Oct 31, 2012, 9:15 am
ARCHIVE: NEWBIE LOUNGE -.Ask Your AA-Related Questions Here
Jun 21, 2011, 12:29 pm
#1501
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,520
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Welcome to FT!
Frequent-flyer miles are simply a form of currency used to obtain award tickets. Five thousand ff miles do not entitle you to fly 5,000 statute miles. Here is a link to the award chart for travel on AA flights. There are different charts for travel on partner airlines, and for oneworld awards, which are distance based, rather than zone based.
http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/d...ward-chart.jsp
As you will see, a Coach roundtrip for two people between North America and Japan requires a minimum of 100,000 AAdvantage miles. (The chart lists miles required for one-way travel.)
Miles expire after 18 months of no account activity. A ticket purchase is not required to have account activity.
If you have good credit, you might consider applying for both the Citi Visa and Citi Amex on the same day, so that you can get the 75,000-mile bonus on each card. Check the FT MilesBuzz! forum for information about this offer.
Suggest you read the stickies at the top of the AAdvantage forum -- as well as the lengthy thread on All-Partner awards -- to familiarize yourself with how the program works.
Originally Posted by jcc2k4
Hello, first time poster. I'm a complete newb, as i'm sure you'll be able to tell instantly from my question. Either way, I'm seriously considering getting the Citi AAdvantage Visa Signature card. Mainly to fly from America (chicago) to Japan (tokyo). I'd like to be able to visit about once every two years, but it seems the "miles" you earn on the card, aren't miles at all. They're telling me that you need 50,000 miles to fly from chicago to tokyo (for two people) round trip. When I did some calculating, you should really only need ~35,000 for two people. How are these "miles" calculated?
I also took a look at a domestic flight, thinking they would be less miles, and while they were less miles, they weren't THAT much less. From Minneapolis to San Francisco was 25,000 (for two people) round trip. I didn't even calculate the number of miles from minneapolis to san francisco as I know it isn't 25,000 miles round trip.
I know that your miles start to disintegrate after 18 months of no ticket purchases, but being right out of college i can't imagine spending $~34k a year on the card to get rewards to go to japan. Any suggestions / corrections to my logic?
I also took a look at a domestic flight, thinking they would be less miles, and while they were less miles, they weren't THAT much less. From Minneapolis to San Francisco was 25,000 (for two people) round trip. I didn't even calculate the number of miles from minneapolis to san francisco as I know it isn't 25,000 miles round trip.
I know that your miles start to disintegrate after 18 months of no ticket purchases, but being right out of college i can't imagine spending $~34k a year on the card to get rewards to go to japan. Any suggestions / corrections to my logic?
Frequent-flyer miles are simply a form of currency used to obtain award tickets. Five thousand ff miles do not entitle you to fly 5,000 statute miles. Here is a link to the award chart for travel on AA flights. There are different charts for travel on partner airlines, and for oneworld awards, which are distance based, rather than zone based.
http://www.aa.com/pubcontent/en_US/d...ward-chart.jsp
As you will see, a Coach roundtrip for two people between North America and Japan requires a minimum of 100,000 AAdvantage miles. (The chart lists miles required for one-way travel.)
Miles expire after 18 months of no account activity. A ticket purchase is not required to have account activity.
If you have good credit, you might consider applying for both the Citi Visa and Citi Amex on the same day, so that you can get the 75,000-mile bonus on each card. Check the FT MilesBuzz! forum for information about this offer.
Suggest you read the stickies at the top of the AAdvantage forum -- as well as the lengthy thread on All-Partner awards -- to familiarize yourself with how the program works.
Jun 21, 2011, 1:11 pm
#1502
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 7,710
jcc2k4 to clarify, the reason they are called miles is that they are given to airline passengers for flying on paid tickets, originally at the rate of one per mile.
Offering a free off season one way flight to Japan for 25,000 miles is therefore a buy 3-4 get 1 free deal.
FlyerTalk offers many ways to get more miles and advice on increasing the value of the awards, but you will never get to a 1 to 1 ratio.
Offering a free off season one way flight to Japan for 25,000 miles is therefore a buy 3-4 get 1 free deal.
FlyerTalk offers many ways to get more miles and advice on increasing the value of the awards, but you will never get to a 1 to 1 ratio.
Jun 21, 2011, 4:07 pm
#1503
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Welcome to FlyerTalk!
There are many ways to accumulate those miles - flying, of course, but also registering your crest / debit cards with AAdvantage Dining (can earn 5 - 15 miles per dollar, depending on bonus offers,) shopping via the AAdvantage shopping portal, you name it.
