Jan 1, 2015, 8:43 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST
This is the ARCHIVE through 2015 for older posts from the MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion (consolidated) thread.
This wikipost can be edited by members with 90 days' tenure and 90 posts; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner).
Other useful resources include:
MileSAAver / SAAver award reduction / scarcity >= Aug 2011 onward (consolidated)
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
Help with British Airways / BA surcharge / YQ (AA award on BA, consolidated)
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures
This is the ARCHIVE through 2015 for older posts from the MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion (consolidated) thread.
Some of you might have found your thread merged into this "consolidated" thread. If your desire is to become thoroughly familiar with the knowledge that has been accumulated about the process for acquiring MileSAAver awards feel free to read this entire thread. If you only want the assistance from those who have the knowledge your request has been merged at the end. Feel free to wait for a forthcoming answer.
If you have reached this thread by using the search process you have the same choices as above. Read the thread and become knowledgeable or post at the end and wait for a forthcoming answer.
thanks
~magic111
If you have reached this thread by using the search process you have the same choices as above. Read the thread and become knowledgeable or post at the end and wait for a forthcoming answer.
thanks
~magic111
This wikipost can be edited by members with 90 days' tenure and 90 posts; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner).Other useful resources include:
MileSAAver / SAAver award reduction / scarcity >= Aug 2011 onward (consolidated)
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
Help with British Airways / BA surcharge / YQ (AA award on BA, consolidated)
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures
ARCHIVE: 2009-2015 MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability Help etc.
Dec 16, 2015, 7:40 pm
#7591
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 239
Need 2 but was looking for one on April 26th. I just checked and it's no longer there. Perhaps Big Brother is watching!
Dec 16, 2015, 7:41 pm
#7592
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 239
It's all about revenue (in this case "miles") management. AA want you to burn more miles on better awards, so they reserved preferred flight routes for awards costing more miles. Happens on ORD-LHR routes lot....miles savers might give you one or two direct flights, but many of them will be through connections. Switch to an anytime award and all of your preferred routes are available. I used a business mile saver and there was one direct route available on BA...if I used an anytime award...I could fly AA, save the $500 fees and fly direct. But that is a choice around how many miles I wanted to burn (50K vs 110K)
Dec 16, 2015, 7:57 pm
#7593
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
Dec 16, 2015, 8:12 pm
#7594
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,606
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
"I'm aware of the lack of SAAver awards in J/F. I understand how to book the flights, I'm just looking for advice on a specific situation with a set amount of miles, and the best use of those miles."
How have you checked for SAAver award availability to and from HKG? Did you ask about the routing options via China (or Japan) suggested by JDiver?
"I'm aware of the lack of SAAver awards in J/F. I understand how to book the flights, I'm just looking for advice on a specific situation with a set amount of miles, and the best use of those miles."
How have you checked for SAAver award availability to and from HKG? Did you ask about the routing options via China (or Japan) suggested by JDiver?
Dec 16, 2015, 8:17 pm
#7595
Join Date: May 2001
Location: exUA1K, UA MM, lifetime UA1P, AA MM, HH Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,731
Hello all,
After a long time of reading and earning I finally have a reason to post.
I'm looking to fly from MSP - Hong Kong or Tokyo, any big city in Asia really, round trip in February and need some booking advice. I've read through the AA forum (how I learned to earn miles in the first place), the stickies, the posts on redemption on JL/CX, Asia 1/2, etc., but still feel lost.
I'd prefer to go to Hong Kong as I've already been to Japan a few times, but I'm open to either. I Have 118,000 AA miles and am looking to fly in either J/F, I really don't care which as long as there is direct aisle access.
Through searching so far I've found:
* Flying AA metal is not an option due to the lack of SAAver business awards.
* I technically have enough miles to fly round trip in J to HKG (Asia 2), (with CX?) but availability shows up last minute. Which would work for me.
* Flying JAL to TYO in J is probably the most likely option, but not all J cabins have direct aisle access.
To get back to the point, I'm sure half of what I've learned is wrong as all my research has confused the hell out of me. I wan't to go to Asia, in February, in a J/F seat that has direct aisle access, on any airline (as long as I can use AA miles), and am fully flexible on dates. I'm able to book last minute as well. I have 118,000 AA points through the Citi card and US Air Barclaycard promotions and won't have many more points in the foreseeable future.
Is there anyway I can actually make this work?
Thanks for your advice!
After a long time of reading and earning I finally have a reason to post.
I'm looking to fly from MSP - Hong Kong or Tokyo, any big city in Asia really, round trip in February and need some booking advice. I've read through the AA forum (how I learned to earn miles in the first place), the stickies, the posts on redemption on JL/CX, Asia 1/2, etc., but still feel lost.
I'd prefer to go to Hong Kong as I've already been to Japan a few times, but I'm open to either. I Have 118,000 AA miles and am looking to fly in either J/F, I really don't care which as long as there is direct aisle access.
Through searching so far I've found:
* Flying AA metal is not an option due to the lack of SAAver business awards.
* I technically have enough miles to fly round trip in J to HKG (Asia 2), (with CX?) but availability shows up last minute. Which would work for me.
* Flying JAL to TYO in J is probably the most likely option, but not all J cabins have direct aisle access.
To get back to the point, I'm sure half of what I've learned is wrong as all my research has confused the hell out of me. I wan't to go to Asia, in February, in a J/F seat that has direct aisle access, on any airline (as long as I can use AA miles), and am fully flexible on dates. I'm able to book last minute as well. I have 118,000 AA points through the Citi card and US Air Barclaycard promotions and won't have many more points in the foreseeable future.
