Recently I planned two spur-of-the-moment trips and also spent some time researching airline Close-in Booking Fees. Today I’ll share how to avoid the Close-in Booking Fees on American Airlines and United Airlines award tickets.

What Is a Close-in Booking Fee

A Close-in Booking Fee is a booking fee “invented” by the two U.S. airlines American Airlines and United Airlines. If the time between when you buy an award ticket and your actual departure date is less than 21 days, a $75 Close-in Booking Fee will be automatically charged when you book. Delta, Alaska, and others are very generous in this regard and do not charge a close-in booking fee.

For international flights, $75 may still be acceptable, but the average price of a U.S. domestic flight is only about $300 one-way or $600 round-trip. Instead of using miles and still paying another $75, you might as well just book with cash. But sometimes nonstops or flights at specific times can be outrageously expensive, and award tickets become especially worthwhile. Since award tickets usually depend only on the origin and destination, and are basically unrelated to the current cash fare and time (except for certain off-peak awards), it would be great to avoid the $75 close-in booking fee on top of that. Below I’ll discuss how to avoid close-in booking fees for AA and UA separately.

How to Avoid United Airlines’ Close-in Booking Fee

The Cancel-and-Rebook Trick

Principle: Changes to a UA award ticket made within 24 hours do not incur any fee, and changing the ticket will not introduce a Close-in Booking Fee, so you can avoid the $75 directly.

Process: Many blogs have introduced UA’s cancel-and-rebook trick. The basic process is as follows:

  • Search on the UA website and confirm that the date you actually want to book (within 21 days) has award space (Saver or Biz Saver)
  • First book a flight 21 days later that has exactly the same origin and destination as the one you need
  • Within 24 hours of booking, change the award ticket date to the time you need, either online or by phone

However, UA recently changed its fee calculation system, and online changes now automatically add the $75 fee as well. But when changing the date by phone, the $75 still does not appear automatically, so it is still possible by changing it over the phone. The cancel-and-rebook method requires the origin and destination to be exactly the same, but the cabin and whether it is an Award Saver can be different. If you can’t find an economy Saver award for the later date, you can first book business class and then ask the agent to change it to the correct cabin when you change the date, and vice versa.

Pros: This method works for any flight that UA’s website can issue as an award ticket, in any cabin, one-way or round-trip. If you must use UA miles, this is the only way to avoid the $75.

Cons: If your account uses this method often to intentionally avoid the $75, your account may be shut down. So do not use it as a routine bulk-ticketing method; using it once or twice for personal travel is usually fine. Since the online change method no longer works, the agent may mention the fee when you call. If that happens, just play dumb and let the agent continue; the system will not add the $75, so most agents won’t charge it. If you run into a strict agent, hang up and call again to try someone else.

The Air Canada (AC) Ticketing Method

Principle: Air Canada (AC), the Star Alliance airline, has an Aeroplan program that does not charge a close-in booking fee for award tickets. Most award tickets you find on UA’s website can be ticketed with AC miles (with a few exceptions). So if you have AC miles, or Membership Rewards (which can transfer 1:1 to AC), you can simply book the UA flight through AC.

Process: First check on the UA website that the corresponding flight has Saver/Biz Saver space, then search for the ticket through Aeroplan’s search engine and issue the ticket you need.

Pros: On U.S. domestic flights, AC and UA require the same number of miles, and you only need 12,500/25,000 for a one-way economy/business award ticket. AC can also issue one-way awards, so it basically matches the flights UA can issue. AC miles are widely available, and you can get them by transferring MR or hotel points (SPG, Marriott packages). MR transfers to AC miles are instant, so you don’t have to worry about the award seat being taken while you wait.

Cons: If, when checking on the UA website, you find that the cabin you need is XN (visible only to premium account holders or credit card holders), then you cannot ticket it this way, because XN award space is not released to partners. In addition, UA only releases Saver/Biz Saver awards to partners, so you cannot use AC miles to book a UA standard award ticket. Also, if you use AC to book a UA flight, there is usually no extra tax; but if you book ANA or other Star Alliance award tickets, there may be huge fuel surcharges.

