Airline Award Ticket Change and Cancellation Policies

Since award availability can vary substantially over time, it’s often necessary to book award flights months in advance to secure your seat. This can be particularly true for business- and first-class awards. With such a long period between when you book versus when you actually fly, it’s easy for your plans to change.

In some cases, you may end up needing to change a flight award. Or, even worse, you may need to cancel your flight and request your miles be returned to your account. To make matters more difficult, award ticket change and cancellation policies differ greatly across airlines.

Fees to change or cancel your flight can range from free — for the likes of American and Southwest, and several others — up to a draconian $200 per ticket for international Avianca LifeMiles award flights, or more depending on when you cancel an Etihad Guest award.

Many programs have changed for the better over the past few years, much of which is owed to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, airline change and cancellation policies tend to be much more consumer friendly than they were before 2020. For example, Delta previously charged $150 to redeposit miles from a canceled award ticket. Now, across the board, U.S. carriers have eliminated change and cancellation fees for most itineraries.

Still, there is a lot of variation among carriers. With such a wide array of policies in play, we've compiled the award change and cancellation policies into the table below as a convenient reference. We’ll do our best to keep this post updated as policies change, but we link to each airline's policy so you can double-check.

Award Ticket Change and Cancellation Policies

Before we dig into the details, it’s important for you to note that each frequent flyer program features rules and exclusions unique to that program. A common way to avoid change and cancellation fees is to hold elite status, although this won't always save you from paying fees.

We've summarized the key change and cancellation policy terms but also linked to the official program terms for each airline if you need to investigate further.

Remember that these fees apply to voluntary changes. You are often entitled to a free change or ticket cancellation if the airline changes the schedule significantly or changes the aircraft/route.

Southwest never has any change or cancellation fees. Credit: Brandon Karaca/Unsplash

Aeromexico Rewards

• Change fees: 
  • Domestic itineraries: 1,070 MXN (~$56 USD)
  • International itineraries: 1,930 MXN (~$100 USD)
• Cancellation and redeposit fees:
  • Free within 24 hours of booking
  • Domestic itineraries: 1,930 MXN (~$100 USD)
  • International itineraries: 2,900 MXN (~$150 USD)
• Exceptions:
  • Change fee waived for Titanium elite members if the change is made 21+ days prior to departure.
• Close-in fees:
  • No close-in booking fee.
• Other fees:
  • Ticketing fees of ~$15–38 USD (charged in MXN), depending on the channel used.
• Policy webpage

Aer Lingus Aer Club

• Change fee:
  • £35 per ticket (~$46 USD)
• Cancellation fee:
  • £35 per ticket (~$46 USD)
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Other fees:
  • £15 fee for booking via chat or phone instead of online (~$20 USD)
• Policy webpage

Air Canada Aeroplan

• Change fees
  • Up to 2 hours before departure:
    • Standard tickets: CAD 100 (plus taxes) per direction, per ticket (~$73 USD)
    • Flex and Latitude tickets: Free
  • You must change at least two hours before departure or the ticket is forfeited. Points from forfeited tickets cannot be reinstated.
• Cancellation and redeposit fees:
  • Standard award: CAD 175 via contact centre or CAD $150 online (plus taxes and fees)
  • Economy Flex award: CAD 125 via contact centre or CAD 75 online (plus taxes and fees)
  • You must cancel at least two hours before departure to avoid ticket forfeiture. Points from forfeited tickets cannot be reinstated.
• Exceptions:
  • Change and cancellation fees are waived for Aeroplan Super Elite members
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Air France–KLM Flying Blue

• Change fee:
  • $51 per ticket for classic awards. €70 for Promo Rewards plus possible fare difference.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • $51 per ticket for classic awards. €70 for Promo Rewards.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Note:
  • Previously Flying Blue Promo Rewards couldn't be changed or canceled. However, Flying Blue now allows changes to Promo Rewards for a €70 fee plus fare difference.
• Policy webpage

