If you're going to use AA miles, LAN is your only choice from LAX and SFO, and they aren't easy to find space on to Lima. You'd be better keeping your departure cities open and not relying on a stopover, so you could use MIA, DFW and JFK to get to Lima.
Check for LAN space using ba.com if you're interested in their availability.
saacman5033
Jul 3, 12, 2:17 pm
The thread Stubify referenced is key for you and seems to indicate that you can't do your proposed routing with AA miles as it would excede the MPM for an AA award.
You should have a chance with UA miles if availability is there
celetheo
Jul 3, 12, 2:38 pm
Thanks for all the responses - is there a good way to check availability on sites like AA or UA? I am new to the art of stopovers; if I can find a one-way from JFK - SFO, then a one-way from SFO - LIM, could I simply call and reference those flights to do a stopover?
Stubtify: Double-checking your link now for AA miles, thanks again.
EDIT: Did a search on UA using multiple stops. Have a EWR - SFO (nonstop in First) then SFO - IAH (First) - LIM (Business) - IAH (Business) - EWR (Economy). Came out to 105k miles and $75 - good deal? The dates actually work out really well, although I hadn't wanted to use first class (only available)...may book it and call it a day.
Stubtify
Jul 3, 12, 3:02 pm
For United, in coach try
UA1141 -- JFK-LAX Dec 22
CM473 LAX-PTY -- Dec 30 (COPA Air)
CM 489 PTY-LIM -- Dec 30
Return:
LIM-JFK (Can't find anything in coach, maybe Taca has room call United to ask them to look.
OP: do you have any UA miles yet?
celetheo
Jul 3, 12, 3:28 pm
OP: do you have any UA miles yet?
Yes, I have over 90k UA miles. I have had a Chase SP since March of this year, but credit score is excellent so I could easily grab the Explorer 65k offer if I needed to get to 105k.
Would coach be substantially less miles? (Checking now on the route you mentioned)
garkman
Jul 3, 12, 8:53 pm
RE: New Years - Cusco may be a better bet for new year's eve - I had a blast there last year in the Plaza de Armas. Just be careful of pick pockets...I was pick-pocketed twice within 30 minutes that night! It's not my first rodeo...they got nothing because I had nothing of value in the places they got to, and caught one by the wrist and gave him a good yelling at and a shove...but first time (and SECOND time!) I've ever been pick-pocketed during many trips abroad.
amolkold
Jul 3, 12, 11:00 pm
Can't do that with AA (runs over MPM +25%)
You can do SFO-JFK-LIM or the reverse with a stopover in NYC for 30K in J. I did it from LAX earlier this year. Great deal on the AA chart, especially if you get LAN to LIM.
timzheng
Jul 3, 12, 11:15 pm
Is ORD - LAX (stopover) - LIM over the MPM + 25%?
Can't do that with AA (runs over MPM +25%)
You can do SFO-JFK-LIM or the reverse with a stopover in NYC for 30K in J. I did it from LAX earlier this year. Great deal on the AA chart, especially if you get LAN to LIM.
amolkold
Jul 4, 12, 3:45 am
Is ORD - LAX (stopover) - LIM over the MPM + 25%?
Yes. 5962 miles flown > 5692 MPM+25%.
LIM is a lot further east than a lot of people seem to think. It's almost a straight shot south from NYC.
Happy
Jul 4, 12, 2:06 pm
You may want to read up the AA award availability threads in AA forum.
It looks great on chart, it looks terrible at award search using AA's own flights.
Do a dummy search on AA website to see for yourself. You dont need to have any AA miles to perform the search.
mnscout
Jul 4, 12, 2:40 pm
You may want to read up the AA award availability threads in AA forum.
It looks great on chart, it looks terrible at award search using AA's own flights.
Do a dummy search on AA website to see for yourself. You dont need to have any AA miles to perform the search.
