea.

 

Another choice is to just cancel and book another flight next spring. Do I have to know the flight that I want to book now? Or can I just get a credit for the residual value after the change fee?

AA will take out the change fee and allow you to apply the balance of the ticket value to an identical itinerary (e.g. SEA-DFW, not SEA-ORD-DFW) within one year. You will almost certainly pay more for the new ticket than you did the current one, so after the price increase plus the change fee you're likely to be out a fair amount of scratch.

 

What is the fare basis of your existing ticket? Part of the problem with option (a) is that it's unlikely there will be any seats available in that fare bucket a week earlier than your schedule, which would bump you into the next higher available fare class, which could also cost an arm and a leg, plus the change fee.

 

I think it's best for you to phone AA and give them the particulars and your revised needs. They can see the fare basis, availability on alternative dates, and tell you how much the various options would cost out of pocket.

 

A third option is for you to count up the fare changes and change fee and see how it compares to just ditching the return and flying home one way on some other airline. I'm certainly nobody to advocate "throw-away tickets" (the term for only using the first half of a round trip) but sometimes the numbers make it an easy choice. Don't make a habit of it or they might be interested in you down the road, but people have flat tires every day.

[PennyAgain]

There is very little stand by space in Seattle. Loads especially now are over 95%. I agree there will likely be a fee if you want to leave days earlier.

 

I have flown a great deal lately and every single flight was FULL. No empty seats at all.

 

In the gate area prior to my broading the airplane a few people were given the seats of no show passengers but they were all people who had connection problems not standbys as such.

[jsmeeker]

What is the fare basis of your existing ticket? Part of the problem with option (a) is that it's unlikely there will be any seats available in that fare bucket a week earlier than your schedule, which would bump you into the next higher available fare class, which could also cost an arm and a leg, plus the change fee.

 

There COULD be at this point. it's really variable. When in September? that could be up to six weeks out. It's possible that there may be some available on SOME flights. I've seen it myself with lower level booking codes on flights exLAS that were a on a day other than what I booked when I checked a week or so prior.

 

Of course, situations like this are very fluid. Something available NOW might be gone tomorrow. If he is really serious, and wants to look NOW, he could spring for a free trial to Expert Flyer. Do a search. Setup an alert.

 

 

There CAN be standby space available. Even last minute, people change plans. Or they mis-connect. Or just miss flights. This can free up seats. Of course, they are most likely to go to people that have high levels of frequent flyer status or, as was suggested by Penny, have faced travel disruptions.

[Gardyloo]

There COULD be at this point. it's really variable. When in September? that could be up to six weeks out. It's possible that there may be some available on SOME flights. I've seen it myself with lower level booking codes on flights exLAS that were a on a day other than what I booked when I checked a week or so prior.

 

Of course, situations like this are very fluid. Something available NOW might be gone tomorrow. If he is really serious, and wants to look NOW, he could spring for a free trial to Expert Flyer. Do a search. Setup an alert.

 

 

There CAN be standby space available. Even last minute, people change plans. Or they mis-connect. Or just miss flights. This can free up seats. Of course, they are most likely to go to people that have high levels of frequent flyer status or, as was suggested by Penny, have faced travel disruptions.

All true, but (a) as a frequent flyer on AA out of SEA (EXP) I know AA is very aggressive on overbooking at SEA, particularly on routes where there's significant competition (especially ORD and JFK, two of the four destinations served by AA from SEA.) And (b) since this post is on Cruise Critic, I'm making an educated guess that the OP is talking about cruise season, i.e. before around 9/20.

 

Of course it's true that a standby seat might or will come open, but most flights I've boarded here have always left people sitting at the gate.

[Budget Queen]

I always fly standby. For revenue passengers, they are long on board before there is any seat assignments for standby. They also do not know, IF standbys are on the plane, or just latter boarding passengers. So, yes, certainly the flights are full, but the "full" may still have stand bys.

