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Update 11/10/2020: American Airlines eliminated all award ticketing and redeposit fees. That supersedes the policy noted in the post below.
Update 9/3/2020: American Airlines extended the waiver of change fees on awards to all awards ticketed by December 31, 2020 for any future travel date. This post has been updated to reflect these changes.
American Airlines just adjusted its award cancellation policy for the better. Now, members can cancel and refund award flights booked by December 31, 2020 without fees. After that, award flights within North America won't be subject to change/cancellation fees.
Fee Waivers on AAdvantage® Award Tickets
Here's American Airlines' extended policy:
- For award reservations made anytime before December 31, 2020, American Airlines will waive the award reinstatement or change fees. This is regardless of the date of travel.
- For awards ticketed on or after January 1, 2021, change and reinstatement fees will be waived if you’re traveling within the U.S. or between the U.S. and
- Canada
- Mexico
- Caribbean
- Puerto Rico
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- For long-haul international awards ticketed on or after January 1, 2021, change and reinstatement fees will be waived for all members when the change is made at least 60 days before travel. After that, the change fee will depend on when the change is made and the elite status of the member:
Even better, you may be eligible for an automatic mileage refund if you need to cancel. There were initially several restrictions to this new policy. But now, most members should be able to get a refund without having to call American Airlines.
Earn 75,000 Bonus Miles
In case you missed it, the Citi® / AAdvantage Business™ World Elite Mastercard® is currently offering a 75,000-mile sign-up bonus, one of the best offers available for American miles.
In addition to the 75,000-mile bonus, this card earns 2 AAdvantage miles per $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases, at telecommunications merchants, cable and satellite providers, car rental merchants and at gas stations. Plus, you'll get travel perks like a first checked bag free on domestic flights, preferred boarding and 25% savings on inflight purchases.
- Free checked bags for you and up to 4 companions on domestic itineraries
- Priority boarding to help you win the race for overhead bin space
- A 25% discount on inflight food, beverage, and Wi-Fi purchases
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on cable and satellite providers
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent at gas stations
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on select telecommunications merchants
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on car rentals
- Earn 2X miles for every $1 spent on eligible American Airlines purchases
- Earn 1X mile for every $1 spent on all other purchases
Final Thoughts
While travel is starting to pick up, there are a lot of travelers that are still heeding CDC guidelines to stay home. So, it's encouraging to see American Airlines extend its flexible change and cancellation policy for award tickets. This lets us book award flights well into 2021 without having to worry about cancellation fees if we can't end up traveling.
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