+1. AA availability to Lima is absolutely atrocious throughout the year. High season or low season, it is so atrocious that it makes no sense whatsoever!:mad:
Happy
Jul 4, 12, 3:47 pm
+1. AA availability to Lima is absolutely atrocious throughout the year. High season or low season, it is so atrocious that it makes no sense whatsoever!:mad:
I seriously suspect this is PURPOSELY done by AA due to the loophole of appending a SouthAmerica 1 on an award returning from Hawaii, one can essentially travel in high season returning from Hawaii yet pay a low season S1 fare if one can use the NA Gateway stopover to go home, with LESS miles to boot if you use Coach Saaver.
Since AA does not intend to eliminate the NA gateway stopover on award involves NA and S1, it has no choice but make LIM and other S1/Central America locations largely AAnytime only in Coach and a lot less Saaver Business unless booked 8 - 9 months out, making it impossible to game the system.
Given AA recently eliminate Caribbeans for the NA gateway stopover eligibility, it is quite possible we would see some further loss to this benefit in coming months, after it has been touted everywhere, especially the Hawaii - S1 loophole.
Meanwhile those of us who really want to visit S1 with Saaver award basically are shut out. Now with Star A adding 3 airlines in the region, if one wants to go to S1 or Central America, UA miles would be the ticket.
ryandelmundo
Jul 5, 12, 4:36 am
Hi all,
Wanting to book the following trip on miles..stopover would be for Christmas this year and would be in LIM for new years and about a week after.
Christmas airfares to Latin America as extremely expensive and the award flights fill up quickly. I was able to book a Delta award last year but only departure before Dec 12 and returning after second week Jan. If you're trying to find something tight around Xmas I can't imagine it can be found.
BigRedBears
Jul 5, 12, 1:45 pm
BA on LAN:
If you have BA Avios, JFK-LIM is 20,000 coach/40,000 miles in business, MIA-LIM is 12,500/25000. It's not world shattering business class, but did the trick.
Beware of phantom LAN availability on BA/Qantas websites and KVS Tool. It will show you open seats, but those will disappear when you try to book. It's an issue on LAN end.
AA on AA:
AA is prohibitively expensive. I was trying to find LIM-JFK/MIA availability and mostly saw 60,000 business class seats, so occasional low level economy awards would pop-up.
I occasionally saw routes through Guayaquil, Bogota, Cancun but connecting times were off.
UA on US/Taca:
UA allows several creative routes:
LIM-IAH-JFK
LIM-PTY-JFK
and my favourite:
LIM-MIA-CLT-JFK
mnscout
Jul 5, 12, 10:35 pm
I seriously suspect this is PURPOSELY done by AA due to the loophole of appending a SouthAmerica 1 on an award returning from Hawaii, one can essentially travel in high season returning from Hawaii yet pay a low season S1 fare if one can use the NA Gateway stopover to go home, with LESS miles to boot if you use Coach Saaver.
Since AA does not intend to eliminate the NA gateway stopover on award involves NA and S1, it has no choice but make LIM and other S1/Central America locations largely AAnytime only in Coach and a lot less Saaver Business unless booked 8 - 9 months out, making it impossible to game the system.
Given AA recently eliminate Caribbeans for the NA gateway stopover eligibility, it is quite possible we would see some further loss to this benefit in coming months, after it has been touted everywhere, especially the Hawaii - S1 loophole.
Meanwhile those of us who really want to visit S1 with Saaver award basically are shut out. Now with Star A adding 3 airlines in the region, if one wants to go to S1 or Central America, UA miles would be the ticket.
If that is true, then AA is cutting its nose to spite the face. Their SA routes and zone divisions (and affiliation with LAN, of course, which is now in question) are AA's strongest features, IMHO. If I have to start redeeming my award travel on Star to Latin America--something I've never had to do before--I might give them my revenue business, as well. Well, that is if I was a loyal flyer which I'm not, but truly frequent flyers might feel that way.
I hope, there is another explanation, though. I mean wouldn't it be easier for them just to tweak a few redemption rules, than doing this carpet bombing?