American Airlines has ended its booking policy that allowed passengers buying a ticket as little as two days before departure to cancel and receive a full refund within 24 hours of purchase. It now follows the minimum legally mandated policy that other legacy carriers already defer to, according to CBS News.
American previously had one of the most flexible policies in America until now, with the exception of Delta Air Lines. Most US carriers have followed the US Department Of Transportation requirement for a 24-hour refund window for airfare booked seven days in advance of departure since it was instituted in 2012.
American Airlines Quietly Cuts Consumer Protections
American had a 24-hour hold system for many years before the DOT ruling passed over a decade ago. Only during the severe industry-wide impact of the coronavirus pandemic travel restrictions did the policy change. The airline made bookings fully refundable instead of simply an itinerary hold to reassure hesitant flyers during a period of volatile travel lockdowns. Now that extra protection has been removed.
Delta now stands apart from the rest of the industry. AA has fallen into the same camp as JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. The good news is, if you do require a last-minute booking change that is less than seven days before departure, AA will still give you a travel credit. The same is true for other carriers, with the key difference being in the change fees.
Basic economy travelers are the only exception, as the airfare is not refundable and non-changeable, according to Nerd Wallet. Main cabin airfare, on the other hand, has no change or cancellation fees for flights originating in North America. However, they will not refund your credit card. Instead, you will receive 100% of the value back as an American Airlines flight credit to use toward a future flight, usually valid for one year.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the most radical overhaul of airline change and cancellation policies in aviation history. In August 2020, United drastically altered its policy by eliminating change fees on standard economy and premium tickets. Within 24 hours, American and Delta matched the move to avoid losing market share. Today, legacies are rolling back this leniency to recoup lost revenue.
While main cabin tickets are still insulated, basic economy fares are exposed to fees that can reduce refund value to zero. American Airlines now allows AAdvantage members to cancel a basic economy ticket, but charges a $99 fee just to get back the remaining value as a credit. Non-members get nothing. United and Delta have virtually identical policies.
JetBlue also has a fee schedule with similar tiers, and while Frontier Airlines allows free changes within 60 days, that goes up to $99 afterwards. This has led to the rule of thumb that basic economy should be avoided entirely for travelers with potentially uncertain plans. Southwest remains the best bet for flyers that require the most flexibility in booking dates, as the airline has always had zero change fees and travel funds never expire.
What does this mean for the oneworld carrier’s passengers?
Third Party Extra Protection For Air Travelers
In lieu of refund protection from the airline directly, some credit cards have trip protection plans for qualifying emergencies, and booking platforms like Expedia or Priceline often offer additional refund protection for a fee. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture X will often cover the cost of canceled economy tickets if you are severely injured, encounter severe weather, or are called upon for urgent military duty.
The problem with travel insurance or add-on protections is that generally a main cabin airfare is going to be cheaper and more flexible by comparison. In most cases, booking basic economy and then also taking out a protection policy is going to cost more in total and also have more restrictions on rebooking. A third-party service will also not allow you to change the flight, but rather you have to simply cancel and rebook entirely.
Since the major airlines have streamlined all of this for main cabin tickets, as American has, it is unlikely to be a good value to pursue any other arrangement in most cases. Meanwhile, if you are opting into a luxury experience in business or first class, the options are far more generous, but it is important to ensure you select a refundable airfare at the time of booking.
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