Originally Posted by
Flying for Fun
OP anticipates booking for the summer of 2025 which means he won't be looking to book awards for another 9-10 months. A lot can happen between now & then including AY & QR being fare based earnings and Partner awards going dynamic.
Without an immediate need, I wouldn't consider buying AA miles. Besides, there will be another Black Friday sale before anticipated travel.
James
Agreed. In light of the fact that the fixed price partner awards make AA's dynamic pricing look insane by contrast, closing this loophole (sort of unfair to call it a loophole though since the program is rooted in transparent award charts) is surely on the radar. As such, I certainly don't bank on the long term existence of these awards.
The slightly good news is that Delta has had a ~2-year head-start over AA on making partner awards just as crappy as their own, and they still haven't figured out how to pull it off across the board.