American Airlines AAdvantage Reduces Award Ticket Hold Time from 5 Days to 24 Hours

American Airlines has changed its AAdvantage award ticket hold policy. As of today, American Airlines has reduced the maximum hold time to 24 hours for all award tickets regardless of when you’re traveling.

Previously, members could place award tickets on hold for up to five days when booking 14 or more days before departure. For bookings within 14 days of travel, holds were limited to one day. This generous policy stood out in the airline industry, as most other major U.S. frequent flyer programs don’t offer award holds at all. The hold feature is available on aa.com by selecting the “AAdvantage Hold” option during checkout or by calling American Airlines directly for both American and partner airline bookings.

This change represents an 80% reduction from the previous five-day hold period. American Airlines notes that this change aligns with their policy for revenue tickets. Despite this reduction, it’s worth remembering that AAdvantage members can still change or cancel award tickets without fees, which provides flexibility even with the shorter hold window.

Our Take

We’re disappointed to see this policy change, as the five-day hold period was extremely valuable when planning complex itineraries or confirming travel plans with companions. The longer hold time gave members breathing room to finalize details without rushing to make hasty decisions. However, we understand that American Airlines remains more generous than competitors who offer no hold options whatsoever.

The change likely stems from too many members speculatively holding award seats that could have been sold to revenue passengers. For example, if someone held the last business class seat to Europe for five days but never ticketed it, American Airlines potentially lost significant revenue. This new 24-hour policy may actually improve award availability by reducing the number of seats held but never booked. For members using AAdvantage, the best approach now is to have your points ready and travel plans confirmed before searching for awards.