May 30, 2013, 9:55 pm
Last edit by: jerryhung
New List of Mini-RTW 2.0 version after Oct 29th, 2014 "enhancement" (i.e. less MPM)
FAQ: List of valid and booked mini-RTW itineraries version 2.0 (post-"enhancement"
INTRO
This wiki is taken from the excellent overview in the first post of this thread by FrequentFlyer9000 and is meant as a guide to the Aeroplan "Mini-RTW" for the uninformed newbie flyer. This is a no judgment zone and newbies are welcome. In this thread, the usage of scary acronyms and complicated FlyerTalk insider-speak will be minimized.
Also, this wiki is a work in progress so please provide feedback or make wiki edits if you think something warrants it.
INFO & COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the "Mini-RTW"?
The Mini-RTW is a name given to a type of reward booking using Air Canada's Aeroplan miles. It is actually not a "round-the-world" ticket at all - it is a regular award redemption. Just as you would use 75K frequent flyer miles to go to Japan on another airline, you can use 75K to do so using Aeroplan miles. The difference is that Aeroplan allows you to "stopover" in multiple cities at no extra mileage cost, making it very attractive compared to other reward travel. It should be noted that this isn't really that much better than some other airlines. For example, Delta offers one stopover + open jaw, which is only one stopover worse than Aeroplan's deal. But many of the airlines only offer one stopover and no open jaw. So there is definitely value here.
In addition to your final destination (in which you can stay for days/weeks/months), you are allowed:
•Two stopovers in other cities (stay for days/weeks/months). You are allowed to trade one of these stopovers for an open jaw (where you land in one city, but take the next flight out of another city)
•10 segments (layovers during which you spend less than 24 hours in a given city) <-- this limit may be gone as of 2014/2015
So, disregarding the additional 10 segments, an award trip for Japan could actually look like this:
NYC > Tokyo (destination - one week) > Paris (stopover - one week) > London (stopover - one week) > NYC
You basically get three times the world exploration for the price of one. If you add on the extra layovers allowed, you can turn it into:
NYC > Los Angeles (one day) > Hawaii (one day) > Tokyo (one week) > Seoul (one day) > Hong Kong (one day) > Paris (one week) > Munich (one day) > London (one week) > Washington DC (one day) > NYC
Of course, you don't have to do the above. Spending so much time in airports can be exhausting. But the option is there for you if you want it.
How many miles is this going to cost me?
See the Award Travel chart here.
From North America to "Asia 1" countries: (effective Jan 1, 2014)
•75K in Economy
•150K in Business
•210K in First
From North America to "Europe 1" countries:
•60K in Economy
•90K in Business
•125K in First
...and so on. Check the link for other combinations. Assuming you are stopping in three cities, the city in the most "expensive" redemption zone is the zone you will have to pay for. So if you are visiting two Asia1 zone cities and one Middle East city, you will pay 80K miles rather than 75K miles since that is what the Middle East trip costs (numbers assume Economy class travel).
Which miles do I need to use? Can I use miles from other Star Alliance airlines?
You need to use Aeroplan miles. You cannot use miles from other Star Alliance members, such as United, to book this mini-RTW. However, you can book flights for the mini-RTW on any airline that is in the alliance and has the desired award seating available. You technically do not have to fly any segments on Air Canada at all.
So, what's the catch? What are the restrictions?
There is no catch. However, there are some restrictions on your itinerary. This is where things get a bit more complicated.
Want to find the new MPM after 10/29/2014?
Aeroplan City Pair mileage (new pseudo-MPM) - FlyerTalk Forums
This is no longer valid after 10/29/2014
2) If you do elect to use an open jaw instead of one of your stopovers, you must schedule the open jaw so that it is in the same "IATA zone" as either the origin or the destination city. So if you are going from NY to Japan to Europe and back to NY, the open jaw cannot be scheduled in Europe, since it is neither the origin zone or the destination zone. The open jaw also cannot be a larger distance than any two legs you are actually flying. In case you are wondering, IATA zones are as follows:
IATA 1 - The Americas (incl. Caribbean, Hawaii)
IATA 2 - Europe as far as the Ural Mountain range, Middle East & Africa
IATA 3 - Oceania, SE Asia, Far East, Sub-Continent.
