American Airlines: delayed bag

Collect

• 13-character file ID
• ticket receipt
• baggage claim checks
• original dated itemized receipts

Steps

1. Report the bag before leaving the airport, at the Baggage Service Office or with the QR code at baggage claim. For U.S. flights, within 4 hours of arriving (12 hours with Bags VIP Luggage Delivery). Keep the 13-character file ID.

2. Check the bag status with the file ID.

   OnlineFind your bags (delayed bag file lookup, run by NetTracer)

3. Within 30 days, submit the expense claim online with the file ID, ticket receipt, claim checks and original dated itemized receipts.

   FormCentral Baggage online claim (damage, missing contents, delayed bag reimbursement, delayed 5+ days) CAPTCHA

4. If you cannot submit online, mail the claim and the Passenger Property Questionnaire to Central Baggage.

   MailAmerican Airlines Central Baggage (mailed claims with the Passenger Property Questionnaire) American Airlines Central Baggage, P.O. Box 619619, DFW Airport, TX 75261-9616

5. If the bag was more than 12 hours late on a domestic itinerary, check that the bag fee was refunded; if not, request it.

   FormRequest a refund

6. If the bag is still missing after 5 days, follow lost_baggage.

More contacts for this issue

Facts you can cite

• Deadline

  For flights within the U.S., report delayed bags within 4 hours of arriving at your destination, or within 12 hours if you used Bags VIP Luggage Delivery. For international flights, report on arrival and before leaving the airport.

  Source: aa.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  To be reimbursed for necessities, send the 13-character file ID, ticket receipt and baggage claim checks, and original dated itemized receipts within 30 days of the delay.

  Source: aa.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Deadline

  The Conditions of Carriage (updated August 13, 2026) require a Passenger Property Questionnaire within 30 days of the first report if you seek compensation, and legal action for damage, delay or loss within 2 years of the incident.

  Source: aa.com, verified 2026-10-12

• Compensation

  The Conditions of Carriage say American refunds bag fees automatically when a reported bag is not delivered within 12 hours of the last segment on a domestic itinerary, 15 hours on an international itinerary with a nonstop under 12 hours, or 30 hours if that nonstop is over 12 hours.

  Source: aa.com, verified 2026-10-12

Rules in force

• DOT domestic baggage liability limit
  14 CFR part 254 (limit revised by 89 FR 84815, October 24, 2024, effective January 22, 2025)

  On domestic flights, a U.S. airline may not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages from lost, damaged or delayed baggage to less than $4,700 per passenger. The limit was raised from $3,800 effective January 22, 2025. It does not apply to wheelchairs and other assistive devices.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  2 citable points

  • Limit

    On flight segments using large aircraft (designed for more than 60 passenger seats), and on any segment on the same ticket as such a segment, a carrier may not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages from the loss of, damage to, or delay of a passenger's baggage in its custody to less than $4,700 for each passenger.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    DOT raised the limit from $3,800 to $4,700 by a rule effective January 22, 2025, and did not enforce the new limit until March 20, 2025.

    Source: federalregister.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Air Carrier Access Act rules - complaints and wheelchair handling
  14 CFR part 382 (Wheelchair Rule, 89 FR 102398, December 17, 2024)

  Airlines must make a Complaints Resolution Official (CRO) available at every airport they serve, and must answer written disability complaints within 30 days. Under the 2024 Wheelchair Rule, airlines must deliver delayed wheelchairs quickly, repair or replace damaged ones, provide loaners, and pay based on the original purchase price on domestic trips. DOT is not enforcing four of the 2024 provisions until April 30, 2027.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  1 citable point

  • Deadline

    A delayed checked wheelchair or assistive device must be delivered within 24 hours of the passenger's arrival for domestic flights, and within 30 hours of arrival for long international flights (more than 12 hours).

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• DOT automatic refund rule for airline tickets and ancillary fees (2024)
  14 CFR part 260 and 14 CFR part 262 (89 FR 32760, April 26, 2024; amended 89 FR 65534, August 12, 2024)

  Airlines operating to, from or within the U.S. must give a full cash refund (to the original form of payment) when they cancel or significantly change a flight and the passenger does not accept the alternative. Refunds are due within 7 business days (credit card) or 20 calendar days (other payment). Airlines must also refund checked bag fees for significantly delayed bags and fees for paid extras that were not provided. Until July 7, 2027, DOT does not enforce the rule in one narrow case: a flight that is only renumbered, with no significant change or delay.

  Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  2 citable points

  • Deadline

    A checked bag is "significantly delayed" if it is not delivered or picked up within 12 hours of the last flight segment's arrival for domestic itineraries; within 15 hours for international itineraries whose non-stop segment to or from the U.S. is 12 hours or less; or within 30 hours when that segment is more than 12 hours. The 15- and 30-hour standards also apply to domestic segments of international itineraries.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The carrier must refund the checked bag fee for a lost or significantly delayed bag. The passenger must first file a Mishandled Baggage Report with the carrier that operated the flight (or the last segment of a multi-carrier itinerary). No refund is due if the delay was caused by the passenger, for example by not rechecking the bag at the first U.S. entry point for customs.

    Source: ecfr.gov, verified 2026-10-12

• Montreal Convention 1999 - baggage liability and claim deadlines
  Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air (Montreal, 1999), Articles 17, 19, 22, 31, 35

  For international air travel covered by the Montreal Convention, the airline is liable for lost, damaged or delayed checked baggage up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger (revised limit effective 28 December 2024). Written complaints are due within 7 days of receiving a damaged bag and within 21 days after a delayed bag is returned. A lawsuit must be brought within two years.

  Source: icao.int, verified 2026-10-12

  5 citable points

  • Limit

    The baggage liability limit in Article 22, paragraph 2 is 1,519 SDR for each passenger, effective as of 28 December 2024 (revised from 1,288 SDR set in 2019; the original limit was 1,000 SDR).

    Source: icao.int, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The baggage limit applies to destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage, unless the passenger made a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination when checking the bag and paid any supplementary sum required (Article 22(2)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    For delay, the complaint must be made at the latest within twenty-one days from the date on which the baggage was placed at the passenger's disposal (Article 31(2)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    Every complaint must be made in writing within these times. If no complaint is made in time, no action lies against the carrier, except in case of fraud on its part (Article 31(3) and (4)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

  • Deadline

    The right to damages is extinguished if an action is not brought within two years from the date of arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, or the date the carriage stopped (Article 35(1)).

    Source: laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, verified 2026-10-12

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   PhoneReservations and ticket changes (English) +1-800-433-7300

2. Written complaint

   FormCustomer Relations feedback and complaint form (Tell us how we did)

3. Federal regulator

   RegulatorU.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Aviation Consumer Protection +1-800-778-4838

4. Card or bank dispute

   Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)

   Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)

   Card dispute for a refund American owes but has not paid.

State agencies for this sector: your state’s attorney general. Find yours in the list of state agencies, or as JSON in states/<code>.json (for example states/ny.json).

Watch out

Related

• Delayed bag at other companies
• How American Airlines complaints actually go (dossier, checked 2026-10-12)
• Airlines — how complaints work
• American Airlines: flight cancelled or significantly changed
• American Airlines: long delay
• American Airlines: lost bag
• American Airlines: damaged bag
• American Airlines: bumped or denied boarding