TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin AA changes it's story

I called on October 1st to cancel our flight from November 26th through December 9th. I was told at that time I would get a refund applied back to my credit card. Well it didn't show up so I called today (10/13) and they said they never said they would give a refund. Now they are saying they will give a credit which expires in September. They say I have to call customer relations to get a refund.

Wow. Keep us apprised..

With all the many policy changes throughout this debacle, the chances are, if you call back in a couple of days and speak to another CSR you’ll get another completely different answer. Or at least that’s what happened to us.

I finally used the email option on their website, provided all the details and had the response I had hoped for the following morning and the funds were credited back within about a week. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a positive result from their email link but I was happy the posters here reminded me of it. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

When AA recently cancelled a hurricane trip, they offered me a credit towards a future flight with an expiration date.

I objected, and said that I wanted it credited back to the original form of payment.

They gave me THIS WEBSITE , which worked, and very quckly.

gary

Yes, that’s the one I used and I was amazed at the rapid response and resolution I had hoped for. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

We had reservations for 11/25-12/5 - outbound on Spirit and return on AA. Surprisingly, Spirit immediately provided a refund. AA said we would receive a credit that needed to be used by July ‘18. After reading other posts on this site I called AA again and the agent advised us to use the email request that you reference here. Within a few days we received a full refund. I’ve attempted to reach Mary’s Boon to request a refund but so far no response. I’ll keep trying as I’m sure the owners are extremely busy.

Thanks....Cathy

I was able to reach Mary's Boon office last week and spoke to Marlon. He was working on their reservation computer files and expected that they would be manned and running by the 18th.

Bob

i got the same run around when trying to get my points back. second call I asked to speak to a supervisor. points back in account and taxes refunded instantly.

Send an email directly to the President. I've seen it work for 3 people, and they got refunds right away.

douglas.parker@aa.com

Good to know - I figured they just needed more time.

Thanks,

Cathy

Can't stand AA! They totally changed our 1/4 flights. Only re-booked 10/6 because JB cancelled our flights. Aa has us going through Mia but getting to JFK at almost 1:00am. Called to cancel, they said I can, and gave me my ticket numbers and to process myself online ?? Absolutely ridiculous, I go to do it and now the online system says I'm not eligible for a refund!! Oh and they can't credit me the travel insurance!! Told me they don't deal with credits for third party sales!!! I'm very confused. On hold again. JB reopened the flights that are direct so got them. Just want this credited back. I can't believe they can't do it when you call it. Seems bizarre and one more way to try to keep people's money

Been using AA to sxm for over 18 years. Always great flights and cusomer service. Flying them again this May to SXM. Best way for us west costers to get there. Used other airlines and AA is the best all around.
You have to realize all airlines are dealing with a major shakeup with sxm itineraries with low bookings and making a flight worth while. My hat goes off to the airlines making these adjustments so it works. I have no simfony for not getting a direct nonstop to sxm. Try to get one from SEATAC OR L.A.. Deal with it.

Not being non stop was not the issue. Issue was getting back to JFK at 1am the next day. The issue is the BS one has to jump through to get a credit back, flights change, I get it especially now. Spent another 45 minutes and got a supervisor, she couldn't understand why I couldn't get the credit on their online refund site, she had to manually do it. We flew AA for years, have over 1mil miles (gold status). When JB changed flights and it didn't work, we called and the canceled and they credited the credit cards, this was ridiculous. So please don't lecture on the poor east coasters that can't get non-stop, pretty freaking rude to tell people to "deal with it". If I don't want to get home at 4 am that's my choice

hopefully you speak better than you type...your incoherent ramblings would be a CSR's nightmare &#128169;

You are correct and I’m sorry I was rambling because it was so late. Whatever happened to just being nice and understanding when obviously someone is coming across very frustrated, but I guess it’s easier to just be rude and nasty. No wonder the world is the way it is today.

Point is, which I’m pretty sure I got across, is AA should have better policies and procedures to issue credits whether it be vouchers or back to your credit card. And by the way, I did receive an email from them apologizing for the issues caused by their website not working correctly and the first agent not giving correct information.

We got a full refund for our November/December flights by completing the comments and complaints form online. It was easy and painless. The reservationists you get when you call don't have the authority to refund.

I guess it makes sense that the reservation agent wouldn't handle refunds BUT wouldn't you think they might transfer you to someone who DOES handle those issues?

Someone still has to read the emails, research the flights and issue the refund

I don't run an airline, so I don't presume to tell them how they should do business. I find it easier to learn how to get the result that I want and take that route, than to complain about it.

In the case of the OP here, it seems like their call was made pretty early in the game, and I'm sure the airlines were overwhelmed with folks trying to change reservations and get refunds. I can understand there being some confusion.

Very good thought.

Also, in many cases (not just airlines) the phone agents may not even work for the company they represent. They could be a 3rd party contracted employee with very little authority to do anything beyond what the screen they are looking at tells them.

Good point on the agents. I remember calling JetBlue once and talked to a very personable person with a child crying and a dog barking in the background...definitely sounded like a work from home person

Could easily have been. Some call centers have been known to be located within prisons.

We have tried the on-line forms, we have tried calling, we have tried sending emails to the president, as suggested here, but to date we have received nothing. Not only that, the credit expires one year from the date of purchase, which was in early January 2017.
Once we heard that SXM was cancelled, I went ahead and scheduled rotator cuff surgery in November. There is no way I can travel in January with my arm still in a sling, and AA says that is not their concern. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

From reading these posts, I checked to see if my direct flight was changed from PHL to SXM in March. AA changed my flight from PHL-MIA-SXM for the trip down the flight connections were OK. But coming home on March 20th, I was to fly to MIA, then I would have had a day lay over in Miami and then I would arrive in PHL on the 21st. Called AA to have my ticket refunded, was place on hold for few minutes and then had my ticket money refunded. Next I had to call Jim Ruos to cancel my reservations at La Plantation. Not happy about this but I will try to return to La Plantation and SXM in July. Hope I can find a beach umbrella and chair in July at Orient.

AA sent us an email with e-vouchers attached which expire 10/16/18. They say the tickets have to be purchased by 10/16/18 but the actual flight can occur after that date. This is at least better than before but no refund was offered. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I really don't understand that, as our flights were for similar dates, and I had no problem at all getting a refund simply by filling out the information on the comments and complaints link on their website. I did that in late September. I can only think that they've changed something since then. I'm sorry you've not had the same experience we did.

We purchased our tickets on Jan 21 and got full credit yesterday when we cancelled. We ran into a problem trying to just transfer because our seats had no added fee and we wanted seats that now have an additional fee. The agent recommended we cancel with no loss of miles or money.