Credit: Air France

Air New Zealand Airpoints

• Change fee:
  • Flexichange and flexirefund: $0
  • Other other fare types: $50 NZD
  • Changes must be made prior to departure. Otherwise a $50 refund fee applies to a refund made for a no-show.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Free for flexirefund fares
  • Tickets are non-refundable for all other fare types
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

• Change fee:
  • Alaska allows free changes, with two exceptions:
    • Saver fares cannot be changed
    • Ticket must be changed prior to departure or it's forfeited
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Alaska allows free cancellations and redeposits, with two exceptions:
    • Saver fares cannot be canceled outside of 24 hours from the time of booking.
    • Ticket must be cancelled prior to departure or it's forfeited
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Other fees:
  • Nonrefundable $12.50 per one-way itinerary for partner awards. Nonrefundable $15 fee if you book using the call center.
• Policy webpage

American Airlines AAdvantage^®

• Change fee:
  • None; changes aren't possible (for most awards, at least)
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Free as long as you cancel before scheduled departure
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Credit: Forsaken Films/Unsplash

ANA Mileage Club

• Change fee:
  • Free, but changes must be at least 96 hours before departure
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Deduction of 3,000 miles
  • Ticket must be canceled prior to the first flight on the itinerary
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Asiana Club

• Change fee:
  • $30 or 3,000 miles, although this appears free for domestic Korean tickets
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • 91 or more days before departure: No fee
  • Within 90 days of departure: 3,000 miles or $30
  • Domestic awards: 500 miles or 5,000 KRW
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• No-show fees:
  • 12,000 miles or $120 for economy, or 30,000 miles or $300 for business class.
• Policy webpage

Avianca LifeMiles

• Change fees:
  • $210 — only date changes allowed
• Cancellation and redeposit fees:
  • Single-region: $50
  • Multi-region: $200
  • Some awards are completely non-refundable
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Other fees:
  • $10–25 award ticketing fee on award tickets
• Policy webpage

British Airways Avios

• Change fee:
  • Forfeit the taxes paid on your award or pay $55 per ticket
  • Note: This means it only costs $5.60–$11.20 to change or cancel a domestic award in the U.S.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Forfeit the taxes paid on your award or pay $55 per ticket
  • Must cancel minimum 24 hours prior to departure
• Exceptions:
  • Award ticket change and cancellation fees waived for Executive Club Gold members. Service center fee of $25 applies if you do so over the phone.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Credit: Steve001/Pixabay

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

• Change fee:
  • Online: $50 or 7,500 miles
  • Additional fees if changed through other channels or changing more than just a flight date
  • No fees if changed or canceled within 24 hours of booking
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • $120 USD or 17,000 Asia Miles — must submit request through an online form
  • Ticket must be completely unused to be eligible for miles redeposit
  • No fees if changed or canceled within 24 hours of booking
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Delta SkyMiles

• Change fee:
  • Free for domestic itineraries and international itineraries originating in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean
  • Basic economy tickets, including awards, are non-changeable
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Free for domestic itineraries and most international itineraries
  • Basic Economy tickets can be canceled for a penalty assessed in SkyMiles — 9,900 for domestic itineraries, or 19,900 for international itineraries.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

EL AL Israel Matmid

• Change fee:
  • Specified during the award ticket booking process and prior to its purchase
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Specified during the award ticket booking process and prior to its purchase
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Emirates Skywards

• Change fee:
  • Classic Saver awards: $25
  • Classic Flex Plus awards: Free
• Redeposit fee:
  • Classic Saver awards: $75
  • Classic Flex Plus awards: Free
• Exceptions:
  • Fees waived for infants and in case of passenger death.
    • Must use call center to obtain fee waiver.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Etihad Guest

• Change fee:
  • AED 100 (~$27) for date changes
  • Date change is permitted more than 7 days before departure
  • Must cancel at least 24 hours prior to departure to get a refund
  • Route changes are not permitted; you must cancel and re-book
  • A $30 service fee applies to changes made through the call center.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • 21+ days before departure: Forfeit 25% of the fare (and it's confusing how it is assessed)
  • 8–21 days before departure: Forfeit 50% of the fare.
  • Within 7 days of departure: Forfeit 75% of the fare.
  • Within 24 hours of departure/no-show: Forfeit 100% of the fare.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Credit: Fabian Joy/Unsplash

