One of my favorite things about using credit card points and miles for travel is the ability (usually) to cancel and rebook when you find a better deal. I was able to make a Maldives last-minute flight change recently when I saw that there was Q-suite availability from Doha.

My original return flight was on AA from Male to JFK using 70K miles on a British Airways flight to San Francisco. This included an overnight connection in London, and I planned to visit my daughter for a few hours. It also came with a hefty $800+ surcharge for my husband and myself.

About two weeks before leaving for the Maldives, I got an alert from the Straight to the Points newsletter that there was availability on Q-suites from Doha. I had previously planned to travel on Qatar Airlines in a Q-suite from Male on my last Maldives trip, but the plane was switched at the last minute—a huge disappointment for me!

Making a Flight Change Last-Minute with Points and Miles

I looked for availability on the AA flight from Doha that matched when we needed to leave. All I had to do was get to Doha. I found flights from Male to Doha in economy class. Perfect! The flight from Doha was the day after we were leaving the Maldives, so I booked the Male to Doha flight for the day we left and also an overnight stay at the Oryxx in-terminal hotel in Doha for less than the $800 surcharge we had to pay for our previous flight.

I canceled my original AA flight, and the miles were returned to my account immediately. Shortly afterward, the surcharge for taxes and fees was refunded. I then booked my flight from Doha to Boston on Q-suites.

Bottom Line

My Maldives last-minute flight change was an easy do because I was using credit card points and miles. I had originally hoped to fly Qatar Q-suites but didn’t find availability. With the help of a newsletter alert, I could change my flight to make an aspirational flight happen for me. Fingers crossed that there are no airplane changes at the last minute this time! Update: I flew Q-Suites!