And every time you carry out some activity on your account, the expiration date is pushed out 18 months. Some of us here have accumulated millions of miles (well, we really do not accumulate and store them, we earn and spend them), so it can be done. (The valuation of miles also tells many of us the MSP-SFO for 25k is not the most effective use of miles.)
As to how they are spent, we try to use the Off Peak and MileSAAver awards - fewer miles spent, same trips. It may all seem new, but you can get the hang of it, and enjoy travel with miles.
There are many ways to accumulate those miles - flying, of course, but also registering your crest / debit cards with AAdvantage Dining (can earn 5 - 15 miles per dollar, depending on bonus offers,) shopping via the AAdvantage shopping portal, you name it.
And every time you carry out some activity on your account, the expiration date is pushed out 18 months. Some of us here have accumulated millions of miles (well, we really do not accumulate and store them, we earn and spend them), so it can be done. (The valuation of miles also tells many of us the MSP-SFO for 25k is not the most effective use of miles.)
As to how they are spent, we try to use the Off Peak and MileSAAver awards - fewer miles spent, same trips. It may all seem new, but you can get the hang of it, and enjoy travel with miles.
Jun 21, 2011, 7:30 pm
#1504
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Misc. others
Posts: 209
Award flight to Europe?
Hello! I generally lurk around other areas of this site, as I primarily fly SkyTeam, but am de-lurking because I am trying to help my mother book an award for next spring.
She has 200k+ AA miles and wants two First/Business tickets from PHX to Italy (preferably FCO). With SkyTeam, I would be able to find this for her no problem (other than the usual acrobatics for booking SkyTeam awards), but I don't know anything about the AA program. I read through several of the stickies, but to be honest I am completely overwhelmed by the number of award charts and rules.
Can someone please tell me what is the least number of miles she could use for this trip (First/Business), and the best way to go about booking those seats?
Thanks!
She has 200k+ AA miles and wants two First/Business tickets from PHX to Italy (preferably FCO). With SkyTeam, I would be able to find this for her no problem (other than the usual acrobatics for booking SkyTeam awards), but I don't know anything about the AA program. I read through several of the stickies, but to be honest I am completely overwhelmed by the number of award charts and rules.
Can someone please tell me what is the least number of miles she could use for this trip (First/Business), and the best way to go about booking those seats?
Thanks!
Jun 21, 2011, 7:54 pm
#1505
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,520
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
The trip will cost at least 100,000 miles in Business Class (with First Class seating on any connecting two-class domestic flights on AA).
AA's service to FCO is seasonal. If AA is serving FCO on the dates of travel, award-seat availability on AA can be easily checked on aa.com, and the award ticket can be held or booked online as well. Any award reservation involving travel on even one partner-carrier flight (such as on Iberia) requires a call to AA, and payment of a $25 telephone-ticketing fee.
If AA metal to FCO is not available, a routing through MAD (via DFW, MIA, or possibly LAX) would probably be the next-best option. (Routing PHX-LHR-FCO on BA is a possible one-stop option, but would incur high fuel surcharges.)
Originally Posted by tebfunk
Hello! I generally lurk around other areas of this site, as I primarily fly SkyTeam, but am de-lurking because I am trying to help my mother book an award for next spring.
She has 200k+ AA miles and wants two First/Business tickets from PHX to Italy (preferably FCO). With SkyTeam, I would be able to find this for her no problem (other than the usual acrobatics for booking SkyTeam awards), but I don't know anything about the AA program. I read through several of the stickies, but to be honest I am completely overwhelmed by the number of award charts and rules.
Can someone please tell me what is the least number of miles she could use for this trip (First/Business), and the best way to go about booking those seats?
Thanks!
She has 200k+ AA miles and wants two First/Business tickets from PHX to Italy (preferably FCO). With SkyTeam, I would be able to find this for her no problem (other than the usual acrobatics for booking SkyTeam awards), but I don't know anything about the AA program. I read through several of the stickies, but to be honest I am completely overwhelmed by the number of award charts and rules.
Can someone please tell me what is the least number of miles she could use for this trip (First/Business), and the best way to go about booking those seats?
Thanks!
AA's service to FCO is seasonal. If AA is serving FCO on the dates of travel, award-seat availability on AA can be easily checked on aa.com, and the award ticket can be held or booked online as well. Any award reservation involving travel on even one partner-carrier flight (such as on Iberia) requires a call to AA, and payment of a $25 telephone-ticketing fee.
If AA metal to FCO is not available, a routing through MAD (via DFW, MIA, or possibly LAX) would probably be the next-best option. (Routing PHX-LHR-FCO on BA is a possible one-stop option, but would incur high fuel surcharges.)
Jun 21, 2011, 8:03 pm
#1506
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,413
First and foremost, welcome to FlyerTalk and the AA forum, tebfunk! 
