emcat

Disclaimer: I tried searching the forum, but couldn't find any recent information about this.

I just put two wholly within Brazil award tickets on hold (GIG-FOR, REC-GRU) with JJ (TAM). I was under the impression that they should be 6k miles each (they fall under the Wholly within Select Central/South American Countries section of the chart: https://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/...rtnerChart.jsp ).

The agent says her own chart lists Argentina and Chile, but not Brazil in the 'special countries' category.

Is the aa.com chart plain outdated or is this agent error*?

*NB: I would normally be inclined to say this is agent error, but this particular agent was very helfpul earlier in the day with a much more complex itinerary.

Austinrunner

Call back.

emcat

Just called back. Agent took some time reviewing a chart. Said she couldn't find any 'award code' for the reduced 6k level. Earlier agent also mentioned that the system only showed the 10k award code, and actually read it to me, but I didn't write it down (it was not a fare bucket though).

Does anyone know the award code for the 6k level within Brazil?

vasantn

I've always paid 10K miles. I didn't even know there was a 6K level.

[Edited to add:] I don't see the 6K level on the award chart either.

[Edited to add:] OK, I see it now. Very interesting.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Is it possible that the 6K intra-Brazil award shown on the chart dates back to when Gol was an AA partner? When Gol ceased to be an AA partner, perhaps the 6K intra-Brazil award disappeared (even though the Partner chart was not updated).

Whether the 6K intra-Brazil award will return now that TAM is an AA partner (or when TAM joins oneworld at the end of the month) remains to be seen.

emcat

Interesting. I showed the chart to my wife, and asked her what she thought the price was. Initially she saw the 6k award, but then she looked at the main chart and concluded it was 10k miles.

I wonder if this is outdated information within aa.com from when GOL was still a partner within Brazil. In any case, I called AA web services and the agent asked if I had talked to an 'International' agent. When I said I had, she said the agent must then be right.

emcat

You beat me to it by a minute. At least sounds like a very plausible reason.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Since you have the awards on hold, I would E-mail AAdvantage Customer Service and complain that AA is refusing to honor the 6K wholly-within-Brazil award rate posted on the Partner award chart. That should shake things up a little.

JonNYC

Could be (and almost certainly is) and unpublished limitation to the wholly within award for Brazil to be on certain carrier(s) only, if it even is still current.

Example for this being the wholly within Australia/New Zealand award where it's listed as 10/17.5/22.5 but completely unlisted on the chart is that that's only if you use QF, the rate doesn't apply if you use LA.

So, probably those who speculate that only certain carrier(s) are/were allowed at that rate are probably correct.

ajnaro

AA Brazil-internal rewards have always been 10k one-way. There was a time when they were 25k round-trip, before the one-way awards. Using TAM or Smiles miles is a different matter. There is much more availability, and prices vary widely, from rougly 3k to 30k, or even more. I have received awards within Peru on LAN from AA for 6k. The 'oneworld and other airline award' chart has Brazil listed together with Peru, but it has simply never worked that way. Maybe there's a change coming.

JonNYC

That's quite interesting-- if you've never seen it at less than 10K, really demonstrates (like someone said above as well) that it's been 10K since one-way flex awards came in, to me anyway. Really makes one wonder what Brazil is doing listed there then.

EDIT TO ADD: much as it would be nice to hope it's in anticipation of something new, I'm told wholly within Brazil went from being listed at 10K to being listed at 6K in early 2012.

george 3

That's a great reward because the flights to FOR can be expensive.

UA Fan

If it becomes 6K it will be a really good use of miles. 10K for PER-AKL is also a great deal.

mvoight

The award chart looks pretty clear to me.
Brazil is listed as one of the included countries in "Wholly Within Select Central/South America Countries" designated by AA for the 6K award. There is NOTHING on the chart to suggest it should not be 6K. I would argue that point with AA if I wanted to take the flights. AA is responsible for the chart contents.

JonNYC

There's no question that that's what it says, but I gave the example above of the OZ/NZ "wholly within" award where there are non-published carrier restrictions-- you get the wholly within award if you fly QF, you do not get the wholly within rate if you fly LA.

No one can contend that this award chart "tells the whole story" as we know if tells about 10% of the story-- literally hundreds of rules that further restrict.

It's like US to Southwest Pacific-- all it says is "transpacific only" (or dozens of other examples) but we know that there are severe limits on that, etc.

N.America -> Africa and even better example-- look at all the ways you -can't- get there on one award!

But, regardless, I do agree that AA should provide and explanation as to what carrier(s) can be used to get the 6k rate, for sure.