Remember that if you use your open jaw at the turnaround/destination point, you will only have one stopover to use left. So you would be able to do NYC > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. This has one destination, one open jaw (at turnaround point), and one stopover. However, you would not be able to do this: NYC > Madrid (stop) > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. Because your 2 stops + 1 open jaw would be more than the two allowed.
3) You cannot land in the same city twice in any one direction. This means that on my way from NY to, let's say, Cairo, I cannot do New York > London > Paris > London > Cairo on the way there, since I would be stopping in London twice in one direction. However, I can stop in London on the way to Cairo and then again on the way back from Cairo.
4) The actual trip needs to be "bookable". It needs to follow certain rules. I won't get into too many details, but anything completely nonsensical in terms of routing is generally not going to fly. But most routes will not fall into this category. Just something to keep in mind.
Do I have to go in the same direction for every leg of the flight?
No. As an example, you can cross the Atlantic twice or cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific once (more like a real RTW trip).
How do I book this?
Assuming you have already planned out your entire itinerary to the dot and have made sure your trip is in accordance with the above restrictions, call Aeroplan and speak with a representative. Alternatively, you can try to book online for free. However, this is not always possible with more complicated routings.
What will this cost me in real cash? How can I minimize fees?
It depends on the region you travel to and which airline you fly on. In general, the more Air Canada segments you fly the more fees/taxes you will pay. Aeroplan does not collect surcharges on non-Air Canada-operated flights. So flying Air Canada internationally will cost you extra. If you use a lot of Air Canada flights in your mini-RTW, your fees could be anywhere from $150 to $400, even sometimes creeping up above $600. Lesson is to avoid AC "metal" (airplanes) if possible.
Every trip will have a $30 cost per person for booking on the phone, regardless of the itinerary.
What are the change fees if I want to change a leg or multiple legs of the trip later?
$90 for changes after original booking. If there is an involuntary change because of flight schedules changing, there is no fee charged. Note that when you make a change, the taxes/fees associated with fuel, etc. may change. They may decrease or increase depending on the previous flight and the new flight. This is independent of the $90 rebooking fee. The $90 is flat regardless of how many of the segments you change. It is not $90 per changed segment.
How do I plan this trip out? Even finding a simple award ticket can be difficult online, let alone one with 10 segments!
Good question. It is recommended that you use either the All-Nippon Airways (ANA) website (guide on how here), the KVS tool (costs money) or ExpertFlyer (costs money), or http://FliSea.com. I personally like to use KVS, but it is not newbie-friendly. It is $20 for 2 months for the "diamond" level service, and $75 for a year. Small price to pay for saving a lot of time, if you can handle the learning curve. ANA is a good free method of finding segments and many people have had plenty of success with it; FliSea is a metasearch tool that uses all of the sites above.
The trick is to do this one segment at a time. So first find NYC > LONDON for the date you want and make sure that the award class you are looking for is available (e.g. Economy low fare). Then do the next leg: LONDON > ROME. Repeat for every segment. Write down the details of each flight, calculate the mileage using the www.gcmap.com resource, and call up Aeroplan to book.
One of our Flyertalk members has built a database with all the Mini-RTW routes that have been flown in the various threads in one simple place: http://www.turnleftat.com/mini-rtw-list/
FAQ: List of valid and booked mini-RTW itineraries version 2.0 (post-"enhancement"
INTRO
This wiki is taken from the excellent overview in the first post of this thread by FrequentFlyer9000 and is meant as a guide to the Aeroplan "Mini-RTW" for the uninformed newbie flyer. This is a no judgment zone and newbies are welcome. In this thread, the usage of scary acronyms and complicated FlyerTalk insider-speak will be minimized.
