Help for flight ORD-SIN-Thailand with AA miles?

 
Old Sep 2, 2015, 8:55 am
  #1  
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Help for flight ORD-SIN-Thailand with AA miles?

Hello,
I am sorry for the question - I have done a lot of reading but could use some help. In early November I would like to join my husband on a business trip to Singapore and tack on a visit to Thailand. My husband will also need to go to Shanghai, but I don't have enough time for that portion.

We have about 280,000 AA miles and just a smattering of miles on other lines.

I am looking to book only my ticket on miles; his trip is on the company.

I see that AA has no award seats available; where else should I check? I looked at the Etihad website but couldn't see how to search award tix - and then how to get to Thailand from SIN was a question.

My dates are flexible. I appreciate any help!
Thanks
houseontheprairie is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2015, 9:14 am
  #2  
 
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You should call AA for award availability - they don't show availability on Cathay or Japan Airlines on the AA website. Alternatively you could check on the British Airways or Qantas website, but you have to sign up for their FF program first.

Your 280K miles are more than enough for a first class saver award. Since AA does not allow stopover on awards anymore, you may want to book ORD - SIN and BKK - ORD as awards, with a separate ticket (either paid or award) from SIN to BKK.
drminn is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2015, 9:31 am
  #3  
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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

AA partner CX offers direct service from SIN to BKK.

As noted, you must call AA to book award travel on CX or JL; aa.com is incapable of displaying (or booking) award seats on those carriers.
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Old Sep 2, 2015, 11:48 am
  #4  
 
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Originally Posted by houseontheprairie
Hello,
I am sorry for the question - I have done a lot of reading but could use some help. In early November I would like to join my husband on a business trip to Singapore and tack on a visit to Thailand. My husband will also need to go to Shanghai, but I don't have enough time for that portion.

We have about 280,000 AA miles and just a smattering of miles on other lines.

I am looking to book only my ticket on miles; his trip is on the company.

I see that AA has no award seats available; where else should I check? I looked at the Etihad website but couldn't see how to search award tix - and then how to get to Thailand from SIN was a question.

My dates are flexible. I appreciate any help!
Thanks
AA will not permit you to fly on Etihad to go from N America to SIN on a single award. This would require two tickets. Your best options are Cathay or JAL. You can call AA or search on ba.com to see availability for these airlines. I took a peek, and there is availability nearly every day in early November for ORD-SIN. SIN-BKK is a short hop on CX. If you're looking to do something like ORD-SIN / SIN-BKK / BKK-ORD, BA will only charge 7.5k for the SIN-BKK piece instead of AA's 15k price. Just some info in case you have some BA miles laying around. For the two long pieces, AA is the best to use.
dukerau is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2015, 11:48 am
  #5  
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Thank you for the info! I am glad to have some details on hand for when I call AA.
houseontheprairie is offline  
Old Sep 2, 2015, 12:02 pm
  #6  
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Hi Dukeru - I am not currently a BA frequent flyer - do I need to create an account to view Cathay availability? There seem to be two types - executive club and Avios travel reward program. Which would best apply to me?

Thank you again,
Colleen
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Old Sep 2, 2015, 12:10 pm
  #7  
 
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Originally Posted by dukerau
AA will not permit you to fly on Etihad to go from N America to SIN on a single award. This would require two tickets. Your best options are Cathay or JAL. You can call AA or search on ba.com to see availability for these airlines. I took a peek, and there is availability nearly every day in early November for ORD-SIN. SIN-BKK is a short hop on CX. If you're looking to do something like ORD-SIN / SIN-BKK / BKK-ORD, BA will only charge 7.5k for the SIN-BKK piece instead of AA's 15k price. Just some info in case you have some BA miles laying around. For the two long pieces, AA is the best to use.
Cash flight is also an option for SIN-BKK. They can be pretty cheap.
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Old Sep 2, 2015, 12:11 pm
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by houseontheprairie
Hi Dukeru - I am not currently a BA frequent flyer - do I need to create an account to view Cathay availability? There seem to be two types - executive club and Avios travel reward program. Which would best apply to me?

Thank you again,
Colleen
Executive Club. No cost to sign up. Yes, you must create an account to use their award search engine.
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