avoiding aa expedite fees

[yare]

i'm about to book an award ticket for sunday and i'd like to avoid the $100 fee.   i know you used to be able to book it for a few weeks out and then change it to earlier and not pay the fee.   does anyone know if this still works?   

[aussiebochur]

Yes.
What cities are O/D?

[yare]

jfk/mia.     is there any problem if i book it online and then change it to earlier right away?  will they give me problems?

[Dan]

jfk/mia.     is there any problem if i book it online and then change it to earlier right away?  will they give me problems?

Rule of thumb is to wait until it says ticketed on aa.com
YMMV.

[YOSEF]

Yes, you have problems.

You first need to wait for it to ticket, not just be "purchased", and then you can change it. Otherwise they will just cancel the whole thing for free.

(It usually only takes a few hours to ticket)

[yare]

k, thanks.

[yare]

is there any reason why this wouldn't work when booking ly with aa miles?

[elig770]

is there any problem if i book it online and then change it to earlier right away?  will they give me problems?

in december i asked a aadvantage rep strait up about booking a later date and switching to the same day. she told me its allowed but you can only change it once it says "ticketed" which usually takes about 30 min but can take up to 24 hours so i might not get out that day. i got my conformation email 30 min later and called up and changed it to then next flight out that day no problem. i did it again last week and had no problem.

[elikay]

@elig770
That was a STUPID thing to do! Don't ask don't tell!!

[elig770]

it was a complicated situation... i needed to make sure it would work. they were glad to assist me and told me it was 100% legit...

[andrew]

Rule of thumb is to wait until it says ticketed on aa.com
YMMV.

will that happen with just a reservation hold or only if you purchase the ticket then make the switch??

[Yordai Dooma]

will that happen with just a reservation hold or only if you purchase the ticket then make the switch??

only once its ticketed...have done this numerous times.

it can sometimes take hours for it to be ticketed. I once had it take like 12 hours and i had to change it for the next day. I called and they wouldnt push it through...a supervisor took care if it for me

[yare]

it was a complicated situation... i needed to make sure it would work.

that's the rationale every deal-killer uses.  bottom line, never talk to the airline/company/etc. about these things.  if you don't want to pull the trigger because you're unsure, suck it up and take your loss, but don't risk closing it for everyone else.   and even if your guy told you it's 100% legit, if it's brought to their attention too much i'm sure it won't be around long.

[danielz]

in december i asked a aadvantage rep strait up about booking a later date and switching to the same day. she told me its allowed but you can only change it once it says "ticketed" which usually takes about 30 min but can take up to 24 hours so i might not get out that day. i got my conformation email 30 min later and called up and changed it to then next flight out that day no problem. i did it again last week and had no problem.

Danielz discussed it with them openly. They all know about it.
I asked the guy why he doesn't suggest it to people.  He said that far he won't go, but he totally helped me do it.
A different lady refused to ticket the original ticket after I asked about dates the next week, and then told her to ticket me some time out in the future.
This was years ago.

[The Travelin Man]

When changing the award ticket, can any AA member do this, or must you be an elite to make the change with no fee?

[Yordai Dooma]

When changing the award ticket, can any AA member do this, or must you be an elite to make the change with no fee?

Anyone can