Also, this wiki is a work in progress so please provide feedback or make wiki edits if you think something warrants it.
INFO & COMMON QUESTIONS
What is the "Mini-RTW"?
The Mini-RTW is a name given to a type of reward booking using Air Canada's Aeroplan miles. It is actually not a "round-the-world" ticket at all - it is a regular award redemption. Just as you would use 75K frequent flyer miles to go to Japan on another airline, you can use 75K to do so using Aeroplan miles. The difference is that Aeroplan allows you to "stopover" in multiple cities at no extra mileage cost, making it very attractive compared to other reward travel. It should be noted that this isn't really that much better than some other airlines. For example, Delta offers one stopover + open jaw, which is only one stopover worse than Aeroplan's deal. But many of the airlines only offer one stopover and no open jaw. So there is definitely value here.
In addition to your final destination (in which you can stay for days/weeks/months), you are allowed:
•Two stopovers in other cities (stay for days/weeks/months). You are allowed to trade one of these stopovers for an open jaw (where you land in one city, but take the next flight out of another city)
•10 segments (layovers during which you spend less than 24 hours in a given city) <-- this limit may be gone as of 2014/2015
So, disregarding the additional 10 segments, an award trip for Japan could actually look like this:
NYC > Tokyo (destination - one week) > Paris (stopover - one week) > London (stopover - one week) > NYC
You basically get three times the world exploration for the price of one. If you add on the extra layovers allowed, you can turn it into:
NYC > Los Angeles (one day) > Hawaii (one day) > Tokyo (one week) > Seoul (one day) > Hong Kong (one day) > Paris (one week) > Munich (one day) > London (one week) > Washington DC (one day) > NYC
Of course, you don't have to do the above. Spending so much time in airports can be exhausting. But the option is there for you if you want it.
How many miles is this going to cost me?
See the Award Travel chart here.
From North America to "Asia 1" countries: (effective Jan 1, 2014)
•75K in Economy
•150K in Business
•210K in First
From North America to "Europe 1" countries:
•60K in Economy
•90K in Business
•125K in First
...and so on. Check the link for other combinations. Assuming you are stopping in three cities, the city in the most "expensive" redemption zone is the zone you will have to pay for. So if you are visiting two Asia1 zone cities and one Middle East city, you will pay 80K miles rather than 75K miles since that is what the Middle East trip costs (numbers assume Economy class travel).
Which miles do I need to use? Can I use miles from other Star Alliance airlines?
You need to use Aeroplan miles. You cannot use miles from other Star Alliance members, such as United, to book this mini-RTW. However, you can book flights for the mini-RTW on any airline that is in the alliance and has the desired award seating available. You technically do not have to fly any segments on Air Canada at all.
So, what's the catch? What are the restrictions?
There is no catch. However, there are some restrictions on your itinerary. This is where things get a bit more complicated.
Want to find the new MPM after 10/29/2014?
Aeroplan City Pair mileage (new pseudo-MPM) - FlyerTalk Forums
This is no longer valid after 10/29/2014
1) Your itinerary must be within 5% of the total "Maximum Permitted Mileage" (MPM) for the route from the origin to the destination. Even though you are stopping in three cities by using your two stopovers and a final destination, you can define the destination as the stop city furthest away from the origin. Although certain flyers have gotten away with telling an inattentive phone rep that their final destination / "turnaround city" is one of their layover cities to increase their MPM, this does not always work. Sticking with one of your three stop cities is a safe bet.