Eva Air Infinity MileageLands

• Change fee:
  • $50 (can only change date, booking class, or origin/departure cities)
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • $50 if canceled prior to departure
  • $100 to redeposit after short-haul no-show (only $40 if to Hong Kong or Macau)
  • $150 to redeposit after long-haul no-show
• Exceptions:
  • Award ticket change and cancellation fees waived for all elite members.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Frontier Miles

• Change fee:

• Cancellation and redeposit fee:

• Close-in fees:
  • None outside of the “6 Days or Less” fees described in the change/cancel tables.
• Exceptions:
  • Change/cancel fees waived for elite members and Frontier credit cardholders for changes made 7+ days from departure.
  • Cancellation fee waived for Last Seat Award flights
• Notes:
  • Changes or cancellations must be made prior to your flight’s scheduled departure time.
  • If your new itinerary is lower in value than your original itinerary, there will be no residual value available to you once you have made the change.
• Policy webpage

Garuda Indonesia GarudaMiles

• Change fee:
  • 20% of award mileage
  • If change requires a reissued ticket, this costs another $20 through a Garuda sales office
  • Changes must be made prior to 4 hours before first flight departure
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • 20% of award miles deducted from total refund
  • Cancellation must be made prior to 4 hours before first flight departure
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles

• Change fee:
  • None, but subject the following:
    • Date/flight or reroute changes are allowed if there is an award seat available in the same booking class
    • You will be required to pay applicable taxes and fees
    • When an award ticket is combined with a non-award fare(revenue), the most restrictive fare rule will apply.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • None, but subject the following:
    • Changes and Cancellations are not allowed for “Main Cabin Basic” Fares
    • Tickets booked at least 7 days prior to departure can be cancelled within 24 hours of booking, including Main Cabin Basic
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Iberia Plus

• Change fee:
  • €25 for Blue, Premium Economy, or Business Class; €0 for Full Fare Economy
  • Changes are only permitted on flights operated by Iberia, Iberia Express, Air Nostrum, and British Airways and must be made 24 hours before departure
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • €25 for Blue, Premium Economy, or Business Class; €0 for Full Fare Economy
  • Cancellations are only permitted on flights operated by Iberia, Iberia Express, Air Nostrum, and British Airways and must be made 24 hours before departure
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

JAL MileageBank

• Change fee:
  • None, changes not permitted
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • ¥3,100 (~$22 US)
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

JetBlue TrueBlue

• Change fee:
  • Free for all fares except Blue Basic
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Free for all fares except Blue Basic
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Notes:
  • Blue Basic fares cannot be booked with TrueBlue points
  • Paying fare difference is required when making changes to an award ticket
  • $25 nonrefundable per-person fee when changing or canceling via chat or on the phone, instead of online
• Policy webpage

Credit: stevodisposable/Unsplash

Korean Air SKYPASS

• Change fee:
  • KRW 30,000 (~$23 US) for international flights
  • No change fees for changes to domestic Korean flights
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • If 91+ days from departure: Free
  • If 90 or fewer days from departure and within 12 months of ticketing: 3,000 miles
  • If beyond 12 months from ticket issuance (expired ticket): 10,000 miles
  • Reduced award ticket cancellation fees for Korea domestic flights
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

LATAM Pass

• Change fee:
  • Within Brazil: $60 or 6,000 miles
  • Within Chile: $40 or 5,700 miles
  • Within Colombia: $25 or 2,800 miles
  • Within Ecuador: $15 or 2,400 miles
  • Within Peru: $16 or 5,700 miles
  • Between South American countries: $75 or 9,400 miles
  • Between South America and U.S. destinations: $200 or 23,400 miles
  • All other international flights: $150 or 18,800 miles
  • Fees waived or Platinum, Black, and Black Signature elites
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Within Brazil: $65 or 6,000 miles
  • Within Chile: $60 or 5,700 miles
  • Within Colombia: $30 or 2,800 miles
  • Within Ecuador: $25 or 2,400 miles
  • Within Peru: $60 or 5,700 miles
  • Between South American countries: $100 or 9,400 miles
  • Between South America and U.S. destinations: $250 or 23,400 miles
  • All other international flights: $200 or 18,800 miles
  • Fees waived or Platinum, Black, and Black Signature elites
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Other fees: 
  • Call center booking fee of $50 (between South America and other continents) or $30 (within South America)
• Policy webpage

