What to do if an airline swaps equipment on your flight
Reader Questions are answered twice a week by TPG Senior Points & Miles Contributor Ethan Steinberg.
If you're trying to score an especially hard-to-get award seat, you can increase your chances by booking flights far in advance. A lot can change between the time you book and the time you fly, and in recent months we've seen Cathay Pacific make massive schedule adjustments in response to ongoing protests in Hong Kong and the emergence of a new coronavirus in mainland China. TPG reader David is scheduled to fly Cathay Pacific first class from Chicago (ORD) to Asia in December 2020, but just found out that Cathay Pacific will be eliminating first class on that route as of June 1 ...
[pullquote source="TPG READER DAVID"]I currently have a first-class award ticket in December 2020 from ORD to BKK on Cathay Pacific, booked with American Airlines AAdvantage miles. What will happen to my first-class ticket when Cathay Pacific swaps this route to an A350 without a first-class cabin? Would they refund me the mileage difference? Would I be able to request a reroute through another city?[/pullquote]
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First of all, kudos to David for staying on top of his reservation. He has several options to consider in this case, but not every airline will be good about proactively reaching out to customers affected by an equipment swap like this. This is why it's a good idea to monitor your upcoming trips and use a service like ExpertFlyer (which is owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures) to notify you of any aircraft changes.
Related: The beginner's guide to ExpertFlyer
When Cathay Pacific announced the change, they only edited their schedule through Oct. 24, 2020. There's a chance that they could bring a 777-300ER back on the Chicago route for the winter season, but that's a huge gamble and one I wouldn't recommend David to take. He should do everything in his power to sort this issue out now, while he has the benefit of time on his side.
David actually identified two of the best possible courses of action here. Assuming he's happy with his overall routing, he could call American Airlines AAdvantage and change his booking to business class, which should result in a 40,000-mile refund (since one-way first-class awards cost 110,000 miles and one-way business-class awards cost 70,000). If this equipment change isn't showing up in American's system yet, he might need to escalate to a supervisor to make sure there are no change fees — yet another reason to get on this sooner rather than later.
Of course, Cathay Pacific first class is an incredible treat and a bucket-list item for many award travelers. If David still has his eyes set on the ultimate prize, he could look to reroute and fly to Hong Kong (HKG) from other U.S. gateways like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), New York-JFK or Boston (BOS), all of which feature Cathay Pacific's 777 first-class product.
Related: The ultimate guide to Cathay Pacific first class
This is where things start to get tricky. Most likely, David won't just be able to select any flight he wants and switch to it. He'll need to find another flight that has first-class award availability, which is not the easiest thing to do (especially if he has fixed travel dates already). If he can't find Cathay Pacific first-class award space from any other U.S. gateway airport on the day he needs to fly, he could ask American Airlines to directly request the space from Cathay Pacific. This will likely require a supervisor as many front-line customer service agents don't know that this is possible (or simply won't do it), but given the extenuating circumstances here it never hurts to ask.
Bottom line
I can only imagine the disappointment of feeling like you landed a unicorn only to have it disappear. David shouldn't give up hope yet, and he should be able to either downgrade to business class and get a mileage refund or find an alternative first-class routing. While he has a good 11 months to go until his trip, this is not something to wait around on. A complex resolution might take time for AA to broker, and there's no good reason to wait.
Thanks for the question, David, and if you’re a TPG reader who’d like us to answer a question of your own, tweet us at @thepointsguy, message us on Facebook or email us at info@thepointsguy.com.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.