MPM exist so that you cannot repeatedly fly around the world 10 times on your 10 segments. There is a limit to how many miles you can fly on the reward ticket. MPM guidelines can be found by using the KVS tool or by using Expert Flyer. MPM is calculated between your origin and your destination, one-way. The trips to and from your destination are calculated separately. You are allowed to overshoot this number by 5% ("MPM5"). If you can find a bookable itinerary online that has a mileage longer than the published MPM, this is a "published routing" and can be used even if it exceeds the MPM5. In KVS, navigate to the "Reference" tab, select "MPM" from the dropdown menu, and enter your city pair. MPM information is available under the Travel Information section of ExpertFlyer. It is available to all subscribers, Basic or Premium, and there is a 5-day free trial to ExpertFlyer.com that can be used.
To see if your itinerary fits your MPM limit, you can use the site here to see your total miles traveled: www.gcmap.com. Enter your airport codes separated by dashes to see the itinerary and get the total mileage (e.g. NYC - LHR - NYC). Example here.
TO READ MORE ABOUT MPM: Read this (short) document
MPM exist so that you cannot repeatedly fly around the world 10 times on your 10 segments. There is a limit to how many miles you can fly on the reward ticket. MPM guidelines can be found by using the KVS tool or by using Expert Flyer. MPM is calculated between your origin and your destination, one-way. The trips to and from your destination are calculated separately. You are allowed to overshoot this number by 5% ("MPM5"). If you can find a bookable itinerary online that has a mileage longer than the published MPM, this is a "published routing" and can be used even if it exceeds the MPM5. In KVS, navigate to the "Reference" tab, select "MPM" from the dropdown menu, and enter your city pair. MPM information is available under the Travel Information section of ExpertFlyer. It is available to all subscribers, Basic or Premium, and there is a 5-day free trial to ExpertFlyer.com that can be used.
To see if your itinerary fits your MPM limit, you can use the site here to see your total miles traveled: www.gcmap.com. Enter your airport codes separated by dashes to see the itinerary and get the total mileage (e.g. NYC - LHR - NYC). Example here.
TO READ MORE ABOUT MPM: Read this (short) document
IATA 1 - The Americas (incl. Caribbean, Hawaii)
IATA 2 - Europe as far as the Ural Mountain range, Middle East & Africa
IATA 3 - Oceania, SE Asia, Far East, Sub-Continent.
Remember that if you use your open jaw at the turnaround/destination point, you will only have one stopover to use left. So you would be able to do NYC > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. This has one destination, one open jaw (at turnaround point), and one stopover. However, you would not be able to do this: NYC > Madrid (stop) > Singapore (destination, open jaw) // Tokyo (stop) > NYC. Because your 2 stops + 1 open jaw would be more than the two allowed.
3) You cannot land in the same city twice in any one direction. This means that on my way from NY to, let's say, Cairo, I cannot do New York > London > Paris > London > Cairo on the way there, since I would be stopping in London twice in one direction. However, I can stop in London on the way to Cairo and then again on the way back from Cairo.
4) The actual trip needs to be "bookable". It needs to follow certain rules. I won't get into too many details, but anything completely nonsensical in terms of routing is generally not going to fly. But most routes will not fall into this category. Just something to keep in mind.
Do I have to go in the same direction for every leg of the flight?
No. As an example, you can cross the Atlantic twice or cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific once (more like a real RTW trip).
How do I book this?
Assuming you have already planned out your entire itinerary to the dot and have made sure your trip is in accordance with the above restrictions, call Aeroplan and speak with a representative. Alternatively, you can try to book online for free. However, this is not always possible with more complicated routings.
What will this cost me in real cash? How can I minimize fees?
It depends on the region you travel to and which airline you fly on. In general, the more Air Canada segments you fly the more fees/taxes you will pay. Aeroplan does not collect surcharges on non-Air Canada-operated flights. So flying Air Canada internationally will cost you extra. If you use a lot of Air Canada flights in your mini-RTW, your fees could be anywhere from $150 to $400, even sometimes creeping up above $600. Lesson is to avoid AC "metal" (airplanes) if possible.
Every trip will have a $30 cost per person for booking on the phone, regardless of the itinerary.
What are the change fees if I want to change a leg or multiple legs of the trip later?
