Feb 13, 2013, 9:42 am
[2013 NEWBIE LOUNGE] Ask Your AA-Related Questions Here (flame free)
Aug 22, 2013, 3:17 pm
#1996
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 136
It was quite long so I just put the part that I'm worried about(only 75 mins to catch my flight back from anc), sorry to make you confused and thanks for the answer!
Aug 22, 2013, 4:02 pm
#1997
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Benicia CA
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold 75K, AA 3.8MM, UA 1.1MM, enjoying the retired life
Posts: 31,849
If this is a personal rental and you're covering the insurance part with your personal policy, you might not be covered. I remember a thread here a few years back where an FTer rented a car at the Seattle Airport and was upgraded to a large SUV. On the way out of the parking structure he misjudged a wall and scraped the side of the SUV. His personal insurance policy would not cover him because it excluded large SUVs. He did not purchase the insurance waiver from the rental car company. He ended up paying out of pocket for the damages.
Aug 22, 2013, 4:26 pm
#1998
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 127
Well, then, welcome down from lurkerspace. 
Please take a moment to look over our forum - it is about American Airlines and the AAdvantage program; it has a FAQ, where information, links and resources can be found,, as well as a Wiki and - at the top of the page - an Announcement: NEWCOMERS: PLEASE READ FIRST.
FlyerTalk has many fora - for rental cars, Avis, Budget, Dollar,Hertz, National, Sixt and Other Car Rental Programs (ie. Alamo, Enterprise). These are the appropriate fora to inquire about car-rental issues, unless they are very general, and then TravelBuzz! might be a good place for a non-specific travel topic.
The top of the forum page usually has a statement about what the forum is intended for.
So, as this is the American AAdvantage Forum, though this is a flame-free "NEWBIE LOUNGE" thread, it is not likely you will get a lot of responses, and may attract some negative commentary - it's not allowed and will be deleted, but it can happen.
Feel free to settle in and get a good look at which fora will be useful to you. Your favorite airlines, car rental companies, destinations and more - they're probably covered, often in depth by some very knowledgeable travelers.
As to your question, I prefer better mileage and a lower profile, and if on business, my clients will rarely pay for SUVs - I have even had interesting times convincing an Orange County based client to pay for an SUV rental if they send me to their facilities in Minnesota in the winter (not so much snow and ice in Irvine, I guess).
JDiver
senior moderator
Please take a moment to look over our forum - it is about American Airlines and the AAdvantage program; it has a FAQ, where information, links and resources can be found,, as well as a Wiki and - at the top of the page - an Announcement: NEWCOMERS: PLEASE READ FIRST.
FlyerTalk has many fora - for rental cars, Avis, Budget, Dollar,Hertz, National, Sixt and Other Car Rental Programs (ie. Alamo, Enterprise). These are the appropriate fora to inquire about car-rental issues, unless they are very general, and then TravelBuzz! might be a good place for a non-specific travel topic.
The top of the forum page usually has a statement about what the forum is intended for.
So, as this is the American AAdvantage Forum, though this is a flame-free "NEWBIE LOUNGE" thread, it is not likely you will get a lot of responses, and may attract some negative commentary - it's not allowed and will be deleted, but it can happen.
Feel free to settle in and get a good look at which fora will be useful to you. Your favorite airlines, car rental companies, destinations and more - they're probably covered, often in depth by some very knowledgeable travelers.
As to your question, I prefer better mileage and a lower profile, and if on business, my clients will rarely pay for SUVs - I have even had interesting times convincing an Orange County based client to pay for an SUV rental if they send me to their facilities in Minnesota in the winter (not so much snow and ice in Irvine, I guess).
JDiver
senior moderator
Aug 22, 2013, 6:01 pm
#1999
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: San Antonio
Programs: AS MVP
Posts: 2,276
All - I've got a family of four. I want to take them to Japan (NRT), ideally in Business Class - home airport is IAD. My goal is to have enough AA miles to do this in 2 years through a combination of Citi and SPG miles and points, participating in a Bank Direct account for 1 year. I've got a 1st year line of site to 170k miles with this. It looks like this trip will take 400k miles. I've initially decided to accrue miles under my name with additional cards for my wife. I get to travel at most 3 to 4 trips a year domestic US. My primary interest in going on such a long flight in Business Class is to avoid the misery of coach class for a 17 hour plus journey.
Question 1: Given my proposed strategy, is 400k miles in 2 years time considered a slam dunk simple, intermediate level of difficulty or no way on earth from the professional mileage earning experts? Tough love appreciated.
Question 2: Is AA the best program for my goal journey? I would like to subsequently go from IAD to CDG every other year as well and save some with award travel (Business class not necessary for that journey due to shorter length).