To expand a little more, if you're using your miles just to fly only AA planes, then you'll want to use this chart: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/f...ward-chart.jsp
If you end up using any AA partners, you'll be using this chart: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/a...rtnerChart.jsp
As for how to book, the info above is exactly what I would have said.
To expand a little more, if you're using your miles just to fly only AA planes, then you'll want to use this chart: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/f...ward-chart.jsp
If you end up using any AA partners, you'll be using this chart: http://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/a...rtnerChart.jsp
As for how to book, the info above is exactly what I would have said.
Jun 21, 2011, 8:14 pm
#1507
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Misc. others
Posts: 209
Thank you both! Having a "target" of 100k miles each helps immensely! To make sure I'm reading these correctly; a trip to Europe it's going to be about the same miles on AA metal or partners?
Jun 21, 2011, 8:25 pm
#1508
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,413
The only real difference is that on AA metal, you have the option of paying twice as many miles to claim any available seat (versus needing availability in the slightly more elusive milesaaver inventory bucket).
Jun 21, 2011, 8:28 pm
#1509
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 9
aadvantage miles for cruise?
Tell me there is a way to use aa miles to buy a cruise? please?
Jun 21, 2011, 8:47 pm
#1510
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,413
Alas, there's no way that I know of. 
You can EARN miles for booking cruises: http://aa.cruises.com/
You can use AA miles to book flights, car rentals, hotels, and vacation packages: http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/main.jsp
But I'm not aware of any way to pay for a cruise completely with AA miles.
You can EARN miles for booking cruises: http://aa.cruises.com/
You can use AA miles to book flights, car rentals, hotels, and vacation packages: http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/redeemMiles/main.jsp
But I'm not aware of any way to pay for a cruise completely with AA miles.
Jun 21, 2011, 8:51 pm
#1511
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Texas
Programs: AA EXP, UA Premier Plat, Alaska MVP Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,053
Not that anyone here has found.
Jun 21, 2011, 9:09 pm
#1512
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 9
ok thanx.
Not that anyone here has found.
here's the problem. i need to give my wife a good present for her 50th birthday. i'm broke and have 150k miles.
we live in austin. a trip to vegas might work but aavacations says the hotel costs money. is there a way to get the hotel with miles?
y do they make this so hard?
Jun 21, 2011, 9:14 pm
#1513
Join Date: May 2010
Location: YYZ
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 27
Long time reader, newbie poster here.
Due to a ridiculous amount of YYZ-DFW travel last year I made EXP and then promptly stopped travelling for work. Given that, I would like to use my eVIPs rather than lose them for nothing but due to personal matters I won't be able to get away long enough to justify the price of an international ticket.
So I am left with a dilemma: what do I do with the eVIPs? I have a large amount of miles that I have no intention of losing, so selling them is not the wisest idea. I'm booking a YYZ-MIA trip next month and figure I'll waste a couple upgrading my GF (not the best usage I know, but I figure at least 500-mile upgrades don't expire so I may as well hold on to those).
I've read some threads but wasn't able to find a consensus (other than the coupon connection forum that I can't access). Can anybody offer some advice?
Thanks in advance
Due to a ridiculous amount of YYZ-DFW travel last year I made EXP and then promptly stopped travelling for work. Given that, I would like to use my eVIPs rather than lose them for nothing but due to personal matters I won't be able to get away long enough to justify the price of an international ticket.
So I am left with a dilemma: what do I do with the eVIPs? I have a large amount of miles that I have no intention of losing, so selling them is not the wisest idea. I'm booking a YYZ-MIA trip next month and figure I'll waste a couple upgrading my GF (not the best usage I know, but I figure at least 500-mile upgrades don't expire so I may as well hold on to those).
I've read some threads but wasn't able to find a consensus (other than the coupon connection forum that I can't access). Can anybody offer some advice?
Thanks in advance
Jun 21, 2011, 9:14 pm
#1514
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Texas
Programs: AA EXP, UA Premier Plat, Alaska MVP Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 2,053
thank u guys so much for the help
here's the problem. i need to give my wife a good present for her 50th birthday. i'm broke and have 150k miles.
we live in austin. a trip to vegas might work but aavacations says the hotel costs money. is there a way to get the hotel with miles?
y do they make this so hard?
here's the problem. i need to give my wife a good present for her 50th birthday. i'm broke and have 150k miles.
we live in austin. a trip to vegas might work but aavacations says the hotel costs money. is there a way to get the hotel with miles?
y do they make this so hard?
Jun 21, 2011, 9:18 pm
#1515
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 9
awesome
i was just looking at your blog
u r a genius at this crap
thanx for your help
