American Airlines Refunds

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

The outcome depends on ticket type, and money goes back only to whoever paid, by the original method.

If you cancel

• As a rule, a purchase can be cancelled for a full refund for 24 hours, provided departure was at least a week away when you booked.
• Refundable tickets: the full amount if travel has not started, or the value of the unused part. Credit-card refunds within 7 business days (allow 1 or 2 billing cycles); other payments within 20 days of receiving all paperwork.
• Non-refundable tickets: no cash refund. If the ticket is cancelled before departure, a travel credit is issued for future American travel.
• A non-refundable ticket still returns to your original payment method if American cancels your flight, makes a schedule change of more than 4 hours to departure, a passenger or travel companion dies (paperwork needed), or military orders force cancellation.
• Tickets bought from a travel agency or other source are refunded through them.
• A ticket is generally valid for 1 year: an unused ticket must be used within a year of issue, and a part-used one within a year of the first flight flown.

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Automatic refunds

• Fare, taxes and fees come back after a cancellation or major change if you choose not to fly. Significant changes: 3 or more hours (domestic) or 4 or more hours (international), a different origin or destination airport, a lower cabin or more connections. If you fly in the lower cabin you are repaid the fare difference.
• Late or lost checked bags: the bag fee is repaid once you file a mishandled bag report and the bag still has not arrived within 12 hours of the last segment (domestic), 15 hours (international, under 12 hours' non-stop) or 30 hours (over 12 hours).
• Paid extras you did not receive.
• A disabled customer, and companions, when a downgrade, a new connecting airport or a different aircraft takes away a needed accessibility feature.

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Questions travellers ask us

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Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of American Airlines. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.