Question 3: If I plan enough in advance with my IAD to NRT proposed itinerary, is finding 4 BC seats on one flight a fool's errand? I looked at the AA site and was surprised because this didn't seem to be the case - depending on when I looked there seemed to be lots of availability.
Question 4: What bonus mile opportunities come up for mere mortal level members of AAdvantage throughout an average year?
Question 5: What's the real verdict on the value of the AA dining program as a viable way to earn max miles?
Question 6: Assuming good credit for both my wife and I, how many miles are viably earnable via Citi Card bonuses during an average single year's time - I'm getting my Citi Personal in the mail today.
Thanks very much for your time in reading this.
Question 1: Given my proposed strategy, is 400k miles in 2 years time considered a slam dunk simple, intermediate level of difficulty or no way on earth from the professional mileage earning experts? Tough love appreciated.
Question 2: Is AA the best program for my goal journey? I would like to subsequently go from IAD to CDG every other year as well and save some with award travel (Business class not necessary for that journey due to shorter length).
Question 3: If I plan enough in advance with my IAD to NRT proposed itinerary, is finding 4 BC seats on one flight a fool's errand? I looked at the AA site and was surprised because this didn't seem to be the case - depending on when I looked there seemed to be lots of availability.
Question 4: What bonus mile opportunities come up for mere mortal level members of AAdvantage throughout an average year?
Question 5: What's the real verdict on the value of the AA dining program as a viable way to earn max miles?
Question 6: Assuming good credit for both my wife and I, how many miles are viably earnable via Citi Card bonuses during an average single year's time - I'm getting my Citi Personal in the mail today.
Thanks very much for your time in reading this.
Welcome to FlyerTalk! Keep in mind that 2 years is a long time, things change and, as always, YMMV.
Question 2: AA is probably a good place to start, you may also want to collect UA miles and UR points since both offer one-way award travel. With 4 passengers, flexibility is everything. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...redit-111.html and follow all of the directions in post #1654 for 55K miles, apply at the same time as your next other app. Chase Gift Cards make min. spending and adding miles easy.
Question 3: Collect as many miles as you can and plan to be flexible. YMMV but it should be doable in some fashion. Maybe you have to split up for a flight or two, or fly coach for some legs to make it happen. I strongly recommend picking up 2 Southwest cards the next time the bonus is 50K so you can use them for positioning if necessary. That will give you enough WN points for a lot of travel, and a companion pass which can be used on any flight.
Question 5: it's an easy way to pick up a few miles. No down side to it.
Questions 1, 4 & 6: Start here, reread the wiki a couple of times at least. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...first-139.html Currently each of you can get 53,000 miles every 33 days if you can meet the spending requirements. If you can't, start here and plan to do lots and lots of reading before you jump in: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manuf...-spending-719/
Last edited by KennyBSAT; Aug 22, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Aug 23, 2013, 11:57 am
#2000
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 17
Will be flying through JFK T8 in business on Finnair to Helsinki (connecting from Boston in F) on an AA award ticket. From what I gather, I'll have access to the Admiral Club in JFK (I have a 6-hour layover). What can I expect from this lounge- free drink vouchers? free internet access? etc. etc. This is my first time ever flying anything other than coach, so I really don't know what to expect.
Also, just by trying to research on my own I saw that there are 2 admiral clubs in T8? Any suggestion on which one to go to?
Thanks
Also, just by trying to research on my own I saw that there are 2 admiral clubs in T8? Any suggestion on which one to go to?
Thanks
Aug 23, 2013, 12:39 pm
#2001
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 136
where to find miles info on aa.com? just booked bos-dfw-anc-dfw-bos, there's nothing about how many miles I can get from my trip details.
Aug 23, 2013, 1:16 pm
#2002
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
Posts: 14,518
If you don't need the perfectly exact number, it may be easier to use gcmap.com. It shows 9209 round trip, and that number's likely within just a few miles of AA's.
Aug 23, 2013, 1:35 pm
#2003
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 136
On the flight selection page when you book, if you click the little + sign next to the selection to open the flight info, it's shown there (except for partner flights).
If you don't need the perfectly exact number, it may be easier to use gcmap.com. It shows 9209 round trip, and that number's likely within just a few miles of AA's.
If you don't need the perfectly exact number, it may be easier to use gcmap.com. It shows 9209 round trip, and that number's likely within just a few miles of AA's.
Aug 23, 2013, 2:47 pm
#2004
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
When you can see your new miles, you will probably see your new status. But prior to that, you may have to call and request human intervention. (The miles etc. will post properly once you have status, but you may have to check your bookings made previously and have the status updated.)
You can also see the mileage between city pairs by looking at the PDF timetable - updated monthly.
You can also see the mileage between city pairs by looking at the PDF timetable - updated monthly.
