Jan 13, 2015, 1:39 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Awards: Success stories of award booking on Etihad using AA miles (>= 2015)
This thread is about our members' successful award bookings on Etihad / EY using AAdvantage miles. Please do not post to this thread if you want tips and assistance on booking Etihad awards with AA miles but see this thread: How to use AA miles on Etihad / EY (Consolidated / Master Thread). The wikipost of that thread also contains instructions on how to search for EY availability.
Note: posts prior to 2015 about this topic (with the exception of a few 2014 end of year posts brought forward for continuity) may be found at ARCHIVE: Success stories of award booking on Etihad using AA miles
Success stories booking awards on Etihad using AA miles (Archive - 2015 and earlier)
Nov 27, 2015, 3:27 pm
#753
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AA EXP & Life Plat; AA 4MM; TWA Life Plat; HH Diamond
Posts: 1,110
So regarding this Australia visibility - what do we have any idea about what is going on here? Do the Aussie staff have a different GDS vs the Sabre set in the US; do they have just 'basic' Sabre and need to do a long sell and are therefore finding what (perhaps) is otherwise blocked in the US overlay? ...and finally - do we think this approach might be repeatable for CX F availability - where Asiamiles and BA will often show 1 more seat available than AA have access to?
Nov 27, 2015, 6:23 pm
#754
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
So regarding this Australia visibility - what do we have any idea about what is going on here? Do the Aussie staff have a different GDS vs the Sabre set in the US; do they have just 'basic' Sabre and need to do a long sell and are therefore finding what (perhaps) is otherwise blocked in the US overlay? ...and finally - do we think this approach might be repeatable for CX F availability - where Asiamiles and BA will often show 1 more seat available than AA have access to?
Nov 27, 2015, 6:29 pm
#755
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624
I don't think that they are needing to do a long sell, since ime , the AU agents can see the availability on flights
Nov 27, 2015, 7:00 pm
#756
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: State College, PA
Programs: US Airways CP, UA 1K, DL Plat, Marriott Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 286
I managed to call the Aus AA line and get CMB-AUH-JFK as a replacement for CMB-DOH-JFK (and a terrible layover). However they charged me $150/person change fee even though I am executive platinum. They said that it was because I am changing to Etihad. Anyone come across this before?
Nov 27, 2015, 7:07 pm
#757
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YYZ, NYC
Programs: Marriott Gold, JGC, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, AC 25K
Posts: 1,025
I managed to call the Aus AA line and get CMB-AUH-JFK as a replacement for CMB-DOH-JFK (and a terrible layover). However they charged me $150/person change fee even though I am executive platinum. They said that it was because I am changing to Etihad. Anyone come across this before?
Changing flight award tickets
$150 per ticket
A charge may apply if you make changes to award tickets
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Reinstating award tickets
$150 per account for the first award ticket. Additional award tickets reinstated to the same account at the same time will be $25 per ticket
Miles may be reinstated to your account for an unused AAdvantage flight award if your ticket has not expired
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Nov 27, 2015, 7:10 pm
#758
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,603
I managed to call the Aus AA line and get CMB-AUH-JFK as a replacement for CMB-DOH-JFK (and a terrible layover). However they charged me $150/person change fee even though I am executive platinum. They said that it was because I am changing to Etihad. Anyone come across this before?
Nov 27, 2015, 7:12 pm
#759
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Nov 27, 2015, 7:29 pm
#760
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: State College, PA
Programs: US Airways CP, UA 1K, DL Plat, Marriott Gold, SPG Plat
Posts: 286
This is a difficult ticket, because it is a change to a dividend miles ticket that was bought in March. She has now told me she needs to talk to a "double agent" that covers both AA and DM tickets and could not get hold of anyone for 10 minutes so she told me she would call me back. The agent was very nice on the Australian desk but was obviously not an exec plat level agent. I will let you know if she charges me when she calls back.