$90 for changes after original booking. If there is an involuntary change because of flight schedules changing, there is no fee charged. Note that when you make a change, the taxes/fees associated with fuel, etc. may change. They may decrease or increase depending on the previous flight and the new flight. This is independent of the $90 rebooking fee. The $90 is flat regardless of how many of the segments you change. It is not $90 per changed segment.
How do I plan this trip out? Even finding a simple award ticket can be difficult online, let alone one with 10 segments!
Good question. It is recommended that you use either the All-Nippon Airways (ANA) website (guide on how here), the KVS tool (costs money) or ExpertFlyer (costs money), or http://FliSea.com. I personally like to use KVS, but it is not newbie-friendly. It is $20 for 2 months for the "diamond" level service, and $75 for a year. Small price to pay for saving a lot of time, if you can handle the learning curve. ANA is a good free method of finding segments and many people have had plenty of success with it; FliSea is a metasearch tool that uses all of the sites above.
The trick is to do this one segment at a time. So first find NYC > LONDON for the date you want and make sure that the award class you are looking for is available (e.g. Economy low fare). Then do the next leg: LONDON > ROME. Repeat for every segment. Write down the details of each flight, calculate the mileage using the www.gcmap.com resource, and call up Aeroplan to book.
One of our Flyertalk members has built a database with all the Mini-RTW routes that have been flown in the various threads in one simple place: http://www.turnleftat.com/mini-rtw-list/
FAQ: The Complete Newbie Guide/FAQ to the Air Canada Aeroplan Mini-RTW
Sep 3, 2019, 11:31 am
#1921
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, BA Gold, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,331
Booked my first (and only, I guess.. given the rules have changed) mini-RTW.
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
Generally speaking, you'll need to grab your bag on any overnight connections, but not daytime connections, though the rules could be different if it's an extremely long daytime connection (like arrive 5am depart 11pm).
Sep 4, 2019, 4:36 am
#1922
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 187
Booked my first (and only, I guess.. given the rules have changed) mini-RTW.
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
second, you bag might tag to the next destination but you might not be able to drop your bag at layover. (US layover, international-US-US domestic or Internation-US-International) it happened to me twice, once at sfo (United -> Air Canada) , which united made me drop my bag at the AC counter instead at the drop off after custom. and once at lax, because it was way too early and they didn't want to take the bag.
third, the agent might need to use a second tag, if you have more than three flights in order to reach destination. my bags did arrive, but i don''t know by having a second tag on the bag increases the chance for being lost.
fourth, for certain airlines, if you fly out from their hub, you can check the bag a day before. (ex: ZRH with Swiss, SIN with Singapore) It might be easier just to tag to the layover and then recheck it right away. Also, most airports have left luggage service, you need to check the opening hours just to make sure that you can retrieve your bag before the drop off cutoff.
fifth, always check your bag tag claim in order to find out where it tags to, because your tag might not tag to destination by the computer or incorrectly tag to the wrong airport by the agent)
Sep 4, 2019, 7:47 pm
#1923
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,784
Booked my first (and only, I guess.. given the rules have changed) mini-RTW.
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
If your bag misses, it may be hard to "catch up" with you even if you're constantly moving
but I'd say those airlines are good *A ones and you should be safe
Sep 5, 2019, 8:33 am
#1924
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 154
Booked my first (and only, I guess.. given the rules have changed) mini-RTW.
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
I.. have so many questions now, because I really haven't done much travelling at all.
First one..
What happens with your checked luggage?
My destinations are NRT, PER, and TXL.. but along the way, I'll be laying over in LAX, ICN, SIN, BKK, IST, ZRH, and YUL. I'll be flying different segments on AC, Asiana, ANA, Singapore, Turkish, and Swiss. (Oh my god, what am I getting myself into?!)
Is it too much to expect that I check my luggage in at my starting point at each leg of the journey (ie. YYZ->NRT, NRT->PER, PER->TXL, TXL->YYZ) and expect it to end up at the destination? Even when each leg involves layovers with different airlines?
