Travel

How much of a hassle/nightmare one faces if flight booked through air miles gets cancelled or has issues?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jul 24th, 2022 12:45 am
Sr. Member
Mar 6, 2010
895 posts
382 upvotes
Brampton

How much of a hassle/nightmare one faces if flight booked through air miles gets cancelled or has issues?

It is quite difficult to get in touch with air miles support. Their system is completely down today and was in similar situation yesterday as well
The online flight booking does not clarify anything about checked and carry on bags. Assuming one has to pay extra for the checked bag, how can one find out how much extra the airline will charge?
And in the worst possible scenario where you have to cancel/rebook a flight or if the flight gets cancelled while you are abroad, how much of a nightmare it is to get it sorted?
Any personal experiences
4 replies
Deal Addict
Oct 3, 2013
2916 posts
4473 upvotes
West
No experience directly with Air Miles, but bag fees are set by the carrier, not AM. Consult the carrier’s website for fees.

As for rebooking, any third party agent is going to be a PITA to rebook with. You will be automatically assigned a flight in the event of a delay or cancellation, but will likely have stricter rules for re-accommodation, as there is no wiggle room for thing up to the airline’s discretion.
Deal Expert
Feb 7, 2017
27765 posts
27803 upvotes
Eastern Ontario
Phonophoresis wrote: No experience directly with Air Miles, but bag fees are set by the carrier, not AM. Consult the carrier’s website for fees.

As for rebooking, any third party agent is going to be a PITA to rebook with. You will be automatically assigned a flight in the event of a delay or cancellation, but will likely have stricter rules for re-accommodation, as there is no wiggle room for thing up to the airline’s discretion.
This

Your AirMiles Flight Locator should relate to the Airlines own booking system
More so if you are also a registered Loyalty Member with that Airline

Example … my next AMs Flight is with Air Canada
I booked thru AMs and included my Aeroplan #
When I log into the AC website I can find my booking
But it’s way easier to find when I just log into my Aeroplan Account
It’s right there listed on the first pg under UPCOMING BOOKINGS

Baggage Fees, Seat Selection, and Meals
Are all extras charged by the airline
Once you find your booking on their website
You’ll be able to pay for these add ons

Flight Changes, Cancellations etc
Have to be handled thru AirMiles
Cuz in this situation they become the 3rd Party Reseller
Same as if you were using any other Travel Agent, or Booking Co
And didn’t book your flight direct with the airline

Fortunately, in all our years we’ve never had a major problem with our travels (flights, cars, hotels, cruises, or vacation pkgs) we’ve booked thru Airmiles
So have never been sidelined by the airlines
Trying to figure out what to do next

But then again, when it comes to flying
Esp when using points / miles
I try to keep it simple … and just book direct flights
With no complicated itineraries
As these are always the easiest usually to amend
If things happen to go off the rails
Sr. Member
Mar 6, 2010
895 posts
382 upvotes
Brampton
PointsHubby wrote: This

Your AirMiles Flight Locator should relate to the Airlines own booking system
More so if you are also a registered Loyalty Member with that Airline

Example … my next AMs Flight is with Air Canada
I booked thru AMs and included my Aeroplan #
When I log into the AC website I can find my booking
But it’s way easier to find when I just log into my Aeroplan Account
It’s right there listed on the first pg under UPCOMING BOOKINGS

Baggage Fees, Seat Selection, and Meals
Are all extras charged by the airline
Once you find your booking on their website
You’ll be able to pay for these add ons

Flight Changes, Cancellations etc
Have to be handled thru AirMiles
Cuz in this situation they become the 3rd Party Reseller
Same as if you were using any other Travel Agent, or Booking Co
And didn’t book your flight direct with the airline

Fortunately, in all our years we’ve never had a major problem with our travels (flights, cars, hotels, cruises, or vacation pkgs) we’ve booked thru Airmiles
So have never been sidelined by the airlines
Trying to figure out what to do next

But then again, when it comes to flying
Esp when using points / miles
I try to keep it simple … and just book direct flights
With no complicated itineraries
As these are always the easiest usually to amend
If things happen to go off the rails
Very good tips in your reply.
Yeah, booking using AM means they become your booking agent. If there are issues, one has to talk to them. not to the airline. I guess not too bad when travelling within Canada or US but can be a nightmare to call them from Germany
Banned
Jul 7, 2019
1300 posts
1934 upvotes
Oilers Country
We've booked many flights with Air Miles over the years and overall we've been pleased with the service we've received. In the vast majority of cases, there were zero issues. However, Air Canada often tweaks its schedule, cancelling or combining flights or changing departure times. A few times when the change was minimal, Air Miles notified us that they "accepted" the change on our behalf but that if the new time(s) were nevertheless unacceptable, we could contact them for rebooking or alternatives. There was one time when the airline made a major change to our flight schedule and I actually had to talk to an Air Miles agent about it. When she got back to me, she said that she'd spent an inordinate amount of time on hold with AC, trying to get through to their call centre to sort things out. I was so glad that someone else had had the hassle of dealing with AC over an airline-initiated change, rather than us.

Let AM run interference for you with the airline. Life is full of enough hassle--don't deal directly with an airline contact centre if you can avoid it.

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