skimthetrees

It looks like it can be both. POS restrictions can apply to other than Japan and married segment logic may also apply.

TPE-NRT-SEA on 1/14 in J is only available from the US as married segments. It is available from JP unmarried. It is not available at all from TW.

Flying for Fun

Thanks again. That is very useful information. I will be looking for awards for 2 to Auckland in February and from Sydney in March. Do you find good value in KVS tools? I have been pretty lucky in finding awards that suit my needs but I also have good flexibility. AA has been frustrating in the SA-NA market with J availability to One World partners but no availability to AS.

James

Domo5

Thanks for the discussion and information here! Tremendously helpful.

My desired travel date is 1/3 or 1/4. QF shows J available on 1/3. But AS returns no availability on either NRT-SEA or TPE-SEA on 1/3. It might be because there is no J available for the TPE-NRT segment on 1/3, according to QF. Please correct me if my understanding is wrong.

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(Update on 7/31 12pm PDT) Nvm. I found available J on PVG-NRT-SEA and am going to put the order in and call to drop the PVG-NRT segment. Thanks a lot for the help here, @skimthetrees !

skimthetrees

I would say I do find good value in KVS. More as time goes by. A few years ago KVS was a secondary tool for me. Now it is in my primary rotation. Maybe not my first go-to but second. I still like to use QF to search for CX and JL but KVS really rocketed in value for JL searches for me once I realized that it could use search availability from different points of sale using the QF method and that there sometimes was enhanced availability on JL in J when booking from a JP point of sale which KVS allowed me to identify. This really helps if you have AA miles as AA can book from a Japan Point of Sale. With AS if you know there is an award from Japan to the US that has a JP Point of Sale you can sometimes find a connecting itinerary from another country that picks up that award as a married segment, then drop the extra segment. Other things you can do with KVS you can mostly do from different partner websites but the availability to search on QF from different points of sale makes it valuable to me. For AS use you can also use the JL-OneWorld search method while setting the airline to CX since CX availability through the JL program seems to match AS. One drawback of searching JL for CX availability is that JL does not have access to CX Premium Economy awards but you can use other KVS methods to search for those (as well as on QF's website).

With KVS I can leave the basic search the same (route, date, etc) and just switch to different methods (different partners search engines) to rapidly search many partners for availability. Sometimes I will see an award with connections that gives me ideas for alternate ways to get where I want to go. KVS's search results are displayed as text and you can filter results to show only certain classes (I typically do not want to travel in Y). It's compact display makes it pretty easy to spot an award you are interested in (if one is available).

Going to Auckland, I do not know if KVS would add much value there. Going to SYD I think you might get some value out of that. It is $75/year for a Diamond membership (which you would need to search on QF, CX, JL). If it helps me find one award a year or save me one change fee it's paid for itself. I find it is worth it to me.

Expert Flyer is very useful for carriers that you can set award alerts for, which is not all of them and not JL or CX. KVS is useful more to spot awards in real-time searches.

ETA:
> AA has been frustrating in the SA-NA market with J availability to One World partners but no availability to AS
If you see a J award with two or more connecting AA segments available on a partner site the chances are this is a married segment availability issue. It is possible that you could call AS and have them check availability for the married segment journey and an agent may be able to book it. The website will not show AA married segment awards but I believe there were reports of people booking AA married segments awards by calling an AS agent.

skimthetrees

Nice! Glad I could help.

Flying for Fun

I really appreciate the information on KVS Tool. A $75 membership is pittance considering that is less than the taxes & surcharges on a one-way flight YLW-SEA.

Getting off topic just for a second. The AA flight in question is SCL-MIA-LAX in J with the 777 on MIA-LAX in October. It is available on AA. On AS the same itinerary is available but SCL-MIA is in Y connecting to the J transcon. I would prefer to book it on AS as I can extend the award on AS metal LAX-SEA-YLW with or without a stopover. Calling AS didn't produce a good outcome.

Back to JL

James

skimthetrees

James, I am pretty sure I see what you are looking at. 2 people, the 14th or the 21st? Shows on QF (which I love BTW, their IT does searches right) and I can confirm with KVS that this is due to married segments. The flights are still available in J together with a US point of sale but no J SCL-MIA unless married to MIA-LAX. For this journey you should be able to call AS and have them book the award as married segments. The website won't handle it (for AA). You may have to get to the partner desk to get someone knowledgeable enough to book married segments but I bet a dollar to a donut that it is possible for AS to book this journey. Maybe just have them search SCL-LAX and don't mention MIA then see if the flights show up but based on reports I hear the front line agents can only see what we see on the website so you probably have to get to the partner desk to book this and make it clear that the award is only available as married segments so they must search for it this way.

Flying for Fun

I just need one seat for the 14th. I will call them again and request the partner desk. Then I will sign up for KVS. Where do I sent the commision cheque?

James

skimthetrees

No commisions. If it helps you I am happy

Domo5

I'm back for more help...

So... I just spoke to one of the AS reps over the phone. The Seattle-based rep was very nice. But she wasn't able to figure out what's going on and said she could not make the change. It sounds like she was just trying to do the same search on the website and told me she couldn't find anything. Is it possible that I'm not allowed to drop the first segment, or is it just that I need to try my luck until I reach a more competitive rep?

skimthetrees

Tell them you had trouble with your request and ask to be transferred to the partner desk. Someone at the Partner Desk should be able to help you drop the first segment.

I should be clear, you first need to book online, then after it tickets call in to the Partner Desk to drop the first segment.

Domo5

The first rep simply refused to transfer me to anyone else and claimed that there's nothing they could do.

I called back an hour later and spoke to a different rep, who completed my ask in 3 minutes without asking any additional question.

Again thanks for the advice and help here!

bluepanda

I'd like to book SIN-HND and then KIX-BKK (open-jaw with a stopover of several months). If I have flown the SIN-HND sector, would I still be able to change the dates of the KIX-BKK sector? If I were to forfeit the KIX-BKK sector (also after having flown SIN-HND), would I have to pay a cancellation fee or no-show fee (I understand I will forego the miles)?

osotoc

AlphonsoMango

I'm thinking about spending my points to get to Japan via JL using my AS miles. I have 186k and my SO has 60k. We're looking at May 2020 and want to know if this would work. AS is showing availability for only economy seats but we would like to fly business. I would book 2x outbound and my own inbound while my SO books his own inbound. This will be 105k miles from my account and 35k from his. I'll wait until 2 weeks out and if they release more business class seats, we can call in (or can I do this online?) to upgrade to business which will use the remaining 75k in my account and remaining 25k in his. Will there be any fee to change booking class? I also don't see JL availability on the AS website at T-330 days out but more like T-323 or so instead of searching on AS, can I search on BA or AA then call AS to book? TIA!