# Award Holds

Per-program rules for placing award flights on hold before transferring points.

- Repository: https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit (839 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill award-holds -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill award-holds -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill award-holds -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit --skill award-holds -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add borski/travel-hacking-toolkit`

## 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.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# 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)

The rest: https://github.com/borski/travel-hacking-toolkit/blob/HEAD/plugins/travel-hacking-toolkit/skills/award-holds/SKILL.md