Hi, I probably have to cancel a ticket I booked on Orbitz. I was told that I can cancel directly with AA, and AA confirmed this.

The ticket is JFK-Buenos Aires.

AA is telling me that they can issue a credit for a year, which I can use for a future ticket -- minus change fee of $150. The remainder can be issued as a voucher that's transferrable.

Orbitz seems to tell me that I can only change the ticket and must supply new travel dates.

So I think I'm better off cancelling with AA.

Am I missing anything? I assume that you guys are frequently more knowledgeable than some of the phone reps. Please let me know what my best options are. Thanks!

I believe the AA agent was wrong. You will need to deal with Orbitz to take care of any changes.

Are you sure? Both AA and Orbitz said that I could cancel directly with AA.

I haven't cancelled anything yet becaues I'm aware of this kind of Rashomon effect that different phone reps can tell different stories.

We can debate this all day long, but the best solution is to actually follow up with either party once you decide which way you want to go. Only then you will get the REAL answer.

I still believe the agent(s) were wrong, but I have been wrong myself before and I'm sure I will be wrong again in the future.

Ok, let me think about it. Maybe someone else has some experience he/she cares to offer? Thanks.

Actually say I call AA, and AA says I can cancel and can give me the credit. But later when I want to use it, I can't because it wasn't kosher for them to cancel.

Could I end up in a situation like this? I guess that's what I'm trying to avoid.

How does the rebooking normally work? What sorts of things/assurances should I get when I cancel so that I can be sure that I can access the $ later?

Thanks.

If you do call AA and they do cancel the ticket for you, then it's not a problem.

Just make sure you keep the ticket number, NOT the reservation code. The reservation code (6 letter code) gets recycled within few days and nobody can find it ever again. The ticket number will stay in the system for a year. The AA ticket number starts with 001 and is a long number. Keep it in a safe place until you are ready to make a new reservation.

In my experience, the airline would direct the passenger/customer to the Travel Agency who issued the ticket.There are always exceptions to the rule.Now, I am not liking what Orbitz told you.Most of my travel is on AA, and I have never heard of "instant rebook".It is true with Delta, that if you change an international ticket, it must be rebooked on the spot.Not sure where AA came up with the $150 change fee.That is for a domestic ticket, as most international change fees begin at $200 and go up.In any case, take notes.Safeguard the ticket number.And best of luck.Just a thought, but if a family illness is the reason you are having to cancel, you may be in luck for a refund.

Thanks. I'll try to cancel directly with AA first.

Unfortunately it's not an illness of any kind -- more a shakeup at work -- and I don't think it looks good for me to be on vacation for a week.

I'll report back to let you know if I successfully cancel with AA.

I've just cancelled directly with AA. And I've online that the reservation is cancelled already.

This agent confirmed what the one had said earlier. There'll be an amount I can use for a future ticket (the change fee is $200 in this case, I think). If I don't end up spending more than that amount then the remainder will be issued to me as a voucher -- which can used by me or someone else or even to pay luggage fees.

She said to make note of the ticket number (which I have) and said that the record locator number would go away (as AAFF said). But she also said that there should be a record under my AAdvantage number.

Just to add to this, I've applied some of the credit of this cancelled ticket to a ticket to Europe. It wasn't a problem. I gave AA my (cancelled) ticket number.

They charged a fee of $200. The change fee is different for each ticket. They told me that for the ticket for Europe, the change fee is $250.

I'm supposed to receive a voucher for the remaining $400+.

So the answer is, yes, if you book a ticket with Orbitz for AA, you can sometimes cancel with AA directly!