 

I have personally seen plenty of people approach the podium, I sit close by, asking to "stand by" for that flight. Their ticket is looked at, then told about the "fee" or that there is no standby space and take their regular flight, flight is full etc. I have gotten on those flights some times. IF you are going to stand by, you really need to be there early and there for the first available flight, also accepting of spending the entire day at the airport. :)

[jsmeeker]

Are you flying NRSA? Obviously, that's a whole different ball of wax. Not the case here since the poster has a paid revenue ticket.

 

Anyway, if we knew his booking code, and dates, we could tell. Maybe he can get lucky. For example, on 9/4, AA 1230 SEA-DFW departing at 11:40 PM shows as follows

 

F7 A7 P4 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 G7 S7 N7 O7 Q7

 

 

He could probably change to that flight if he wanted to pony up the change fee :)

[NMLady]

when you say earlier, do you mean earlier that same day or an actual day prior to the ticket date?

 

You may be able to do a free same day standby for an earliier flight....

 

After our cruise we arrived at the airport much earlier than expected so we asked about being placed on standby list for earlier flight. There was a $25 per person charge from AA to do this.

[Budget Queen]

Are you flying NRSA? Obviously, that's a whole different ball of wax. Not the case here since the poster has a paid revenue ticket.

 

Anyway, if we knew his booking code, and dates, we could tell. Maybe he can get lucky. For example, on 9/4, AA 1230 SEA-DFW departing at 11:40 PM shows as follows

 

F7 A7 P4 Y7 B7 H7 K7 M7 L7 W7 V7 G7 S7 N7 O7 Q7

 

 

He could probably change to that flight if he wanted to pony up the change fee :)

 

My point is, people come up to the gate agent and are then told the flight is "full" or told fees involved, most walk away. I have access to the actual loads. Which change quickly. I never bother listing for any flights until the night before, since a flight with 20 open seats the day before, can be oversold that night. :) I had to make several changes after getting off a ship in Boston, recently- a week before- no problem with what I listed (I do list the return ahead, in case of problems with internet access from a ship). There were 15 open seats, a week ahead- day of flight- oversold, with alternatives all in oversold as well. Loads of nonrevs. I ended up, enjoying the day in Boston and taking a nonstop that evening. This is especially the case with Seattle. I couldn't even get in there this year- with priority 1 boarding status. I went into Portland instead.

[happy cruzer]

Hi, The booking code is listed as Q on the email confirmation that I received.

 

I am thinking about the info everyone has provided and still deciding what to do. I appreciate everyone's help.

 

I did know that I might just have a throw away ticket when I purchased, it was an amount that I was willing to risk. No moaning and groaning here, just have to decide what to do.

 

Again thanks for the help/info.

[jsmeeker]

In that case, if you can find a flight on a different day with Q inventory, you should be able to change to it by paying just the $150 change fee. Just be aware that not all agents are as good as others and they may not look that hard for availability. Taking matters into your own hand and using tools to search for it your self is a good way to go. Find the flight, then call 'em and tell them which flight you want. You can get a free short term trial to Expert Flyer.

 

Remember, this isn't really "going standby" It's changing to a different flight and getting a confirmed reservation and seat.

[happy cruzer]

In that case, if you can find a flight on a different day with Q inventory, you should be able to change to it by paying just the $150 change fee. Just be aware that not all agents are as good as others and they may not look that hard for availability. Taking matters into your own hand and using tools to search for it your self is a good way to go. Find the flight, then call 'em and tell them which flight you want. You can get a free short term trial to Expert Flyer.

 

Remember, this isn't really "going standby" It's changing to a different flight and getting a confirmed reservation and seat.

 

If I find a Q fare and it is more expensive do I just pay the change fee or the change fee and the difference?

[jsmeeker]

If I find a Q fare and it is more expensive do I just pay the change fee or the change fee and the difference?

 

You just need the Q "bucket" inventory available to be able to switch to the the flight for just a change fee.