Possible to get 48 points within 24 hours?

 
Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:33 am
  #1  
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Possible to get 48 points within 24 hours?

So I messed up... I booked a ticket for march 13-16 when I meant February 13-16. I caught this mistake about 10 minutes ago. The ticket was booked in January, and of course was booked non-refundable.

The only reasonable option I can see is booking the ticket with miles. I have 37,452 miles. I need 37,500 miles to book the ticket. So I'm 48 short. Is there any way for me to hold the ticket and somehow earn 48 miles before the hold expires?

I have an AAdvantage Visa, but the miles won't post for it for another week or so. I have a Bankdirect account but the miles already posted.

I can buy 1K miles for $29.50, but it says it'll take 3 days to post. That'd be too late.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
uoficowboy is offline  
Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:39 am
  #2  
 
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Yes. You can generally hold an AA award for 5 days on the web site or by calling, so just put it on hold, buy (or earn in some other ways) your missing 48 miles, and redeem the award in a few days.

Also, even though the ticket you booked in January may be non-refundable, you may be able to make a change for a fee (typically $200 for domestic).
ckpeter is offline  
Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:42 am
  #3  
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Originally Posted by ckpeter
Yes. You can generally hold an AA award for 5 days on the web site or by calling, so just put it on hold, buy (or earn in some other ways) your missing 48 miles, and redeem the award in a few days.

Also, even though the ticket you booked in January may be non-refundable, you may be able to make a change for a fee (typically $200 for domestic).
The ticket originally was $300. It is now $1600. So I don't think I'm going to do the change fee route!

Problem with holding an AA award for 5 days is that I'm supposed to be returning from the trip in 5 days. The departure is on this Thursday.
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:50 am
  #4  
 
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Do you have any SPG points? I am not sure what the transfer time is, but they transfer 1:1. IMO its not the best use of SPG points, but when you're in a pickle...
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:51 am
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Originally Posted by uoficowboy
The ticket originally was $300. It is now $1600. So I don't think I'm going to do the change fee route!

Problem with holding an AA award for 5 days is that I'm supposed to be returning from the trip in 5 days. The departure is on this Thursday.
You may be close to out of luck, as most transfers to AA are going to take a few days.

Try calling and asking Advantage customer service if they could issue you a courtesy 48 miles. Not idea if they would do it, but the amount is small enough that it may be worth a try.
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 12:08 pm
  #6  
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Originally Posted by ckpeter
You may be close to out of luck, as most transfers to AA are going to take a few days.

Try calling and asking Advantage customer service if they could issue you a courtesy 48 miles. Not idea if they would do it, but the amount is small enough that it may be worth a try.
No dice there.

I put the reservation on hold already, and it looks like I got the last seat available on the way there. But then I was able to find a reasonably priced return that I can purchase with money. Is there any way to separate the reservation I put on hold already and then just book the one way from it?
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 12:13 pm
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Originally Posted by uoficowboy
No dice there.

I put the reservation on hold already, and it looks like I got the last seat available on the way there. But then I was able to find a reasonably priced return that I can purchase with money. Is there any way to separate the reservation I put on hold already and then just book the one way from it?
You can call AA to split the award reservation into an outbound and return reservation. You can then cancel and buy the return portion.

By the way, given the large amount of money at stake, I would read around the AA forum to see if the buy miles promotion can be credited quickly. It may says 72 hours, but it is possibly that it could post sooner than that, and it's worth a research.
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 12:39 pm
  #8  
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Originally Posted by ckpeter
You can call AA to split the award reservation into an outbound and return reservation. You can then cancel and buy the return portion.

By the way, given the large amount of money at stake, I would read around the AA forum to see if the buy miles promotion can be credited quickly. It may says 72 hours, but it is possibly that it could post sooner than that, and it's worth a research.
OK - I did that and have booked the one way over the phone. No extra phone fees applied since I was already paying the $75 last minute fee.

I booked the other direction via United. It was $254. I'd rather pay that than 25K AA miles, so that's cool.

All taken care of here - thanks for the advice folks!
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 2:34 pm
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I realize you have already solved your problem but another option would be to ask AA to use the value of your previously purchased ticket for your return flight if you could find a suitable fare.

Explain your situation to them and they might do it.

Just an idea - perhaps someone with more experience would know if it would work that way.
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 10:51 pm
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Originally Posted by ken98230
I realize you have already solved your problem but another option would be to ask AA to use the value of your previously purchased ticket for your return flight if you could find a suitable fare.

Explain your situation to them and they might do it.

Just an idea - perhaps someone with more experience would know if it would work that way.
of course. very first thing to do is call and beg. seriously.
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Old Feb 11, 2014, 11:04 pm
  #11  
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Originally Posted by Exec_Plat
of course. very first thing to do is call and beg. seriously.
That's actually the last thing to do.
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