Well, this is a new one, folks. I’ve mentioned before that you have to really watch your canceled award reservations made via AAdvantage program. Usually the miles are reinstated instantly, or at least within an hour or two. But not always, and I’ve had to contact AA via Chat or Twitter in the pursuit of my missing miles.
I’m not sure if it’s an IT bug, but it certainly is an annoyance. Still, since AA program offers free cancellations on mileage tickets, I’m comfortable using it for speculative reservations. This summer we are supposed to meet my family in Poland. Back when I booked my award tickets to Europe, I wasn’t sure which country would be our final destination. I’ve explained the reasons before, but it’s mainly due to visa issues for Belarus citizens.
Turkey doesn’t require my relatives to obtain visas, so this country was my Plan B. No disrespect to Turkey, of course, it’s just a more expensive option compared to meeting my family in Poland. Anyway, I went ahead and used 50k AA miles on four economy award tickets from Antalya to London on British Airways. We are supposed to be in London anyway, and I figured I might as well secure the tickets while there is award availability.
As it turns out, most of my Belarus family should be able to cross the border to Poland, so that’s where we will be going to as well. Since I already bought the flights to/from Krakow, I figured there is no sense in hanging on to my award tickets from Turkey to London. Canceling was simple enough. But then I checked my account and noticed that only 25k miles were refunded instead of 50k. Hmm..
I gave it an hour, but nothing changed. So, I went ahead and reached out to AA team via Twitter. I’ve said before that even if you absolutely detest Twitter (and I don’t blame you), it makes sense to have an account just for these types of issues. The reps are usually pretty good about responding in a timely manner. Of course, if it’s a time-sensitive issue, you may have no choice but to reach out by phone or via Chat.
As expected, I got a response fairly quickly:
That didn’t sound right, but I went ahead and waited until the next morning. Sure enough, no miles appeared. So, I contacted the AA team again and this time they went ahead and processed the re-deposit of my missing 25k miles.
Final thoughts
It is a very odd issue, and something I’ve never encountered before. All of our award tickets were on the same reservation, so why the partial refund? Anyway, I was made whole in the end, so it was just a minor nuisance. But it goes to show that you need to keep track of your miles and points.
I’ve had instances where my Hyatt points were not re-deposited after award cancellation and I had to reach out to customer service to sort things out. If you have a ton of points, you may not notice the discrepancy. Which is why it’s crucial to check your account before and after cancellation is complete.
It’s definitely annoying, but it’s all part of the game we play.
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
@Nun Very odd!
This happened to me and the rest showed up automatically a day or two later
@Lynn I’ve never experienced a partial AA refund, so it was a surprise.
I agree, it’s Definitely a plus that at least they aren’t charging cancellation fees.
I’ve also only received half back once before. I usually receive all back when canceling online, but are those times I don’t and have to call. I should be using X! Still happy they haven’t changed back to fees for cancelling!