Originally Posted by
intub8r
1. I don't see any award redemption inventory for the particular flights we want (schedule not that flexible due to work commitments). Can I waitlist BOTH of us for a mileage upgrade from biz to F, even though only one of us has an Asia Miles account?
2. Do I have to have sufficient Asia Miles in my account prior to the upgrade(s) being cleared, or can I transfer them from Citi after the upgrade is issued? If so, how long of a window do I have to do that? My reading of the award chart seems to indicate I would need 85,000 x 2 pax or 170,000 asia miles to upgrade both outbound and inbound. Is that right?
3. It is critical that I credit these flights to AA for next year's status. Is it possible to use Asia Miles to upgrade and then switch out the FF# after ticket reissue
1) Yes. You can nominate 5 people to be on your redemption list for free, which means you can redeem miles for them (after 5, you have to pay to change the list). Nominate your wife and waitlist her under your account. No problem. It is called your "redemption group" or something like that, search the Asia Miles website for that.
2) I always thought "yes", but some folks report otherwise. The consensus seems to be you need something to be safe. Although that would suck to transfer some and then not have them clear. I recommend just trying to get on the waitlist now without any AM and see what they say, you'll only know if you try. Citi transfers in a few days, pretty quick. If they permit you to waitlist without enough miles, I'm confident if you clear at 14+ days out you'll be okay (they'll always give you a few days to ticket it). Where it will get tricky is if they dont clear until late, which is highly likely.....In this scenario, if you never want to use Asia Miles except for this, it might be best to then just pull your name off the waitlist.
3) here, there are no guarantees. Folks usually report it works and that's be my bet for the most highly likely outcome....BUT there are also occasional reports here of mess ups, where you get credit under Asia Miles not AA. I don't know AAs policy here my guess would be you're sol but you should check with the AA board. The usual disclaimer here is if you darn well 100pct need those miles for the original program then don't mess with it, because you are introducing the possibility that you'll be nearing Silver status (OW Ruby) on CX with that itinerary, which I'm sure will be zero solace to you given you'll probably miss out on your AA play or exec plat or whatever you're gunning for. (Aka you might get Asia Miles / Marco Polo Club Points not Advantage Miles / qualifying dollars or whatever they're called)
Btw, one final note. It is very very likely if F awards open they will come one at a time, and perhaps only one max. So maybe just use your AM for your wife to try F if availability opens, and you stay in J if you guys don't mind? This will also give you peace of mind for the AA miles situation in #3. Upgrading her I to Z (F redemption) won't affect your booking, even though you're using your miles.
Unless, of course she also needs status.