- - Does AA Release New International Awards Over Time?
(https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage-pre-consolidation-usair/1591657-does-aa-release-new-international-awards-over-time.html)
LINDEGR
Jul 6, 2014 12:38 pm
Originally Posted by knick1959
(Post 23150940)
I had decided to go ahead and book the AAnytime award while continuing to troll for a saver award. Haven't pulled the trigger yet, but was planning to soon. Reading above, you're suggesting I wait, but I don't understand this with the "decreasing" likelyhood that a Saver award will open. Are you suggesting that by ME committing to the AAnytime award, I am increasing demand and hurting my own chances at a lower cost ticket?
I think that is correct.
sdsearch
Jul 6, 2014 6:25 pm
An Anytime award can be booked months from now. (It can be booked, on AA metal flights only, as long as there are seats for sale and the plane is not "oversold".) What's the hurry? The downside of fees to change it from Anytime to Saver seems bigger than the risk that every last seat in business will sell out.
knick1959
Jul 6, 2014 8:16 pm
Originally Posted by sdsearch
(Post 23153442)
An Anytime award can be booked months from now. (It can be booked, on AA metal flights only, as long as there are seats for sale and the plane is not "oversold".) What's the hurry? The downside of fees to change it from Anytime to Saver seems bigger than the risk that every last seat in business will sell out.
What concerned me was the fact that this award could, possibly, end up being more that 65k ... if the demand is strong. And I'd have trouble covering this (up to 90k, possibly more). However, since I appear to be the only one sitting in business right now on the important flight in question, I will hold back awhile longer and give my new ExpertFlyer tool a chance to do its thing.
Thanks for the reply.
Passmethesickbag
Jul 30, 2014 1:21 pm
My question is somewhat related. I plan to pay for a coach seat GRU-JFK, and my friend will travel on the same flight on an award from my account. There is saver award availability in Economy (but no other class) at the moment. Obviously, we'd both like to travel in Business if possible. Is the strategy of asking for me to be waitlisted with an SWU on the same flight, and setting up an Expertflyer alert for saver Business availability doomed to fail? In other words, are they much more likely to open up C than U availability in the days and hours before the flight takes off? If my upgrade clears and a U seat does not appear, can I reject it an stay in coach with my friend?
MarkedMan
Jul 30, 2014 2:01 pm
Originally Posted by Passmethesickbag
(Post 23283110)
My question is somewhat related. I plan to pay for a coach seat GRU-JFK, and my friend will travel on the same flight on an award from my account. There is saver award availability in Economy (but no other class) at the moment. Obviously, we'd both like to travel in Business if possible. Is the strategy of asking for me to be waitlisted with an SWU on the same flight, and setting up an Expertflyer alert for saver Business availability doomed to fail? In other words, are they much more likely to open up C than U availability in the days and hours before the flight takes off? If my upgrade clears and a U seat does not appear, can I reject it an stay in coach with my friend?
I haven't seen U opened up before a flight in a long time, though in the last year I have always flown into LHR, only once using SWUs for Y->J, so that might not be true on other routes. You can probably oversell fairly high priced coach seats at the last minute and just roll the cabins. I have seen Z open up sporadically on non-LHR routes on 777s, it's sometimes the case that only two or three seats are occupied in that cabin, two or three weeks from departure, and am taking advantage of this in a couple of weeks having snagged a CDG spot. It's not common.
As for the upgrade clearing, if you check regularly enough (once or twice a day) you will see your rez become locked on aa.com when a waitlisted upgrade clears and the ticket needs to be re-issues. At that point you are basically holding both your Y spot and your J spot, so calling in right away would allow you to turn down the upgrade. If you wait until after clearing the J upgrade to decide you want to go back into Y you run the risk of decent seats being gone, your original fare bucket no longer being available or, god forbid, the flight being oversold in Y, in increasing order of nightmare for you. You would just have to suck it up in J :D
