Jan 25, 2014, 2:56 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Be sure to check the lengthy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...elections.html and oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on threads, as many members have posted questions - and useful answers - there. See the wiki posts for informative summaries.
Also be aware - AA have reduced capacity and apparently chosen to make MileSAAver flights significantly less available during predicted periods of high demand and high demand flights, undoubtedly keeping seats available for those willing to pay higher fares and use the new tiered AAnytime awards.
Older posts as of 1 Jan 2015 and later may be found in thd archived thread ARCHIVE: MileSAAver / SAAver award reduction discussion post 2015 AAdvantage merger
Older posts may dating from Aug 2011 through the AAdvantage program merger January 2015 be found in the archived thread here.
MileSAAver / SAAver award reduction / scarcity discussion
Aug 14, 2017, 2:28 pm
#1412
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Aug 14, 2017, 5:27 pm
#1413
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,934
The places you can search include other oneworld airline sites, or for the nicest user interface I prefer Award Nexus (www.awardnexus.com), which is free (up to a point) for FlyerTalk members (click "more signup options" under the green Purchase button to get to the screen where you can sign up using your FT login), and which can search through both BA and QF using the exact same user interface for both. (If you used the BA and QF sites directly, you'd have to learn different user interfaces.) Also it can remember what searches you did earlier and redo them or edit them and do different versions of them, while the BA site doesn't let you do that very much. And sometimes BA or QF has "phantom" results, so it's nice to be able to check one against the other.
But the one place you cannot possibly search (successfully) for LAN / LATAM award flights is on aa.com.
Last edited by sdsearch; Aug 14, 2017 at 5:32 pm
Aug 14, 2017, 6:05 pm
#1414
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SFO
Programs: AS, UA, WN, IHG Diamond Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Gold, CET 7*
Posts: 3,302
Decided this am to visit friends in Chicago for Thanksgiving and was shocked to find (2) SAAver awards in F (25k/each) on a perfectly timed nonstop from SFO on Wednesday the 22nd. Assumed I might get lucky and find availability on Thursday am, so was quite pleasantly surprised. Fare was $410, so happy to save the $820.00 for us both.
(Return is VX F award on the following Monday)
(Return is VX F award on the following Monday)
Aug 14, 2017, 8:36 pm
#1415
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Wine Country, Finger Lakes
Programs: LFFRS BOD
Posts: 1,355
Aug 15, 2017, 2:51 pm
#1416
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
My bad then. I flew AA award travel on LAN a few years ago, and I thought I booked on AA.com. Must be mis-remembering.
But someone else posted that there was no phone-reservation fee if the flight you want isn't available on AA.com. I could have sworn I got hit with the fee more than once. I even tried to dispute it by saying "I HAD to call in, because I couldn't book this online by myself" No dice.
But someone else posted that there was no phone-reservation fee if the flight you want isn't available on AA.com. I could have sworn I got hit with the fee more than once. I even tried to dispute it by saying "I HAD to call in, because I couldn't book this online by myself" No dice.
Aug 15, 2017, 3:36 pm
#1417
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,526
My bad then. I flew AA award travel on LAN a few years ago, and I thought I booked on AA.com. Must be mis-remembering.
But someone else posted that there was no phone-reservation fee if the flight you want isn't available on AA.com. I could have sworn I got hit with the fee more than once. I even tried to dispute it by saying "I HAD to call in, because I couldn't book this online by myself" No dice.
But someone else posted that there was no phone-reservation fee if the flight you want isn't available on AA.com. I could have sworn I got hit with the fee more than once. I even tried to dispute it by saying "I HAD to call in, because I couldn't book this online by myself" No dice.
Aug 15, 2017, 3:42 pm
#1418
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
Aug 15, 2017, 4:21 pm
#1420
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
LOL. I still have the email I sent to AA at the time, asking them to waive the phone-reservation fee. My point was basically, "I WANTED to book online, but your partner airlines weren't listed, so my ONLY option was to call. And now you charge me?"
Their response: "Sorry, but this is an industry-wide policy and other airlines do this too."
Their response: "Sorry, but this is an industry-wide policy and other airlines do this too."
Aug 15, 2017, 4:37 pm
#1421
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
LOL. I still have the email I sent to AA at the time, asking them to waive the phone-reservation fee. My point was basically, "I WANTED to book online, but your partner airlines weren't listed, so my ONLY option was to call. And now you charge me?"
Their response: "Sorry, but this is an industry-wide policy and other airlines do this too."
Their response: "Sorry, but this is an industry-wide policy and other airlines do this too."
Aug 17, 2017, 9:58 am
#1422
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, SPG/Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,091
Been tracking awards to HKG over the next month or two and had decent Saver availability. As of 2am everything had been pulled, back to all Anytime awards. Luckily put some on hold but wow, just cold. haha
They had coach saver for almost everyday over the next few months and some J and F thrown in. Now nothing.
EDIT: Looks like a lot of domestic saver was wiped also. Did I miss something somewhere? Tech glitch?
They had coach saver for almost everyday over the next few months and some J and F thrown in. Now nothing.
EDIT: Looks like a lot of domestic saver was wiped also. Did I miss something somewhere? Tech glitch?
Aug 17, 2017, 1:22 pm
#1424
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Florida, USA
Posts: 2,983
Been tracking awards to HKG over the next month or two and had decent Saver availability. As of 2am everything had been pulled, back to all Anytime awards. Luckily put some on hold but wow, just cold. haha
They had coach saver for almost everyday over the next few months and some J and F thrown in. Now nothing.
EDIT: Looks like a lot of domestic saver was wiped also. Did I miss something somewhere? Tech glitch?
They had coach saver for almost everyday over the next few months and some J and F thrown in. Now nothing.
EDIT: Looks like a lot of domestic saver was wiped also. Did I miss something somewhere? Tech glitch?
Aug 17, 2017, 1:35 pm
#1425
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, SPG/Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,091
Just looked again and a lot of coach saver awards showed back up for some intl routes (from literally zero this morning). DFW-ORD went from tons of saver availability (like 20 options) to zero options to now 1 option with a connection on certain days. Idk what AA is doing right now, but it's maddening.