Nov 27, 2015, 7:42 pm
#761
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,624
Isn't it technically just a cancellation of the award, redeposit of miles, then a new award issued? They should waive the redeposition fee for EXP per below, unless the miles on the award was not from the EXP account.
Changing flight award tickets
$150 per ticket
A charge may apply if you make changes to award tickets
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Reinstating award tickets
$150 per account for the first award ticket. Additional award tickets reinstated to the same account at the same time will be $25 per ticket
Miles may be reinstated to your account for an unused AAdvantage flight award if your ticket has not expired
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Changing flight award tickets
$150 per ticket
A charge may apply if you make changes to award tickets
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Reinstating award tickets
$150 per account for the first award ticket. Additional award tickets reinstated to the same account at the same time will be $25 per ticket
Miles may be reinstated to your account for an unused AAdvantage flight award if your ticket has not expired
AAdvantage Executive Platinum members using miles from your account are exempt from the fee
Changes to the origin or destination or airline
◾For MileSAAver awards, origin or destination changes to the itinerary will incur a change fee of $150, even when retaining the same award type
◾For awards involving travel on other airlines, origin or destination changes or changes to the airline(s) in the itinerary will incur a change fee of $150, even when retaining the same award type
Changes that require a different award type
◾Changes to the itinerary which involve different AAdvantage awards than originally ticketed require a reinstatement of the original award ticket, payment of the applicable award reinstatement fee, and a new award ticket issued
◾The award reinstatement fee will be waived for Executive Platinum members using miles from their account
Interestingly there is no mention of a waiver of the change fee for EP members , so cancelling and starting again would seem to be the cheaper option
Nov 27, 2015, 8:31 pm
#762
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 803
I am looking at the new year period, RJ's availability is bad (actually everyone is bad). On Jan 2nd there is only one eco left for RJ, and it arrives 01:15 which doesn't make the MCT.
Nov 27, 2015, 8:37 pm
#763
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 803
So regarding this Australia visibility - what do we have any idea about what is going on here? Do the Aussie staff have a different GDS vs the Sabre set in the US; do they have just 'basic' Sabre and need to do a long sell and are therefore finding what (perhaps) is otherwise blocked in the US overlay? ...and finally - do we think this approach might be repeatable for CX F availability - where Asiamiles and BA will often show 1 more seat available than AA have access to?
Nov 27, 2015, 8:40 pm
#764
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: YYZ, NYC
Programs: Marriott Gold, JGC, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, AC 25K
Posts: 1,025
Nov 27, 2015, 8:41 pm
#765
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 803
There is zero question about that rule and that it's as I say it is.
I am the original source of that unpublished information but it's now very widely known. Every single poster that's ever posted about it and every blogger (and for-pay award-booker, etc) that knows these unpublished rules, know of them because of me.
So, no doubt the rule exists.
Question in that thread was which of the various published F fares published on that route should apply (as there are MPM-based ones and routing-based ones, it appears?) That I cannot answer-- and if I can't answer that, no one here can.
So, you'll be somewhat at the mercy of calling again and if the same answer persists, "taking it or leaving it" in terms of what they say.
I am the original source of that unpublished information but it's now very widely known. Every single poster that's ever posted about it and every blogger (and for-pay award-booker, etc) that knows these unpublished rules, know of them because of me.
So, no doubt the rule exists.
Question in that thread was which of the various published F fares published on that route should apply (as there are MPM-based ones and routing-based ones, it appears?) That I cannot answer-- and if I can't answer that, no one here can.
So, you'll be somewhat at the mercy of calling again and if the same answer persists, "taking it or leaving it" in terms of what they say.
Recently I have a friend who tried to book PDX-LAX-NRT-PVG on AS+JL. And it was priced as two tickets. But I can do SFO-SEA-PDX-YVR-NRT without a problem.
He said he booked a similar ticket last year without a problem. I first thought it is a glitch introduced in merging with US. But now it seems to be a norm.