American Airlines Flight Change Policy

For those wondering how to chnage to American Airlines, here's what you need to know to make it a success.

American Airlines Response Policy

Like many airlines, American Airlines has offered more flexibility to travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as restrictions began to loosen, it has adjusted its change and cancellation policies.

Currently, the American Airlines flight transfer policy is as follows:

There are no transfer fees on all domestic, short-haul international and select long-haul international flights, as long as you are not flying Basic Economy.

Initial economic costs purchased are non-refundable and non-transferable.

This includes flights on standby if you wish to take an earlier flight to the same destination on the same day on any domestic flight.

How much does it cost to replace an American Airlines flight?

The good news for travelers is that, in most cases, it won't cost anything to change to an American Airlines flight. Please note that you will have to pay any additional fees for your new ticket.

You can use the value of your ticket towards the new fares and you can also change the origin and/or destination of the ticket. If the new fare is less than the purchase fare, you can use the difference in value for a future flight.

American's change fee waiver does not apply to international flights originating outside of North and South America. The only exception is basic economy airlines originating from Asia; these do not change.

How to change my flight to American Airlines

For flights booked with cash

Transferring your eligible American Airlines flight that you paid for in cash is easy. You can access your flight purchase by logging into your American Advantage account or by entering your name and a six-digit text pager at aa.com.

Once you have selected the flight you wish to change, go to Change Trip and follow the instructions to select a new flight. You can also choose to cancel your American Airlines flight.

For flights flown with points

Converting an American Airlines award flight follows a slightly different process. You generally cannot transfer an award flight online; instead, you will need to contact the reservations department.

There is no transfer fee for multiple American Airlines flights, although you will need to pay any additional miles owed for your new flight. If your new flight costs fewer American Advantage miles, the difference in miles will be credited back to your account. If you've used miles to upgrade a flight, you can also transfer it free of charge by contacting reservations.

One major difference is that American currently has three different types of award tickets: Anytime, MileSAAver, and Web Special. Web Special award flights are usually the cheapest flights, but are non-transferable.

However, in practice, this isn't a big deal because you cancel your free award flight (including special Web awards), restore your miles, and then use the miles to book the flight of your choice.

American recently announced that it will discontinue MileSAAver and Anytime fares, as well as its 2023 Adult Facility Updates.

Final Thoughts on Replacing Your American Airlines Flight

The recent improvements in the transfer policies of American Airlines and other national airlines are excellent news for travelers. Many airlines have significantly loosened their change and cancellation policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, and American is one airline that continues to allow travelers to change.

American Airlines does not charge a transfer fee for most American Airlines flights, and most non-Basic Economy flights and Web Special award flights are transferable. You will have to pay the difference in fees. If your new flight's fare is lower than your old flight's, you'll get the difference as a travel credit to use on a future flight.