Last edit by: Prospero
GUIDE to redeeming AA miles for Japan Air Lines awards:
For 2012-2015 posts, please see
ARCHIVE: AA Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (master thd)
For further information, see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
- JL awards are now shown show and can be booked on aa.com
- AwardNexus (free to FlyerTalk members for basic searches) will also reveal, and (for a fee) alert, on JL award seats
- AA awards on JL must be MileSAAver (AAnytime awards are only available on AA marketed and AA operated flights)
- There are no onerous fuel or carrier-imposed surcharges using AAdvantage miles for awards using JL
- JL initially releases awards to AAvantage members 330 days out at 10:00 am JST time (18:00 PDT, 17:00 PST). Note, JL award inventory is released to members of other FFPs 360 day out and updates award and revenue seat award availability once daily ~09:30-12:00 Pacific time
- JL may release 0-2 F and 0-4 J award seats initially; until taken they remain available up to three months from release
- No further seats are likely to be released until shortly (~14 days) prior to scheduled departure - but the last F seat will be retained for sale, not released into award inventory
- No stopovers are allowed on AA awards. Connections may be as long as 23:59.
- Only JAL Mileage Bank members can waitlist awards
- All awards for domestic Japan will default to Economy (including international F or J award with domestic segments); these can often be upgraded at reasonable cost at the ticket counter in the Japan connecting airport
- If JL & QF are showing availability, but AA can't see it, try calling the Australia AA center as it may be a point-of-sale issue
For 2012-2015 posts, please see
ARCHIVE: AA Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (master thd)
For further information, see:
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
AAdvantage Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (2016-2023)
#76
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: CAN, LAX, TPE
Programs: AA, AS, CI, DL, UA
Posts: 2,898
Still not sure what's going on... checked BA right at dot for JL seats at 17:00 and shows no seats for the 330 days in First, so JL isn't releasing First seats?
Then went for another date (1/19) that BA showed has seats, but AA agents say no seats...
Then for certain dates if I go for NRT-LAX instead of TPE-LAX, it shows seats on BA site... and then disappears lol
Then went for another date (1/19) that BA showed has seats, but AA agents say no seats...
Then for certain dates if I go for NRT-LAX instead of TPE-LAX, it shows seats on BA site... and then disappears lol
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,130
Called up and fed the CSR all the flights and we got to that flight and he claimed he couldn't see it (I believe he either had the date entered wrong or it really wasn't there because he was super helpful) and then he spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if other routings would work before exclaiming that the original F seats on NRT - ORD had returned and he was able to grab them and get it ticketed.
#78
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
Still not sure what's going on... checked BA right at dot for JL seats at 17:00 and shows no seats for the 330 days in First, so JL isn't releasing First seats?
Then went for another date (1/19) that BA showed has seats, but AA agents say no seats...
Then for certain dates if I go for NRT-LAX instead of TPE-LAX, it shows seats on BA site... and then disappears lol
Then went for another date (1/19) that BA showed has seats, but AA agents say no seats...
Then for certain dates if I go for NRT-LAX instead of TPE-LAX, it shows seats on BA site... and then disappears lol
2) What route are you talking about F on? TPE-LAX? Or something else? I only show 1F on JL via BA site on 1/19.
3) If people hold or book the seats, they do disappear and show 0 available. On the other hand, if the BA site glitches, the flight or class of service usually doesn't show up at all.
#79
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
I'd echo this. I just had a similar experience a couple days ago with CSRs seeing different space than BA/QF/JL shows. I was booking flights to come home from DPS in a couple weeks and say BA and QF both showing 4 F seats on JL NRT - ORD.
Called up and fed the CSR all the flights and we got to that flight and he claimed he couldn't see it (I believe he either had the date entered wrong or it really wasn't there because he was super helpful) and then he spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if other routings would work before exclaiming that the original F seats on NRT - ORD had returned and he was able to grab them and get it ticketed.
Called up and fed the CSR all the flights and we got to that flight and he claimed he couldn't see it (I believe he either had the date entered wrong or it really wasn't there because he was super helpful) and then he spent 10 minutes trying to figure out if other routings would work before exclaiming that the original F seats on NRT - ORD had returned and he was able to grab them and get it ticketed.
That said, I have had to direct a CSR to a specific flight number several times, especially when booking a partner award on a route that also has a non-stop AA flight. BUT, I was on my PC and able to confirm that the BA or AA site showed availability that instant and therefore didn't feel bad pressing them a bit.
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Programs: DL PM, MR Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,130
Were you able to check BA and QF at the same time as the CSR? With awards limited and a lot of people going after them, I suspect that part of this "BA says this, CSR doesn't see it" conundrum is people holding/ticketing awards and beating others to the punch.
That said, I have had to direct a CSR to a specific flight number several times, especially when booking a partner award on a route that also has a non-stop AA flight. BUT, I was on my PC and able to confirm that the BA or AA site showed availability that instant and therefore didn't feel bad pressing them a bit.
That said, I have had to direct a CSR to a specific flight number several times, especially when booking a partner award on a route that also has a non-stop AA flight. BUT, I was on my PC and able to confirm that the BA or AA site showed availability that instant and therefore didn't feel bad pressing them a bit.
This was also for a flight in 2.5 weeks not one for post-deval (right before) so it wasn't a matter of tons of people calling right after space was released.
Similarly the agent couldn't see KA F even though I could see it live on QF and BA though that ended up being a non-issue because CX F HKG - HND opened up two days later for the connection to JL 10.
#81
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: CAN, LAX, TPE
Programs: AA, AS, CI, DL, UA
Posts: 2,898
1) Right in the wiki: "JL may release 0-2 F and 0-4 J award seats initially"...
2) What route are you talking about F on? TPE-LAX? Or something else? I only show 1F on JL via BA site on 1/19.