Sep 5, 2019, 8:40 am
#1925
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 632
Apologies if this isn't the best thread for this question, but it seemed the most relevant I found.
I have booked an all J award with Aeroplan, some months ago, MIA-AMS via OSL with SAS, AMS-VIE with Austrian, and VIE-ATL via IST on the new Turkish 787. Taking advantage of the open jaw and free stopover features before Aeroplan changed the program.
The first flight is about 3 weeks from now. As we are closing in on the flight I have seen Lufthansa is opening up first class availability on their A380 out of Miami. Is it possible for me to call up Aeroplan if I notice space becomes available that I can use, and pay the extra miles (looks to be only 15,000 more per ticket if I am reading correctly), any tax/fees difference, plus the change booking fee to put us on LH F on our existing itinerary?
*edit* just for giggles I looked up an similar example itinerary of a trip using an LH date I know has availability, and even though only the outbound flight was in first, and the return in business, the total for the RT went up 30,000 miles, where the one way only goes up 15,000.
I have booked an all J award with Aeroplan, some months ago, MIA-AMS via OSL with SAS, AMS-VIE with Austrian, and VIE-ATL via IST on the new Turkish 787. Taking advantage of the open jaw and free stopover features before Aeroplan changed the program.
The first flight is about 3 weeks from now. As we are closing in on the flight I have seen Lufthansa is opening up first class availability on their A380 out of Miami. Is it possible for me to call up Aeroplan if I notice space becomes available that I can use, and pay the extra miles (looks to be only 15,000 more per ticket if I am reading correctly), any tax/fees difference, plus the change booking fee to put us on LH F on our existing itinerary?
*edit* just for giggles I looked up an similar example itinerary of a trip using an LH date I know has availability, and even though only the outbound flight was in first, and the return in business, the total for the RT went up 30,000 miles, where the one way only goes up 15,000.
Last edited by HiAperture; Sep 5, 2019 at 8:45 am
Sep 5, 2019, 12:07 pm
#1926
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,305
Apologies if this isn't the best thread for this question, but it seemed the most relevant I found.
I have booked an all J award with Aeroplan, some months ago, MIA-AMS via OSL with SAS, AMS-VIE with Austrian, and VIE-ATL via IST on the new Turkish 787. Taking advantage of the open jaw and free stopover features before Aeroplan changed the program.
The first flight is about 3 weeks from now. As we are closing in on the flight I have seen Lufthansa is opening up first class availability on their A380 out of Miami. Is it possible for me to call up Aeroplan if I notice space becomes available that I can use, and pay the extra miles (looks to be only 15,000 more per ticket if I am reading correctly), any tax/fees difference, plus the change booking fee to put us on LH F on our existing itinerary?
*edit* just for giggles I looked up an similar example itinerary of a trip using an LH date I know has availability, and even though only the outbound flight was in first, and the return in business, the total for the RT went up 30,000 miles, where the one way only goes up 15,000.
I have booked an all J award with Aeroplan, some months ago, MIA-AMS via OSL with SAS, AMS-VIE with Austrian, and VIE-ATL via IST on the new Turkish 787. Taking advantage of the open jaw and free stopover features before Aeroplan changed the program.
The first flight is about 3 weeks from now. As we are closing in on the flight I have seen Lufthansa is opening up first class availability on their A380 out of Miami. Is it possible for me to call up Aeroplan if I notice space becomes available that I can use, and pay the extra miles (looks to be only 15,000 more per ticket if I am reading correctly), any tax/fees difference, plus the change booking fee to put us on LH F on our existing itinerary?
*edit* just for giggles I looked up an similar example itinerary of a trip using an LH date I know has availability, and even though only the outbound flight was in first, and the return in business, the total for the RT went up 30,000 miles, where the one way only goes up 15,000.
