One of the nice parts of an American Airlines award ticket is the flexibility that comes with it. As long as you change or cancel your trip before departure, your AAdvantage miles get reinstated to your account, and you’re free to book another trip soon after.
The amount of time it takes for AAdvantage miles to come back to your account may vary. Typically, miles will get redeposited to your account immediately, if not within minutes.
Additionally, any fees associated with the award ticket should also be refunded to your original form of payment. But unlike the miles themselves, this takes 1-3 days, sometimes longer.
My Experience
Speaking from my experience, miles get reinstated to my account instantaneously. This is great, because this allows me to essentially book backup flights while I’m searching for better options, or even trips that I’m not 100% sure on (“I might have to go to X city on this day, but I’m not sure yet. I’ll just book this for now, just in case”). Changing destinations and schedules is just as simple.
For example, I recently had a flight booked with miles from Los Angeles to Boston, but I wanted to change my destination to New York. All it took was simply cancelling the Boston flight, and my miles came back to my account immediately as I booked my New York flight.
Remember that it may be helpful to put your replacement flight on hold first before cancelling your original award ticket. Some premium cabins on partner airlines, for example, are extremely competitive and get taken in a matter of hours, or even minutes. It’s a good idea to place a ticket on hold, then cancel and rebook.
It can be a process and take some effort, but this is how I’ve booked many of the sweet spots of the American Airlines AAdvantage program. As a frequent traveler to Japan, I’ve gotten great value for booking premium cabins on Japan Airlines many times. Booking premium cabins on the airline’s other partners, such as Qatar Airways and Etihad, will also allow you to redeem AAdvantage miles for tremendous value.
Related: The Best Sweet Spots for Redeeming American Airlines AAdvantage Miles
With all of that said, there are a few occasions where miles may not automatically be redeposited. According to users on FlyerTalk, this is often marked by a message stating that an email has been sent with a ticket number, and to call American Airlines.
I personally have never had to encounter this issue, but it just highlights the importance of placing a new flight on hold first, then cancelling/rebooking.
Bottom Line
When cancelling an American Airlines award ticket, your miles should be reinstated immediately, if not within minutes. Some passengers have noted rare occasions where American will ask you to call to cancel and reinstate the miles.
In any case, it’s best if you place your new flight on hold before cancelling/rebooking.
All photos taken by the author.
