Carole, this is exactly what I did with my tickets to St Lucia for May travel. We canceled our sail in late March but I waited until American cancelled my flights to call and ask for a refund and they were great about it. One of my travel companions called right away (before flights were cancelled) and got a credit.

The only drawback has been the length of time it has taken to get it processed--first thru American's portal and now back to my card. It was worth playing the waiting game to get my cash back. We are planning a trip to Maui in October but I wasn't willing to purchase our tickets yet.