Sep 5, 2019, 12:39 pm
#1927
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 632
Yes, I saw the fuel surcharges are quite a bit higher! But if I wanted to part with the extra 30,000mi per ticket plus the surcharges and change fees, Aeroplan would let me while preserving the rest of my existing trip?
Sep 5, 2019, 7:07 pm
#1928
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,305
Yes, it shouldnt be a problem. Personally LH F would in no way be worth $800+30k points to me on an eastbound TATL over SAS J.
Sep 6, 2019, 6:21 am
#1929
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 632
Fair enough and I agree. 15,000 points and I would have considered it, but 30,000 points is practically a whole additional award flight, plus I am excited to fly SAS J. I just like to know what all my options are since I am still learning the best ways to redeem points. I appreciate the help.
Sep 24, 2019, 4:04 pm
#1930
Join Date: Aug 2019
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
Award availability discrepancies when changing destination
Not sure if this is the right forum but hoping to understand why certain flights only show up when the destination is changed for Aeroplan award flights.
Example: I can’t find a zrh-yul direct but if entering zrh-yyz a flight from zrh-yul and yul-yyz appears. Is it possible to book these when calling in to Aeroplan or will they have to be available on the website. Goal is to go zrh-yul-yyc and not to yyz.
Same issue with flights between per-akl. No flights show up but when going per-ppt for example the per-akl segment appears.
Question is why this is the case and whether calling would allow me to get award space on the first segments zrh-yul and per-akl
Example: I can’t find a zrh-yul direct but if entering zrh-yyz a flight from zrh-yul and yul-yyz appears. Is it possible to book these when calling in to Aeroplan or will they have to be available on the website. Goal is to go zrh-yul-yyc and not to yyz.
Same issue with flights between per-akl. No flights show up but when going per-ppt for example the per-akl segment appears.
Question is why this is the case and whether calling would allow me to get award space on the first segments zrh-yul and per-akl
Sep 24, 2019, 4:12 pm
#1931
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Canada
Programs: AC SE 2MM, HH Dd, SPG; IC Pl/A; AA; DL
Posts: 14,321
My experience is that if it shows up in a search then it should be bookable but there are quirks. Inventory is changing all the time. Resources like ExpertFlyer (paid subscription) help sort out what is available on each segment then you can phone in and book if you know what you want and see availability still. I have just done segment searches on Aeroplan and had the same success--if it shows up there then I have been able to call in and secure (if it hasn't disappeared--that can be maddeningly frustrating as I think we should be able to do more complex bookings rather than having to phone in--would be much faster and more certain in my view). Good luck!
Sep 24, 2019, 4:39 pm
#1932
Join Date: Aug 2019
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
Discrepancies in award search
Expert flyer behaves the same way. If searching zrh-yul it doesn’t show up as available, but zrh-yyz will Show the zrh-yul segment as available. Thanks for the response. May just have to call in to confirm.
Sep 26, 2019, 9:50 am
#1935
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 82
Not sure if this is the right forum but hoping to understand why certain flights only show up when the destination is changed for Aeroplan award flights.
Example: I can’t find a zrh-yul direct but if entering zrh-yyz a flight from zrh-yul and yul-yyz appears. Is it possible to book these when calling in to Aeroplan or will they have to be available on the website. Goal is to go zrh-yul-yyc and not to yyz.
Same issue with flights between per-akl. No flights show up but when going per-ppt for example the per-akl segment appears.
Question is why this is the case and whether calling would allow me to get award space on the first segments zrh-yul and per-akl
Example: I can’t find a zrh-yul direct but if entering zrh-yyz a flight from zrh-yul and yul-yyz appears. Is it possible to book these when calling in to Aeroplan or will they have to be available on the website. Goal is to go zrh-yul-yyc and not to yyz.
Same issue with flights between per-akl. No flights show up but when going per-ppt for example the per-akl segment appears.
Question is why this is the case and whether calling would allow me to get award space on the first segments zrh-yul and per-akl