3) If people hold or book the seats, they do disappear and show 0 available. On the other hand, if the BA site glitches, the flight or class of service usually doesn't show up at all.
2) What route are you talking about F on? TPE-LAX? Or something else? I only show 1F on JL via BA site on 1/19.
3) If people hold or book the seats, they do disappear and show 0 available. On the other hand, if the BA site glitches, the flight or class of service usually doesn't show up at all.
I am trying to book TPE-LAX.
#82
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Washington D.C.
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 131
Is this normal?
#83
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
BA has been known to show "phantom" award availability at times, as clearly stated in the wikipost at the top of the page, unfortunately.
#84
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Atl, GA
Programs: AA EP, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 127
so i've never booked a partner award using AA miles before. there shouldn't be any reason i can't find a segment or 2 on JL with availability, and couple it with a domestic AA flight right?
how does it work with regards to changing or canceling the award? can i redeposit miles for free if i'm AA EXP?
how does it work with regards to changing or canceling the award? can i redeposit miles for free if i'm AA EXP?
Last edited by shootermcgav1n; Mar 2, 2016 at 3:31 pm
#85
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: yyz
Posts: 1,611
so i've never booked a partner award using AA miles before. there shouldn't be any reason i can't find a segment or 2 on JL with availability, and couple it with a domestic AA flight right?
how does it work with regards to changing or canceling the award? can i redeposit miles for free if i'm AA EXP?
how does it work with regards to changing or canceling the award? can i redeposit miles for free if i'm AA EXP?
As EXP, all the fees are waived, including (I believe) changing origin/destination of the award flight. Where you might get dinged though, is if you do that AFTER March 22nd...you might be charged more miles (i.e. if you change origin/destination). why that is an important consideration is that if you can't find the AA connection leg to the partner flight "today" thinking you can add it later might trigger an award re-pricing.
If you can't find the connecting flight, I'd just book the long haul partner flight. Depending on what you're looking at it might be easier/cheaper to simply buy the connecting flight down the road. Then again, I have no idea what you're looking at.
#86
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Atl, GA
Programs: AA EP, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 127
Aside from the reason that the availability might not be there for the exact dates you're looking.
As EXP, all the fees are waived, including (I believe) changing origin/destination of the award flight. Where you might get dinged though, is if you do that AFTER March 22nd...you might be charged more miles (i.e. if you change origin/destination). why that is an important consideration is that if you can't find the AA connection leg to the partner flight "today" thinking you can add it later might trigger an award re-pricing.
If you can't find the connecting flight, I'd just book the long haul partner flight. Depending on what you're looking at it might be easier/cheaper to simply buy the connecting flight down the road. Then again, I have no idea what you're looking at.
As EXP, all the fees are waived, including (I believe) changing origin/destination of the award flight. Where you might get dinged though, is if you do that AFTER March 22nd...you might be charged more miles (i.e. if you change origin/destination). why that is an important consideration is that if you can't find the AA connection leg to the partner flight "today" thinking you can add it later might trigger an award re-pricing.
If you can't find the connecting flight, I'd just book the long haul partner flight. Depending on what you're looking at it might be easier/cheaper to simply buy the connecting flight down the road. Then again, I have no idea what you're looking at.
#87
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Houston, TX/Australia
Programs: AA EXP/Exec Citi, NZ* G, Nat EE, Avis PP, HH Gold
Posts: 649
If there's availability on the AA segments right now, you might as well put them on hold or book them. You can always call in later and have the booking/hold changed to include the long-haul flights.'
Caveat on that: If your flight is after March 22nd, you'll need to add the long-haul segment before that to avoid a repricing of the points needed at the higher rates (there's a thread on this). Also, there's always a small chance that when the agent adds the long-haul flight, they may have to release the AA segments and rebook them again w/ the long-haul flight - and the AA flights may not re-appear when they are released depending on timing/inventory/etc. But... it's still better than waiting until you book the long-haul because it gives you a chance at those AA flights rather than someone else booking them.
#88
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: yyz
Posts: 1,611
As Hartlogan says. Sounds pretty straightforward. You just need to decide which schedule works best and if you prefer a 777 or a 787. The former has F if that's of potential interest.
#89
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Atl, GA
Programs: AA EP, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 127
Yep, they will. It will be booked as a partner award because there's a mix of JL and AA flights.
If there's availability on the AA segments right now, you might as well put them on hold or book them. You can always call in later and have the booking/hold changed to include the long-haul flights.'
Caveat on that: If your flight is after March 22nd, you'll need to add the long-haul segment before that to avoid a repricing of the points needed at the higher rates (there's a thread on this). Also, there's always a small chance that when the agent adds the long-haul flight, they may have to release the AA segments and rebook them again w/ the long-haul flight - and the AA flights may not re-appear when they are released depending on timing/inventory/etc. But... it's still better than waiting until you book the long-haul because it gives you a chance at those AA flights rather than someone else booking them.
If there's availability on the AA segments right now, you might as well put them on hold or book them. You can always call in later and have the booking/hold changed to include the long-haul flights.'
Caveat on that: If your flight is after March 22nd, you'll need to add the long-haul segment before that to avoid a repricing of the points needed at the higher rates (there's a thread on this). Also, there's always a small chance that when the agent adds the long-haul flight, they may have to release the AA segments and rebook them again w/ the long-haul flight - and the AA flights may not re-appear when they are released depending on timing/inventory/etc. But... it's still better than waiting until you book the long-haul because it gives you a chance at those AA flights rather than someone else booking them.
#90
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 369
Yes. But make sure it prices correctly as one J award (55k). AA reservation system sometimes wants to price the Y segment as a separate award and you may have to prompt an inexperienced agent that you are taking a 'voluntary downgrade' on the final domestic segment.