Originally Posted by
amitdelia
I want to go from Houston -- Rio de Janeiro -- Santiago,Chile -- back to Houston -- or switch the 2 cities
IAH-GIG; GIG-SCL; SCL-IAH
Originally Posted by
amitdelia
1. Should I redeem my AA miles or my BA miles? I read that BA miles you can use for layovers.
2. If I use BA miles -- do i do the research first and then call BA -- do i use each stop as one way segments?
I guess Im really confused how to call BA and try to get the trip done for 40k miles. How does the award calaculate?
BA awards are based on the award chart if all flights are on the same partner or one partner + BA. If you have more than one partner (AA+LA) then you have a mileage base award that is typically more expensive.
Originally Posted by
amitdelia
LAN is a partner but flies out of miami so I would have to get from houston to miami or can the trip originate from houston with a layover in miami.
If you want to use BA miles for LAN & LAN-only flights you'd have to get to a LAN departure airport (MIA, JFK, LAX, SFO, CUN, MEX) & using BA miles should allow you to layover in GIG or SCL. If you chose to use AA miles you can depart from IAH with a MIA layover but can't layover without it counting as another one-way. Here's the
LAN route map
Originally Posted by
amitdelia
If someone could explain this to me I would appreciate it. My brain cant wrap around this.
First off you only have two destinations in mind, so in an ideal world you need one one-way with a stopover and one one-way without a stopover.
If you have CO or UA miles that could be helpful. I'm not sure if they allow stopovers on your way to/from a destination, but if they do that seems to be the easiest option.
If you don't have enough CO/UA miles for a round trip, but enough for a one-way that could also be helpful.
A few BA & AA mile option examples:
(a) IAH-MIA (paid or one-way AA miles redemption); BA miles on LAN for MIA-SCL; SCL-GIG -one-way ticket with stopover in SCL; For GIG-IAH you can use AA/CO/UA miles, or use BA miles, but all GIG-IAH flights would have to be on AA metal (so only one partner is used).
(b) Use BA miles on AA metal for IAH-SCL & GIG-IAH and use either BA or AA miles for a one-way between SCL & GIG or buy SCL-GIG.
(c) Use AA miles on AA and/or LA metal for IAH-SCL & GIG-IAH and use either BA or AA miles for a one-way between SCL & GIG or buy SCL-GIG.