/award-holds

name: award-holds
description: Per-program rules for placing award flights on hold before transferring points. Covers programs with holds (AA, Lufthansa, Flying Blue, Cathay, Turkish, Virgin Atlantic, ANA, Emirates, EVA Air) and those without. Includes transfer-speed reference.
category: reference
summary: Per-program rules for placing award flight tickets on hold. Covers 9 programs with holds (AA 24h online, LH 5 days, FB 3 days, CX 2 days, Turkish 2 days, Virgin Atlantic 1-2 days, ANA 2 days, Emirates 1 day, EVA online), Singapore as agent-discretionary, and the negative space (UA/AS/DL/Aeroplan/BA/Qatar/Korean/Etihad - many programs still do not allow holds).
allowed-tools: Bash(jq *), Read

Award Hold Policies per Loyalty Program

Reference data for which programs allow you to put an award flight ticket on hold, for how long, at what cost, and via what method (online vs phone). Critical for transferable-currency redemptions where transfers take minutes to days to clear.

Data lives in [`data/award-holds.json`](../../data/award-holds.json). Refresh cadence is 90 days because hold rules change rarely.

Why Holds Matter

When you find an award seat but the points are sitting in a transferable currency (Amex MR, Chase UR, Citi TYP, Capital One, Bilt, Marriott Bonvoy), you need to transfer them to the loyalty program before booking. Transfer times range from instant (most Amex/Chase partners) to 4 days (Marriott Bonvoy to airline partners).

Without a hold, you risk losing the award seat while the transfer pends. **A hold removes the seats from the available pool for the duration**, guaranteeing they'll still be there when you ticket.

When to Use This Skill

• User is planning a transferable-points booking and asks "can I hold this?"
• User is comparing programs to redeem the same partner award (e.g., Cathay first/business via AA vs Cathay Asia Miles)
• User asks about the AA 24-hour hold change vs the old 5-day policy
• Trip planning involves Marriott Bonvoy → airline transfers (4 days, must use a hold)
• Researching whether a specific program supports holds before committing to the redemption strategy

When NOT to Use

• Stopover questions (use [`stopovers`](../stopovers/SKILL.md) skill)
• Cancellation/refund questions (different concept — that's about UNDOING a ticketed booking, not holding before booking)
• Award availability search (use [`seats-aero`](../seats-aero/SKILL.md))
• Routing-rule questions (use [`partner-awards`](../partner-awards/SKILL.md))

Programs That Allow Holds (9 + Singapore agent-discretionary)

| Program | Max Days | Hold Fee | Phone Fee | Online Self-Serve | Confidence | |---------|----------|----------|-----------|-------------------|------------| | American AAdvantage | 1 | $0 | $0 (free changes/cancels) | **Yes** | VERIFIED | | Lufthansa Miles & More | 5 | $0 | $20 | No | VERIFIED | | Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 3 | $0 | $25 | No | VERIFIED | | Cathay Asia Miles | 2 | $0 | $39 | No | VERIFIED | | Turkish Miles & Smiles | 2 | $0 | varies | No | LIKELY | | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1-2 | $0 | $0 | No | VERIFIED | | ANA Mileage Club | 2 | $0 | varies | No | LIKELY | | Emirates Skywards | 1 | $0 | varies | No | LIKELY | | EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1 | $0 | varies | **Yes** | LIKELY | | Singapore KrisFlyer | agent discretion | $0 | $25 or 2,500 miles | No | LIKELY |

ANA, Emirates, and EVA Air were not on Frugal Flyer's canonical 2024 list but are reported allowing holds by One Mile at a Time, Points Miles & Bling, and Upgraded Points (2025-2026) — hence LIKELY confidence. Verify on the call before relying on the hold.

Programs That Do NOT Allow Holds

These programs require you to have the points in your account at booking time. Plan transfers accordingly.

• United MileagePlus
• Delta SkyMiles
• Alaska Atmos Rewards (formerly Mileage Plan)
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Iberia Plus
• Qatar Privilege Club
• Korean SKYPASS
• Etihad Guest (no published policy)

Decision Rules

Rule 1: AA AAdvantage is the universal hold tool

If the redemption is bookable through American AAdvantage, **use AA's online self-serve hold**. No phone call, no fee, no credit card needed. Click "Hold" on the booking confirmation page. 24-hour window.

This works for partner awards too: Cathay first/business, Qatar Qsuite, JAL First, Iberia, BA, Royal Air Maroc, etc.

Rule 2: For Star Alliance partners, Lufthansa is the longest hold

5-day free hold via Miles & More phone line, $20 ticketing fee. Holds work for LH, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, plus select Star Alliance partners. Ideal when you're transferring from Marriott Bonvoy (4-day transfer time).

Rule 3: For SkyTeam partners, Flying Blue holds 3 days

$25 phone-booking fee. Partner award holds work but are agent-discretionary.

Rule 4: Match transfer speed to program hold availability

| Transferable Currency | Transfer Speed | Need a Hold? | |----------------------|----------------|--------------| | Amex MR → most partners | Instant | No | | Amex MR → ANA | 1-2 days | **Yes** | | Amex MR → BA, Singapore, Cathay | Hours | Maybe | | Chase UR → all partners | Instant | No | | Capital One miles → most | Instant | No | | Citi TYP → most | Hours | Maybe | | Bilt → all partners | Instant | No | | Marriott Bonvoy → airline | **4 days** | **YES, always** |

Rule 5: When the redeeming program doesn't allow holds, redirect

Want a Cathay first/business via Alaska Atmos (no holds)? Book it via American AAdvantage instead (24h online hold, free) for the same award. Then transfer Bilt (1:1 instant), Citi TYP (1:1, 1-2 days), or Marriott Bonvoy (3:1 base ratio with a 5,000-mile bonus per 60K transferred, so 60K Bonvoy = 25K AAdvantage miles, 4-day delivery) to AAdvantage. AAdvantage does NOT partner with Amex MR or Chase UR.

Want a United partner award via MileagePlus (no holds)? Book it via Lufthansa Miles & More instead (5-day hold) when both programs ticket t