Useful links: Guide to Using Air Canada Miles 1, Guide to Using Air Canada Miles 2

The ANA Ticketing Method

Principle and process: Similar to the AC method, ANA is also one of the Star Alliance partners and can ticket award seats on alliance airlines. ANA also does not have a close-in booking fee.

Pros: On North America flights, ANA requires about the same number of miles as UA (5,000 more for round-trip). ANA miles can also be transferred from MR or SPG points.

Cons: MR and SPG transfers to ANA miles are not instant, so there is a risk that the award seat will be taken by someone else after the transfer goes through. As with AC ticketing, ANA miles also cannot be used to book UA’s XN cabin or standard award tickets. ANA can only issue round-trip tickets, so if you only need a one-way ticket, you cannot use ANA miles.

Useful links: All Nippon Airways (ANA) Miles Guide 1, Miles Guide 2, Miles Guide 3, Miles Guide 4

How to Avoid American Airlines’ Close-in Booking Fee

You can’t avoid AA’s $75 by changing dates, so the only way is to use another oneworld airline that does not charge a close-in booking fee. And because AA only releases its own AA Saver/Biz Saver space to partners, standard awards also cannot be ticketed through partners. Common ways to avoid it are as follows:

British Airways (BA) Ticketing

Principle and process: As oneworld partners, BA miles can also be used to book AA award tickets. So first check on AA’s website whether the flight you need has Saver or Biz Saver space, and then search for and ticket it on BA’s website.

Pros: For short-haul flights, BA miles usually require fewer miles than AA. BA cancellations are also free (though you may lose a $5.6 fee). BA can also issue one-way tickets, so it can almost perfectly replicate AA nonstop routes. BA miles can be transferred from Chase UR, AMEX MR, and SPG, so the sources are very broad. UR and MR transfers to BA are both instant, allowing you to ticket quickly. On flights not operated by AA, BA may generate huge fuel surcharges, which you need to consider.

Cons: BA uses distance-based pricing, so on long-haul flights the mileage required may be higher than AA’s. BA is very unfriendly when it comes to connections, because it adds up the mileage for each segment. So if your AA award ticket has a connection, do not use BA to ticket it. BA also cannot issue AA standard award tickets; it can only issue Saver/Biz Saver awards.

Useful links: British Airways Avios Guide 1

Alaska Airlines (AS) Ticketing

Principle and process: Although AS is not a oneworld partner, AS miles can also be used to book AA award tickets. So first check on AA’s website whether the flight you need has Saver or Biz Saver space, and then search for and ticket it on AS’s website.

Pros: AS and AA require basically the same number of miles for North America flights: 12,500/25,000 gets you a one-way economy/business award ticket, and AS can issue one-way awards. AS miles can be transferred from SPG.

Cons: AS also cannot issue AA standard award tickets; it can only issue Saver/Biz Saver awards.

Useful links: Alaska Airlines Miles Guide 1, Miles Guide 2

How to Choose the Right Method

In fact, aside from the UA cancel-and-rebook trick, the basic principle for avoiding close-in booking fees is to use a partner airline with no fee to ticket the same flight operated by the original airline. If you have a stash of miles and points, especially flexible currencies like Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards, you can use point transfers and then issue the ticket to effectively avoid the $75 fee.

Personally, if you have a variety of miles, my best options for avoiding this fee on U.S. domestic flights are: for UA, first try to avoid it by changing the ticket, and then use AC; for AA, choose BA or AS depending on whether the itinerary has a connection. Of course, if you set aside the award-ticket restriction, and the fare is cheap, using UR to book directly at 1.5x value or TYP at 1.6x value is also a good option.

Notes

  • Seat selection and check-in: After ticketing AA or UA flights through a partner airline, be sure to get the UA or AA record locator/confirmation number from the partner airline. Then you can select seats on the UA or AA website, and remember to check in 24 hours before departure.
  • Infant tickets: If you need to add an infant ticket, you generally need to contact the airline that issued the award ticket. It is still unclear whether you can add an infant under 2 years old by calling the operating airline, UA or AA, directly.