Credit: Lukas Souza/Unsplash

Lufthansa Miles & More

• Change fee:
  • Standard awards: €50 per person (applies only to date and time changes; other changes require cancellation)
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • €50 per ticket
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Qantas Frequent Flyer

• Change fee:
  • 5,000 points
  • Change must be completed at least 24 hours prior to departure of the first flight
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • 6,000 points
  • Cancellation must be completed at least 24 hours prior to departure of the first flight
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Other fees:
  • Additional fees are assessed if changes are made via a Qantas call center
• Policy webpage

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

• Change fees:
  • More than 24 hours from departure: $25
  • Between 3 and 24 hours before departure: $100
  • Changes can't be made within 3 hours of departure; only taxes are refunded
• Cancellation and redeposit fees:
  • More than 24 hours from departure: $25
  • Between 3 and 24 hours before departure: $100
  • Cancelations can't be made within 3 hours of departure; only taxes are refunded
• Exceptions:
  • Fees waived for Gold & Platinum Elites for tickets in their name. Tickets of passengers on the same reservation as a Gold or Platinum elite will be charged the standard fees.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

SAS EuroBonus

• Change fees:
  • Short-haul SAS Bonus tickets: €25/$25
  • Long-haul SAS Bonus tickets (destinations outside Europe): €75/$75
  • Award flights must be changed at least 1 hour prior to departure
  • No fees for SAS Go Pro, SAS Plus Pro, and SAS Business Pro tickets
  • 650 SEK (~$64) change fee for other ticket types
• Cancellation and redeposit fee: 
  • Full refund (no fees) for SAS Go Pro, SAS Plus Pro, and SAS Business Pro tickets
  • SAS award flights must be canceled at least 1 hour prior to departure
  • Partner award flights are fully refundable, but refund must be completed at least 24 hours ahead of the first flight on the itinerary.
  •  SAS Plus Smart (only for flights within Europe) and SAS Bonus tickets can be refunded for a fee
• Other fees:
  • Additional fees may apply if rebooking through other channels, depending on the change and your level of elite status
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Credit: J.T. Genter/AwardWallet

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

• Change fee:
  • Date change only (Singapore- and Silk Air-operated flights)
    • Saver award: $25
    • Advantage award: Free
  • Route, cabin class, or award type change fee (Singapore- & Silk Air-operated flights): $25
  • Partner-operated flight changes: $50
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Saver: $75
  • Advantage: $50
• Other fees:
  • If you no-show a flight, an additional charge to redeposit is levied:
    • Economy, per ticket: $100
    • Premium economy, per ticket: $200
    • Business or First, per ticket: $300
  • Service fee of $25 or 2,500 miles if booking via phone or in person
• Close-in fee:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Spirit Airlines Free Spirit

• Change fee:
  • None, but subject to points difference
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • None
• Close-in fee:
  • None
• Notes:
  • Changes can be made up to 1 hour before departure.
  • Cancellation must be completed prior to departure.
• Policy webpage

Starlux COSMILE

• Change fee:
  • No change fee for all award flights
• Cancellation and redeposit fees:
  • First class within Asia: $120
  • Other cabins within Asia: $50
  • Long-haul first class: $200
  • Long-haul other cabins: $50
• Note:
  • Cabin changes aren't allowed. No-show fee of $200 for first-class and $100 for all other cabin classes.
• Close-in fee:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Southwest Rapid Rewards

• Change fee:
  • None
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • None
• Note:
  • As a revenue-based program, you'll pay the award cost difference upon canceling and rebooking.
• Policy webpage

TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go

• Change fee:
  • Domestic flights with no change to departure date: 25 EUR/USD
  • Domestic flights with a change to departure date: 50 EUR/USD
  • Continental flights : 50 EUR/USD
  • Intercontinental Flights: 75 EUR/USD
  • Partner Flights: 150 EUR/USD
  • Upgrades with miles: 50 EUR/USD
• No-show fee:
  • Domestic flights: 130 EUR/USD
  • Continental and Intercontinental flights: 130 EUR/USD
  • Partner flights: 150 EUR/USD
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Continental flights: 75 EUR/USD
  • Intercontinental flights: 75 EUR/USD
  • Upgrade with miles on TAP and partner flights: 75 EUR/USD
  • Partner flights: 100 EUR/USD
• Note:
  • Elite members may be exempt from or subject to reduced fees.
• Policy webpage

Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles

• Change Fee:
  • Türkiye domestic flights: TRY 150 (~$4)
  • International itineraries: $70
  • Note that some awards seem to still have lower change fees through the call center (e.g. $25 for domestic United awards booked with Miles & Smiles)
  • Must change prior to departure.
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  •  Türkiye domestic flights: TRY 150 (~$4)
    • If you no-show: TRY 200 (~$6)
  • International itineraries: $70
    • If you no-show: $150
  • Note that some awards seem to still have lower change fees through the call center (e.g., $50 for domestic United awards booked with Miles & Smiles)
• Policy webpage

United Airlines MileagePlus

• Change fee:
  • None
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • None
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Note:
  • If you no-show, you can redeposit miles for a $125 fee. Phone and ticket office fees apply for bookings not made online.
• Policy webpage

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

• Change fee: 
  • £30 for flights departing the U.K. and $50 for flights departing the U.S./other international locations
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • £30 for flights departing the U.K. and $50 for flights departing the U.S./other international locations
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Policy webpage

Credit: Jimmy/Pexels

Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer

• Change fee: 
  • Virgin Reward Seats, Virgin Australia domestic flights
    • Must be 24 hours prior to scheduled departure of the flight segment
    • 4,500 points or $35 per passenger; fare differences may apply
  • Partner Reward seats, Virgin Australia international flights
    • Must be 24 hours prior to scheduled departure of the flight segment
    • 7,500 points or $60 per passenger; fare differences may apply
• Cancellation and redeposit fee:
  • Virgin Reward Seats, Virgin Australia domestic flights
    • Must be 24 hours prior to commencement of the first flight in the reservation
    • 4,500 points or $35 per passenger; fare differences may apply
    • Refund amount excludes booking- and credit-card fees
    • Guests who check in but do not fly are not eligible for a refund or credit
  • Partner Reward seats, Virgin Australia international flights
    • Must be 24 hours prior to commencement of the first flight in the reservation
    • 7,500 points or $60 per passenger; refund amount excludes booking- and credit-card fees
    • Guests who check in but do not fly are not eligible for a refund or credit
    • Bookings made at least 7 days prior to departure may be cancelled up to 24 hours after confirmation, without penalty.
• Close-in fees:
  • None
• Note:
  • Fares that combine a Reward Seat (saver award) with an Any Seat (more expensive awards with last-seat availability) will be subject to the most restrictive change and cancellation rules of the two fare types
• Policy webpage

Final Thoughts

Comparing the North American airline award ticket change and cancellation policies with those from the rest of the world, U.S. carriers have surprisingly become some of the most consumer-friendly. Airlines in the Middle East and Asia are generally easy on the wallet, too.

There are only a handful of carriers that will really stick it to you if you need to change or cancel an award, with Etihad Guest and Avianca LifeMiles being two of the worst programs if you need to modify or cancel an award ticket.

If you miss the award change cutoff and it looks like you’ll be out of pocket, check the travel coverage on the credit card you used to pay the award ticket's taxes and fees. Importantly, you may already be covered under your card’s complimentary travel insurance. Worst case, you should look to use the best credit card for incidental travel fees. This is because it could be the fastest way for you to minimize the hit to your wallet.

If you have any questions about the policies above or want to see another program's award ticket change and cancellation policies added to the list, reach out via the comments below.

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