beofotch

What are valid routes to get from SCL or EZE to AKL or SYD in 2013? It looks like QF is dropping SCL - SYD... Can Aerolinas Argentinas new EZE - SYD be vaild for an Explorer Award? If not, what other options are there?

Austinrunner

Where did you hear that?

Nope.

Ambraciot

I'm having trouble figuring out the taxes/fees for the following:

BOS-LHR (BA F) stop LGW-ALG (BA J) stop ALG-MAD (IB J), MAD-LHR (BA J), LHR-BOS (BA F)

How much would the total drop if I paid with tax exempt AA vouchers instead of cash?

Austinrunner

None. Why would any AA vouchers be "tax exempt"?

Ambraciot

Using AA vouchers to pay the full cost of a ticket makes the US 7.5% fare tax along with a number of other fees disappear. On cheap domestic tickets this is about a 20% savings (a four segment $300 a/i trip costs $240 worth of AA voucher).

I think some of the international taxes and fees should disappear if you pay everything including the fuel surcharges with vouchers... but I'm not sure if it's better than the ~20% saved on domestic tickets.

beofotch

I could be mistaken, but I saw this on airliners.net. Also using the british airways search I can't find even (1) ticket, even in Y SCL-AKL or SCL - SYD after January 1, 2013.

Austinrunner

Try ITA. The flights are there.

Austinrunner

Ambraciot, when you use a voucher to buy a new ticket and don't pay taxes, that's because you already paid the taxes on the first ticket that ultimately resulted in the voucher. The voucher is not "tax exempt."

Ambraciot

Actually it's kind of the reverse of that. The only type of AA vouchers subject to taxes are the ones given as refunds for purchased tickets (the refund amount includes the tax paid). Using the other types of vouchers (bump, customer service...) lower the pre-tax fare for your booking and if they lower it to zero a number of the taxes and fees disappear. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

beofotch

I see that, though if availability Jan 1, 2013 - End of Calendar is completely blacked out, there are no options for award tickets. Unless they load the SCL - AKL availability at a later date?

Austinrunner

QF (for SYD-SCL) and LA (for AKL-SCL) can load award availability at anytime within the booking window (or not at all). You cannot determine whether a flight is operating by looking at whether award seats are available.

BAK

My trip was ticketed today, so it looks liked 1-way awards are indeed allowed.
Now I have to find a return and then maybe combine the awards into one award.

Austinrunner

There's no such thing as a one way or round trip Explorer award. It can begin anywhere and end anywhere so long as there's not more than one open jaw in the itinerary.

JS0720

I just wanted to thank Austinrunner and everybody else who has asked so many questions on this thread... I managed to book my Explorer award of just over 48k miles, and having done so much homework in advance on rules, the experience wasnt too painful. It was a little scary when I started clarifying the rules with the AAgents (and explaining why departing from co-terminals "inserts" an extra zero-mileage segment into the itinerary). I'm planning on booking a separate Explorer ticket to do some intermediate segments, but didnt want to waste the F award on many regional J flights (at the same time, I ran out of ideas and patience for long-hauls and added some short-haul flights to round out the ticket).

Here's my routing:
GRU-LHR (BA F)
LHR-JNB (BA F)
JNB-LHR (BA F)
LHR-SFO (BA F)
SFO-LAX (AA F)
LAX-SFO (AA F)
SFO-HKG (CX F)
HKG-SIN (CX F)
SIN-HKG (CX F)
HKG-HND (CX F)
NRT-CDG (JL F)
CDG-LHR (BA J)
LHR-MIA (BA F)
MIA-SJU (AA J)
SJU-JFK (AA J)

330k Miles... $700 and change in taxes. Without the GRU departure I imagine the taxes would have been multiples of that number.

beofotch

Impressive!!! Congratulations.

How far in advance was this booking? And I am guessing this is for 1 ticket?