The US Bank Altitude Reserve card has the great benefit of redeeming their points at 1.5 cents per point for travel. This is better than the American Express Platinum card with their Membership Reward points (but you do not have to pay for the whole ticket with MR points – you do with Altitude points).
Changing/Cancelling a US Bank Altitude Travel Reward
Unlike many other travel service websites, I did not see anything about the 24 hour cancellation rule on the Altitude Travel Reward website. This rule has to do with flights that depart/arrive in the US. Airlines and agencies need to offer that amount of time for a ticket to be cancelled for free (or to hold the ticket for 24 hours at no charge before purchasing).
I didn’t think anything about it at the time because I had no plans to cancel but, as of this morning, I found a big glaring flight change with a separate itinerary that was throwing my just-booked ticket into flux. So, I gave them a call to get the refund.
How to Change or Cancel a US Bank Altitude Travel Reward Within 24 Hours
This will need to be done over the phone and you will need to call 844-728-0736. They are open 24 hours a day so no problems there.
- They do honor the 24 hour period for cancelling flights booked with rewards
- there is a $30 reward fee for reinstating the points to your account
- Points can take up to 10 business days to reappear in your account
- Changes can be done right away at no extra charge (just the $30 mentioned above)
- Once a change is done, there are no other changes allowed
If you are trying to change to a different flight, definitely go ahead with the change process since getting the points back may mean you lose out on the flight you want to book with a 10 business day wait.
In my situation, I went with the change since it was just going to be a date change with the same extra flights at the same cost. Done and done! Stinks about the $30 fee but at least I was able to book the flights I needed.
Takeaway
While it is quite easy for an over-the-phone transaction, I wish they would have the function to change/cancel online. However, it is the same with others like Amex and Chase so not a surprise that they do not offer online changes.
Should you need your points back, you will have the full 24 hours from the time of the “purchase” to call and get those refunded, no problems. But, if you wanted to book a different flight, you are better off changing it while on the phone then.
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Wow $30 fee for a 24 hour cancellation to get your points back? For a premium card that sucks. Amex doesn’t charge if you cancel within 24 hours nor does Chase as far as I know. Even none of the OTAs charge you for canceling a ticket within 24 hours and you can even cancel those online. Ugh another thing that doesn’t make me a huge fan of this card :/
You can get the $30 fee waived with supervisor approval. Helps to throw an absolute s*it fit. For $30, I’ll s*it fit about anything.