American Airlines Flight Change, at the airport (at the self-service kiosk or ticket counter) or call AA Reservations. If you still want to try for a different flight, same-day standby lets you standby for an earlier American or American Eagle flight (with the same routine on your day of departure).

American Airlines allows same-day flight change on domestic flights. For a $75 fee, you can get a confirmed seat on a different flight (known as a confirmed same-day flight change). If a seat is not available, you can opt for standby status instead (unconfirmed same-day flight change). If you are not allocated a seat on a standby flight, the $75 fee is refunded.

American charges a whopping $200 change or cancellation fee on most paid fares (excluding full-fare refundable tickets) for domestic flights. This climbs as high as $750 per passenger for international flights. Same-day charges start at $75 for domestic and short-haul international flights in economy class.

You can request American Airlines standby or confirmed flight changes online, by phone, at an airport check-in kiosk, or at the ticket counter 24 hours prior to departure.

Those traveling with American Airlines can change their AA flight reservations, but it incurs a service charge. They can call American Airlines Reservations Number to change their ticket at any time of day at the following numbers:

• English: 800-433-7300 or +1 833 584-08-69
• Spanish: 800-633-3711
• Hearing and speech impaired: 800-543-1586

AA Same Day Flight Change Fee

The standard cost for an SDFC “on flights between the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Canada, and the Caribbean” is $75 per direction.

Long-haul international flights are generally not eligible for a same-day flight change, but there’s one exception. If you’re flying between New York-JFK and London-Heathrow (LHR) — including itineraries with connecting flights inside the U.S. — you can make a SDFC for $150 per direction.

American Airlines charges a $75 fee for a same-day confirmed change or a standby request. The fee for a confirmed change is waived for Executive Platinum members only, but the fee for a standby request is waived for a much larger group of travelers that includes all elite members and customers with full fare tickets.

Who can get same-day flight change for free?

American Airlines same-day flight change is free for passengers ticketed in first or business class and those booked in full-fare (Y fare) economy. Also, American Airlines Executive Platinum and Platinum Pro elites — plus one companion in the same reservation — also get the option to change for free. Also, American Airlines AirPass ticket holders are eligible for free same-day flight changes.

How the AA 24-hour change window works

Thankfully, the “same day” part of the SDFC program doesn’t mean that you have to wait until the calendar day of your departure to make changes. For example, when I wanted to SDFC a 6 a.m. flight from Jacksonville (JAX) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), I didn’t have to stay up until midnight to change my flight. Instead, I was able to change it the day before departure.

Canceling an AA flight

American Airlines customers have 24 hours after purchasing their ticket to cancel it for a full refund, provided they booked the ticket at least two days before departure.

If the ticket was bought directly from American Airlines, request a refund online or contact American Airlines’ reservations desk, and the refund should be credited within a week. If it was purchased through a third party, customers have to call the third party to get refund details.

Flights booked through American Airlines’ reservations service are considered nonrefundable, so customers can get a full refund on these tickets only within 24 hours of purchase. Otherwise, the only situations that entitle a nonrefundable ticket purchaser to a refund are:

• A schedule change that results in a change of 61 minutes or more
• Death of a passenger or passenger’s traveling companion
• Military orders

However, non-refundable ticket values can be applied toward future flights as long as:

• The new trip begins within one year of the original ticket’s issue date
• The customer canceled the original ticket before the first flight departed