Thank you! I do need the exact number from AA since I'm very close on the next level up. book bos-dfw-anc-dfw-bos 9208m according to AA, and than bos-dfw-lax-bdl-lax-bos. My real question is can I get the plat benefits for my trip after bos-dfw-lax (2797+9208=12005) or it takes some time for the system to add me to plat list?
Aug 23, 2013, 6:21 pm
#2005
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 136
When you can see your new miles, you will probably see your new status. But prior to that, you may have to call and request human intervention. (The miles etc. will post properly once you have status, but you may have to check your bookings made previously and have the status updated.)
You can also see the mileage between city pairs by looking at the PDF timetable - updated monthly.
You can also see the mileage between city pairs by looking at the PDF timetable - updated monthly.
Aug 24, 2013, 7:52 am
#2006
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
Posts: 14,518
Thank you! I do need the exact number from AA since I'm very close on the next level up. book bos-dfw-anc-dfw-bos 9208m according to AA, and than bos-dfw-lax-bdl-lax-bos. My real question is can I get the plat benefits for my trip after bos-dfw-lax (2797+9208=12005) or it takes some time for the system to add me to plat list?
PLT's are higher up on the list for upgrades, standby, and irrop resolution, but unless you want to upgrade (which will cost, you won't have any e500s yet), these probably won't matter.
PLT also gets a higher flight mileage bonus, but this should apply to your post-12K flights, whether or not you show in the system as PLT at the time you fly.
The rest is the same. Even GLD gets you premium ticket counter check in, priority security line, priority boarding (right after PLT), access to MCE and exit row seats, 2 free checked bags, free same day standby...
Aug 24, 2013, 8:08 am
#2007
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 136
The answers above are good, but let me ask, which benefits are you concerned about? You'll already have GLD after the ANC trip (this is the now-closed fast track promo, right?). For domestic flights booked this year, GLD and PLT travel benefits are essentially the same.
PLT's are higher up on the list for upgrades, standby, and irrop resolution, but unless you want to upgrade (which will cost, you won't have any e500s yet), these probably won't matter.
PLT also gets a higher flight mileage bonus, but this should apply to your post-12K flights, whether or not you show in the system as PLT at the time you fly.
The rest is the same. Even GLD gets you premium ticket counter check in, priority security line, priority boarding (right after PLT), access to MCE and exit row seats, 2 free checked bags, free same day standby...
PLT's are higher up on the list for upgrades, standby, and irrop resolution, but unless you want to upgrade (which will cost, you won't have any e500s yet), these probably won't matter.
PLT also gets a higher flight mileage bonus, but this should apply to your post-12K flights, whether or not you show in the system as PLT at the time you fly.
The rest is the same. Even GLD gets you premium ticket counter check in, priority security line, priority boarding (right after PLT), access to MCE and exit row seats, 2 free checked bags, free same day standby...
Last edited by ILAZXFE; Aug 24, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Aug 24, 2013, 3:42 pm
#2008
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: PHL
Programs: AA Executive Platinum; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,662
This will be an easy question for you AA regulars but I spend 99% of my time on the US board so I don't know the answer.
I recently got the Citi AA credit card for myself which offered 40K miles after spending $3K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Sounded like a great deal. So I decided to get one for the wife too. But the offer has changed to 30K miles after spending $1K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Is the old offer still available with a different code ... and if not, should I wait for the old offer to be repeated? Thanks in advance for your reply.
I recently got the Citi AA credit card for myself which offered 40K miles after spending $3K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Sounded like a great deal. So I decided to get one for the wife too. But the offer has changed to 30K miles after spending $1K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Is the old offer still available with a different code ... and if not, should I wait for the old offer to be repeated? Thanks in advance for your reply.
Aug 24, 2013, 6:01 pm
#2009
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,417
Here are some threads to peruse:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...iscussion.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Aug 24, 2013, 6:21 pm
#2010
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Exploralist, Marriot Silver
Posts: 2,065
This will be an easy question for you AA regulars but I spend 99% of my time on the US board so I don't know the answer.
I recently got the Citi AA credit card for myself which offered 40K miles after spending $3K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Sounded like a great deal. So I decided to get one for the wife too. But the offer has changed to 30K miles after spending $1K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Is the old offer still available with a different code ... and if not, should I wait for the old offer to be repeated? Thanks in advance for your reply.
I recently got the Citi AA credit card for myself which offered 40K miles after spending $3K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Sounded like a great deal. So I decided to get one for the wife too. But the offer has changed to 30K miles after spending $1K in 3 months with no annual fee for year 1. Is the old offer still available with a different code ... and if not, should I wait for the old offer to be repeated? Thanks in advance for your reply.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/cred...-first-99.html