I am looking at booking a cruise which starts in Alaska and ends in Japan. I am wanting to use AA miles for the flights, and I have plenty of miles. But I don't want to waste them.
Here is my question: am I going to have to get a one-world mileage based award or can I get one all-partner award? I know I can do the mileage based award, but the problem with that is that there are no milesaver F seats available from DFW to ANC on AA on the date I want (or anywhere close). There are seats on Alaska Airlines (involves an extra connection but that's ok), but Alaska Airlines isn't one world. So that would require an all-partner award.
But all-partner awards are roundtrip, and the mileage requirements are different for within the US and between US and Asia. I know it is possible to do open-jaw on one award if you are in the same region, but what about if the first part of the ticket is in one region and the second is in a different? Are they going to require me to get 2 separate awards (ie, use a lot more miles)?
You guys are the experts--what do you think?
Location: Huntsville, AL, formerly Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
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I'm not a One World expert, but I know that SkyTeam specifically allows open jaw bookings for cruises like yours that start in one port and end in another. Wife and I did that twice last year - once to fly to London and take a crossing on the QM2 (fly to London and back home from New York), and also just this past November when we flew to Cape Town, SA to board the Regent 7 Seas Navigator, and then we disembarked in Rio de Janiero and flew home from there. For the latter, our airfare (all first class including Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic - really nice) was 150k miles each which was a steal. When booking, most agents won't volunteer the open jaw for a cruise option - you have to ask. Once we asked it was a piece of cake. But do your homework first and have several options to present to the agent. They aren't always eager to spend the time looking for different routings and/or airlines. For example, we used Continental OnePass miles for our November trip, and the flights were a combination of Delta, Virgin and Continental. Other times, we've used OP miles and never flew CO at all.
I know it is possible to do open-jaw on one award if you are in the same region, but what about if the first part of the ticket is in one region and the second is in a different? Are they going to require me to get 2 separate awards (ie, use a lot more miles)?
Your proposed itin fails open jaw rules. The distance ANC-NRT that you wish to skip is greater than the shortest flown segment, TUL-ANC.
unless the rules have changed, open jaw rules don't apply to awards....the bw & me did dfw-hnl-cruise-nrt-dfw.....it was about 6 yrs ago....to hnl on aa, nrt-las on jl & then aa to dfw....
we [i] wanted to ug from y, but because of the open jaw rrules, the y fare was over $3k each, so we get j awards....
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don....i'm practicing to be a grouchy old man, and getting good at it....
Your proposed itin fails open jaw rules. The distance ANC-NRT that you wish to skip is greater than the shortest flown segment, TUL-ANC.
Wrong:
Quote:
Free Award
The published definition of an open jaw, that the unflown portion must be shorter than the flown segments, does not apply.
In addition, to OPs original question without all the misinformation:
Quote:
Open Jaws
* One allowed at the origin or destination.
* Prior to ticketing, open jaws are allowed between regions/zones as long as the higher mileage award is used.
If the open jaw ANC-NRT is counted against Asia, then NRT being your destination for a North Asia award should work for this.
But you still have the other issue that is All Partner Award requires you to take the MOST Direct route of travel to the international destination. Going TUL-ANC most likely not qualify as the most direct route.
Your best bet is to run this with AAdvantage desk to see what the agent(s) say. Hope you can get some consistent answers whether it is doable or WHY it is not doable.
