Billy Bandit

Hello,

I found a MileSAAver Award (50k RT) from LAX to NRT. This would be a 2 week trip and I'm wondering if it is possible to use the award to visit both Japan and Korea.

Is it possible for me to go from LAX to NRT to Korea, spend a week in Korea, then go to NRT, spend a week in Japan, and then come back to LAX?

Is there another Japan/Korea combo that you might recommend?

Do I have to call in to request this type of award? I didn't see how to book this type of thing online. I've read there are fees with calling in so I'd like to avoid those fees if possible.

Thank you!

kebosabi

Yes indeed you can. One of AA's greatest features is that it allows a stop-over one in NA and the other in the first international gateway.

More info can be found at: http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index...cipants_awards

I suggest an all-partner award if you want to go to Japan and Korea. That way, you can have one-stop over in North America which includes Hawaii and then move onto Korea and Japan.

A sample itinerary would be:

LAX-HNL on AA
Stop-over in Honolulu. This is your North American gateway.

HNL-NRT on JO connecting to NRT-ICN on JL
Stop-over in Seoul, South Korea. This is your final destination.

ICN-NRT on JL
Stop-over in Tokyo, Japan. This is your international gateway

NRT-LAX on AA or JL
Return flight back to LA



Yes, there is the catch that this cannot be booked online. But then you should ask yourself - is it worth scrooging $20 in over-the-phone agent booking fees when you could get to Hawaii, Korea and Japan for the same 50k miles?

soriano

Wow, thanks for this tip. You really do learn something every day on FT.

Billy Bandit

kebosabi, thank you very much for the detailed and thoughtful reply! Stopping in Hawaii is a great suggestion and worth looking into. You are right, if I can book something like this using 50k miles, it is definitely worth the phone fee.

Thanks again - it is very much appreciated!

soriano

I'd like to hear other combinations that others have scored on award tickets using stop overs

jib71

Awesome way to use an award!

Would AA allow the following?

ICN-KIX on JL
Stop-over in Osaka, Japan.


NRT-LAX on AA or JL
Return flight back to LA

(Which would be a nice way to see Kansai and Kanto, without the need to double back)

TxH2O

AA will likely not allow that, because in no way does that qualify as an open-jaw. Of course you may luck out but I suspect even if you get an agent to book it it will be rejected upon ticketing.

If your goals are to:

Go to Seoul, Kansai, and Kanto at some point you will have to get to either Kansai or Tokyo on your own via Shinkansen or Visit Japan OneWorld fare.

kebosabi

AA has lots of award varieties, and at first they do seem intimidating to learn all the rules and which award type to use. But once you book your first award trip you will quickly learn that AA is probably the best frequent flyer program in the United States.

My past experience using All Partner Awards was cashing in 40,000 miles in Y to "Europe":

LAX-JFK on AA
stopover in New York, NY - my NA gateway

JFK-LHR on AA
stopover in London, UK - my international gateway

LHR-ATH on BA
stopover in Athens, Greece - my final destination

ATH-LHR on BA, connecting to LHR-LAX on AA

40,000 miles to "Europe" = doesn't make a difference if it's London or Athens, might as well go to London, do a stopover and continue on to the farthest place that is defined as Europe under AA! ^ And boy, was it sweet to go to Greece and see the Pathenon up close for only $70 in taxes and phone agent fees. My co-workers were green with envy.

kebosabi

Unfortunately, open-jaws (the open segment between KIX and NRT) are not allowed in this case because the final destination is Korea. If it were Japan, yes.

OTOH, OP is allowed an open-jaw in Korea by going into Incheon-Seoul and coming back out of Pusan since Korea is defined as his final destination:

LAX-HNL on AA (stop @ Honolulu = NA gateway)
HNL-NRT on JO connecting to NRT-ICN on JL (stop @ Incheon-Seoul = final destination)
[open-jaw using KTX high speed rail from Seoul to Pusan]
PUS-NRT on JL (stop @ Tokyo-Narita = international gateway)
NRT-LAX on JL or AA


But if the OP wants to go to say... oh, Kyoto and the Miyajima Shrine near Hiroshima, he would need to buy those transportation methods out of his own pocket during his stopover in Japan. Fortunately, he can prepare for it in advance for a reasonable price by using JR Rail Pass for the Shinkansen bullet trains or using oneworld Visit Japan pass.

kebosabi

It's all about justifying yourself the fees to something that you can relate to. Sure nobody wants to pay airport taxes and phone agent fees, but if you think in terms of "gee, I can go to _____ for the same price as a roundtrip ticket on Amtrak from Los Angeles to San Diego," you've become a positive thinker!

And compared to other carriers around the world, we should actually be grateful that AA doesn't tack on fuel surcharges to award tickets. My co-worker is a frequent flyer on JAL Mileage Bank, and he had to fork over $400 in fuel surcharges when he booked an award ticket back to Japan. Man was he pissed when I told him I got a LAX-NRT=HND-CTS-HIJ, NRT-ICN-HKG-NRT-LAX oneworld award for 130,000 AA miles in business class...and paid only $118!

queenladyk

I don't know if they will allow it (I can't see why not) but if I were doing this I would do the Korea - Tokyo segment from Gimpo to Haneda (opposed to Incheon to Narita) - both GMP and HND airports are MUCH closer to their respective cities. Have fun!

ktakahashi

So slightly related, I thought I'd share something that after 3 years I was finally able to find. If your intended targets are Tokyo and Seoul, I recently scored the following itinerary: JFK-NRT-ICN, GMP-HND, NRT-JFK (although AA cancelled that and routed me home via DFW). I flew the entire route in J so I would imagine award Y would pose no additional issue. I would also assume you could run the route in reverse.

Both Narita and Incheon are quite far from their respective downtowns. Flying in/out of Gimpo and Haneda saves you both time and money (and sanity). The NRT-ICN was a very nice JL 777 and the GMP-HND was a JL 747.

In Seoul, I highly recommend hitting the Lotte Duty Free Department Store downtown. They'll delivery your goods after security at either airport.

Absolutely, pay the fee and book over the phone.

kebosabi

Strangely, AA doesn't seem to recognize Seoul Incheon and Seoul Gimpo as a co-terminal like Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda: http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?...orld_rules.jsp

So I suspect AA allowed that routing under "open-jaw" between ICN and GMP instead of treating it like NRT=HND co-terminals.

becket5

Well, the farthest point in Europe would be Ekaterinburg Russia (just east of the Urals) accessible on MA and AY, Tblisi Georgia which has a BA codeshare or Yerevan Armenia (also BA codeshare). Any of them would certainly make an impression on your co-workers but they might not be green with envy!

ktakahashi

I never thought about it that way. They just allowed it so I assumed they were considered co-terminals - as they are no farther apart than some of the other pairings in the list. The open jaw makes sense as I re-read this now. Wow, I feel even more lucky to have scored an open-jaw, co-terminal, stopover award in J (for Mrs. ktaka)! Even stranger was that I was able to reserve Y ticket and use eVIPs (on the AA routes) on the exact same flights for myself. The moons must have been aligned that day ... or something like that.