American Airlines Reduces AAdvantage Award Ticket Hold Policy by 80%

Updated: April 30, 2025, 11:10am CDT

Edited by:

Jump to Section

Table of Contents

American Airlines’ New AAdvantage Award Hold Policy
Putting AA’s Change Into Perspective
Final Thoughts

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

We love an award program that lets you put a ticket on hold for several days. Whether you need time to think about it, confer with a friend, or check other options before committing, putting a seat on hold to ensure it doesn’t disappear is a wonderful thing.

American Airlines has had one of — if not the — friendliest award ticket policies in the past. Now, that’s changing, as the airline is dropping its hold policy from 5 days to 1.

Let’s take a look at the difference and how AA’s new policy stacks up with the competition.

American Airlines’ New AAdvantage Award Hold Policy

The American Airlines AAdvantage program previously allowed customers to put award tickets on hold for up to 5 days when booking a ticket with miles.

That policy came with some restrictions, however. For example, you could only hold tickets for 5 days if you were booking at least 14 days in advance. Otherwise, you could only put the ticket on hold for 1 day.

AAdvantage hold award ticket — What the old hold option looked like. Image Credit: American Airlines

Now, unfortunately, the policy has changed to a flat 24 hours without any option for a longer hold. For example, this flight for the end of October simply offers a “Hold for 24 hours” option on the payment page.

New 1 day AAdvantage hold award ticket — The new hold option on the payment page. Image Credit: American Airlines

Hot Tip:

We’ve rounded up all the airline award ticket hold policies. You should bookmark it so you know which programs will let you hold seats while you confirm travel plans or send points from your credit card to the airline.

Putting AA’s Change Into Perspective

Dropping from 5 days to 1 means American Airlines is cutting its award hold policy by 80% on flights booked 14 days in advance. That stings. However, it hurts less when you see what the competition is doing.

Neither Delta’s SkyMiles program nor Alaska’s Mileage Plan offers award holds. United’s MileagePlus program offers a proprietary FareLock feature, letting you pay to put a ticket on hold for 3, 7, or 14 days. The price and seats are guaranteed until you pay or the hold expires — whichever happens first. Longer hold periods cost more. FareLock charges are nonrefundable and don’t count toward your final payment when you complete them.

When you consider those policies, the fact AAdvantage has a complimentary hold option at all is better than what other U.S. airlines are offering, even after its reduction.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, American Airlines is reducing its AAdvantage award ticket hold policy from a maximum of 5 days to just 24 hours. While it stings, at least the policy isn’t going away. And at least AA has this policy, unlike its domestic competitors.