I'm going to embark on a grown-up backpacking trip around Asia. I was wondering how difficult it would be to use my AA miles for award tickets within Asia.
I'd love some tips on the best routes, etc. I'm planning on going all around Asia and am very flexible as to where I go and when. Also, is there any possibility of stop-overs or open jaw tickets?
If you could explain anything or direct me to the right place, I would be eternally grateful.
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, AAdvantage Gold, DL Skymiles, UA Mileage Plus
Posts: 341
Booking award travel within Asia on One World partners is very easy, you just have to call AA reservations and request the awards.
Since award tickets are now priced per segment, one way awards are no problem.
I cannot comment about stopovers because I have no experience with an award booking involving a stopover. I suspect that since the awards are now priced per segment, one might be charged individually for each leg of travel in a stopover situation.
I think you need to check the rules and options with a oneworld award. Not sure if that will serve your purpose better than bunch of all partner awards using JL or CX mostly. All partner awards are simple. You simply book one-way travel on a single partner airline. Oneworld award may give you more bang for you miles depending on how you choose to route.
However, I do urge you to visit Bali, and Shanghai unless they are already on your list.
Since award tickets are now priced per segment, one way awards are no problem.
Awards are priced as one-ways, not by segment. (I.E. TPE-HKG-SIN is a single award, as long as you don't stay too long in HKG. Spend more than 24 (?) hours in HKG, and then it becomes two awards.)
Do you know if there are any routes that are notoriously expensive and would be better to use the miles on? I'm going to be hitting almost all major cities (I hope!)
Check out the LCCs in Asia. Sometimes (especially when you are really flexible) they have really good fares.
Just booked a SGN-SIN return on tiger for less than 100 US$ incl. taxes as an example. Even if you don't put a high value on your AA miles buying tickets is often the better alternative.
Check out the LCCs in Asia. Sometimes (especially when you are really flexible) they have really good fares.
Just booked a SGN-SIN return on tiger for less than 100 US$ incl. taxes as an example. Even if you don't put a high value on your AA miles buying tickets is often the better alternative.
That's a good point. Especally when you consider just how far out of the way the OneWorld hubs in the region can be, especally in the ASEAN countries.
Programs: CO Plat, AA Plat, HH Gold, *W Gold, Hertz 5*
Posts: 10,503
Quote:
Originally Posted by StrandedinSC
Awards are priced as one-ways, not by segment. (I.E. TPE-HKG-SIN is a single award, as long as you don't stay too long in HKG. Spend more than 24 (?) hours in HKG, and then it becomes two awards.)
Well, if it's anything like what's going on with the intra-Europe awards, the only way that connection is a single award is if CX publishes a fare on TPE-SIN (They do, unlike, say, BCN-MXP which would be two awards if you had to take BA via LHR).
And I'm not an expert on what constitutes a stopover, and whether you can actually stay up to 24 hours, though I think there is a lot of discussion on these boards and maybe in the FAQ/Wiki.
I'm going to embark on a grown-up backpacking trip around Asia. I was wondering how difficult it would be to use my AA miles for award tickets within Asia.
I'd love some tips on the best routes, etc. I'm planning on going all around Asia and am very flexible as to where I go and when. Also, is there any possibility of stop-overs or open jaw tickets?
If you could explain anything or direct me to the right place, I would be eternally grateful.
For lots of stopovers, you have several options within the realm of AAdvantage partners:
A oneworld award. If you use at least two oneworld partners (CX and KA do not count as two, you'd need another), you can redeem a oneworld award based on the total distance flown, segment by segment, up to 16 total segments. You can have lots of stopovers and one open jaw, all on one purely distance-based award. Read the oneworld award thread for details.
I wouldn't waste miles on flights within Asia. The area is swimming with budget airlines and cheap fares. Take a look at AirAsia and Tiger, for a start. Sign up for their newsletters. AirAsia in particular has ridiculously cheap specials.
I just checked on a one-way ticket Hong Kong to Bangkok, and it was USD $125, which isn't a fare I'd give up many miles for.
How are you planning to get to Aisa? That's where I'd put my miles, buying a one-way ticket over, then a one-way ticket back. You never know where you will be when you finally want to go home, or whether that will happen with in a year, so leaving it open is a great option. I've done several long adult back-packing trips, and I know it is easy to find a place you love and spend way more time there than you planned, or to hear about something great that you never thought of before and head off in another, unplanned direction. At least you haven't fallen for the RTW 22-flight trap.
And congratulations! It will be a great experience!
Last edited by stilloutthere; Aug 26, 09 at 9:31 pm..
I wouldn't waste miles on flights within Asia. The area is swimming with budget airlines and cheap fares. Take a look at AirAsia and Tiger, for a start. Sign up for their newsletters. AirAsia in particular has ridiculously cheap specials.
Also take a look at what they're selling you -- see Air Asia seating and http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/i...4927?task=view for example -- and how many other fees you have to pay. I am not sure what your definition of adult "backpacking" is, and how much you value your time (delays, strandings, possibility of bankruptcy in this economy, etc.). I don't know much about these airlines, but I suggest you do your homework.
Last edited by hillrider; Aug 27, 09 at 10:17 am..
