pdxparse

Looking for a bit of advice on an award ticket. I booked an LAX-NAN ticket in J on Fiji today. I have MVPG status. My hope is to book the LAX-NAN leg (did that today) and then when the award calendar opens up for days later in the week (I'm booking 330 days out) that I can add a NAN-BNE and a PDX-LAX leg (seems like there is limited award availability this far out on AS - but I'm hoping something will open up at a later date).

Is that something that's allowed, and will I be able to do this online or should I call in to the gold partner desk? The LAX-NAN flight is the hardest to find availability so that's why I booked that leg first - but not sure about Alaska's "rules" for adding award segments at a later date once the calendar for partner airlines opens up. Thank you.

Second question - how far out can I book Cathay for my flight home? I'm looking at Thanksgiving and while the award calendar only goes to 11/21 I know that you have to call in anyways for CX - wasn't sure how far out AS will allow to book. I see plenty of flights on CX BNE-HKG-LAX/SFO on Expert Flyer. Thank you!

williwaw

Someone else will need to weigh in on the Fiji NAN-BNE. But your strategy is similar to what I did for June. I booked SFO-MEL. Then one month later added the domestic Australian leg on QF I wanted. Another month later (today in fact) added the US domestic leg. The main rules are you can add with the stopover option so long as you stay on the partner or AS metal (includes Skywest). I personally did it over the phone with reservations on the Gold phone line. Most agents were quick to pick up on what I was doing and there might be some minimal taxes due when adding.

Flying for Fun

You are on the right track. It certainly is allowed but will require calling AS. You can change, but not add to your award online. I usually throw an extra segment onto my awards which I can change later. I can build it into a stopover (if I am not already using a stopover) or even change the destination, all online. The change fee waiver is "golden." Since you are requiring flights outside the booking window, this is not an option for you.

Don't forget that you can add a stopover in NAN if you like too. Perhaps a couple of days on the beach before BNE. Keep in mind though that NAN has one of the most expensive departure taxes in the Pacific. You are, however, not required to pay it if your onward flight is less than 72 hours so best to keep stopovers less than 3 days.

A friend recently booked 2 EK J awards when AS was having issues and a AS flight couldn't be added at booking. Once those were resolved we were able to call AS and add 2 LAX-HNL Saver A flights to the award.

FYI: You can also change awards that require repricing. It will be the additional miles plus fees and taxes. No worries about keeping the existing award intact. I booked CX J MEL-HKG. (30K) A month later I called and added CX F HKG-LAX with a 2 month HKG stopover. (80K) AS collected an additional 50K and a small difference in fees & taxes.

I also recently changed an award on QF starting in BNE to CX starting in PER while maintaining my AS F LAX-FLL flight after an LAX stopover.

James

minz56

You can book CX awards (by calling in) up to 330 days ahead. Other OW partners (eg QF, BA) will be able to book up to the end of CX's schedule (about 360 days, I think), so there is a 30 day window when awards are unavailable to AS.

CX award availability is not supported on EF so I suspect you may be looking at availability for regular cash tickets which is quite different. CX awards Australia to Hong Kong and vv are currently very difficult to get.

pdxparse

Thank you all - sounds like I just need to call once I'm 330 days out. Great information. My plan was to build in a 2 day stopover in NAN - never been to Fuji before! I'm seeing availability on CX using BA's search engine - not EF. Sorry for the mistake. Hopefully the CX flights are bookable - I know OW partners get more award tix than AS with CX. 55K miles and with a stopover in NAN, and 60K back on CX is not a bad use of AS miles I'm thinking!

jrl767

wow! can you share how you plan to do that?

williwaw

These features of AS awards ,igniting be my favorite MVPG benefit....

aaronts

With no status will these add on legs incur the $125 change fee, and what happens if I make a change within 24 hours, does the 24 hour clock reset?

rustykettel

Yes, adding on a segment(*) will incur a change fee after 24 hours. Within 24 hours, you can make one change OR cancel for a refund, so doesn't reset the clock or allow additional changes.

(*)There's another thread recently where an AS agent stated that adding on a connecting AS flight to a partner award could be done without a fee after 24 hours because the AS award flights are not loaded at schedule open. YMMV as this is not published publicly.

ucdtim17

With the new one time change fee waiver, I should be able to book an award now and add a leg at a later date for no fee, correct?