UPDATE June 2020:
- Added ANA award change and refund fees. See here.
We love redeeming miles for award flight tickets. Not only it enables us to experience luxury premium cabins in the world and travel more with less money, but also how affordable it is to change or even cancel an award flight ticket and get miles back compared to a paid flight ticket. Each airline and its program impose the change and cancellation fees for award tickets differently, and therefore we thought it’d be helpful to create this list for our miles and points readers.
As you go through the list, please note that if you redeem a flexible/refundable award ticket which typically require more miles or hold an elite status with the airline/program, the fees may be waived or reduced. Underneath each airline and program, we also included the reference link on where the fees information came from in case further clarification is needed.
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| Photo: Emirates First Class |
| Table of Contents [show/hide] |
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| Airlines & Programs |
Change Fee | Cancellation & Redeposit Fee |
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Aegean
|
20 Euros (~$23) | 20 Euros (~$23) | |
| Reference Link |
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Air Canada
|
100 CAD (~$75) | 75 CAD (~$56) online 150 CAD (~$113) contact center |
|
| Reference Link |
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Air France KLM
|
45 Euros (~$51) | 45 Euros (~$51) | |
| Reference Link Under “Conditions” |
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Alaska Airlines
|
$125 | $125 | |
| Reference Link |
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American Airlines
|
None – as long as no change to Origin or Destination |
$150 and $25 for second award ticket. |
|
| Reference Link Under “Changing flight award tickets”
|
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All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mieage Club |
None | 3,000 miles per customer. | |
| Reference Link Award Refund Reference Link Award Change |
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Asiana Airlines
|
None – as long as fare type unchanged |
USD 30 or 3,000 miles | |
| Reference Link |
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Avianca
|
$150 | $200 | |
| Reference Link |
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British Airways
|
$55 | $55 | |
| Reference Link |
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Cathay Pacific |
Date & Flight Number Changes: Charge per flight sector/passenger: $25 or 1,000 Miles online. $40 or 4,000 Miles other channels. Routes & Cabin Class Changes: |
$120 or 12,000 Miles | |
| Reference Link |
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Delta Airline
|
$150 | $150 | |
| Reference Link Under “CAN AWARD TICKETS BE CHANGED?” |
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Emirates
|
$25 | $75 | |
| Reference Link |
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Etihad
|
100 AED (~$27) | 10% of the miles for GuestSeats fare | |
| Reference Link Under “Redeem miles against flights and upgrades”
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HawaiianMiles |
$150 International $50 Domestic (N America) $30 neighbor island |
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| Reference Link |
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Iberia Plus |
€25 (~$28) | €25 (~$28) | |
| Reference Link Under “Are my Avios refundable? |
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Japan Airlines
|
3,100 JPY (~$28) | 3,100 JPY (~$28) | |
| Reference Link Under “Changes to Awards after Mileage Redemption (Ticket Issuance)” |
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Korean Air
|
KRW 30,000 (~26) | Deduct 3,000 miles within validity period. 10,000 miles after validity period |
|
| Reference Link |
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Qantas |
5,000 points per passenger. | 6,000 points per passenger. | |
| Reference Link Under “Cancellation Refund Fee” and “Change Fee” sections. |
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Singapore Airlines
|
$25 on Singapore, $50 on Partner | $75 | |
| Reference Link |
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Southwest Airlines
|
None | None | |
| Reference Link |
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Turkish Airlines
|
$25 | $25 | |
| Reference Link Under “USING AWARDS”
|
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United Airlines
|
$75 – More than 60 days. $125 – 60 days or fewer. |
$75 – More than 60 days. $125 – 60 days or fewer. |
|
| Reference Link |
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Virgin Atlantic
|
$50 | $50 | |
| Reference Link Under “4.2. Virgin Atlantic Flight Rewards” | |||