Is there anyway I can actually make this work?
Thanks for your advice!
JL is a great carrier and they release award inventory 14 days and less before departure and can be viewed on www.ba.com around 14:30 pm on the 14th day before departure. AA can usually see the same or even more inventory.
CX often releases J or F award inventory closer to flight date.
Dec 16, 2015, 9:35 pm
#7596
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AY+ Plat, Marriott Plat, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 2,846
Hello all,
After a long time of reading and earning I finally have a reason to post.
I'm looking to fly from MSP - Hong Kong or Tokyo, any big city in Asia really, round trip in February and need some booking advice. I've read through the AA forum (how I learned to earn miles in the first place), the stickies, the posts on redemption on JL/CX, Asia 1/2, etc., but still feel lost.
I'd prefer to go to Hong Kong as I've already been to Japan a few times, but I'm open to either. I Have 118,000 AA miles and am looking to fly in either J/F, I really don't care which as long as there is direct aisle access.
Through searching so far I've found:
* Flying AA metal is not an option due to the lack of SAAver business awards.
* I technically have enough miles to fly round trip in J to HKG (Asia 2), (with CX?) but availability shows up last minute. Which would work for me.
* Flying JAL to TYO in J is probably the most likely option, but not all J cabins have direct aisle access.
To get back to the point, I'm sure half of what I've learned is wrong as all my research has confused the hell out of me. I wan't to go to Asia, in February, in a J/F seat that has direct aisle access, on any airline (as long as I can use AA miles), and am fully flexible on dates. I'm able to book last minute as well. I have 118,000 AA points through the Citi card and US Air Barclaycard promotions and won't have many more points in the foreseeable future.
Is there anyway I can actually make this work?
Thanks for your advice!
After a long time of reading and earning I finally have a reason to post.
I'm looking to fly from MSP - Hong Kong or Tokyo, any big city in Asia really, round trip in February and need some booking advice. I've read through the AA forum (how I learned to earn miles in the first place), the stickies, the posts on redemption on JL/CX, Asia 1/2, etc., but still feel lost.
I'd prefer to go to Hong Kong as I've already been to Japan a few times, but I'm open to either. I Have 118,000 AA miles and am looking to fly in either J/F, I really don't care which as long as there is direct aisle access.
Through searching so far I've found:
* Flying AA metal is not an option due to the lack of SAAver business awards.
* I technically have enough miles to fly round trip in J to HKG (Asia 2), (with CX?) but availability shows up last minute. Which would work for me.
* Flying JAL to TYO in J is probably the most likely option, but not all J cabins have direct aisle access.
To get back to the point, I'm sure half of what I've learned is wrong as all my research has confused the hell out of me. I wan't to go to Asia, in February, in a J/F seat that has direct aisle access, on any airline (as long as I can use AA miles), and am fully flexible on dates. I'm able to book last minute as well. I have 118,000 AA points through the Citi card and US Air Barclaycard promotions and won't have many more points in the foreseeable future.
Is there anyway I can actually make this work?
Thanks for your advice!
So that leaves you with the following options:
a) US to TYO on JL or AA and onto HKG on CX, KA or JL
b) US to PEK or PVG on AA and onto HKG on KA or CX
c) US to HKG on CX or AA
Third, you probably already know that you can't search for JL or CX space on AA, so I'd sign up for an Executive Club account on BA.
Fourth, BA's search engine is not good about showing connections so searching by segment is key. I would look for the TPAC leg first, keeping in mind the North American gateways for the 3 airlines you are interested in.
a) JL flies SFO-HND and JFK/ORD/DFW/LAX-NRT using aircraft with all-aisle access in business.
b) CX flies SFO/LAX/YVR/ORD/JFK/EWR/YYZ/BOS-HKG, all with all-aisle access in business.
c) AA flies ORD-NRT, DFW-PVG/PEK/HKG, and LAX-HND/PVG using 787 or 77W aircraft with all-aisle access in business (of course, you can use AA.com to search AA space much more easily).
Fifth, I'd try to avoid traveling around the Chinese New Year.
Sixth, once you find a transpac that works, then you can search for the connecting legs to get you to your North American gateway from MSP and onto HKG, if necessary.
Finally, you may not find anything at first, but as noted above, CX tends to release seats close to departure, and JL does as well. I have found in my experience that patience and persistence (and sometimes a bit of creativity) pay off.
Dec 17, 2015, 12:59 am
#7597
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 467
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Yes: the mileage cost between Asia 2 and Asia 2 (or any other region) is clearly set forth on the Partner award chart. The only requirement to get the posted redemption rate is that, if one or more connections is involved, the most significant carrier on the itinerary publishes a through-fare between origin and destination that permits your particular routing.
Yes: the mileage cost between Asia 2 and Asia 2 (or any other region) is clearly set forth on the Partner award chart. The only requirement to get the posted redemption rate is that, if one or more connections is involved, the most significant carrier on the itinerary publishes a through-fare between origin and destination that permits your particular routing.
Does that mean I could do something like Beijing to HKG to anywhere within the Asia 2 region without any problems?
Dec 17, 2015, 11:58 am
#7598
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,606
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
I'm a little bit confused.
Does that mean I could do something like Beijing to HKG to anywhere within the Asia 2 region without any problems?
Yes, but only if CX/KA has a published through-fare from your origin to your destination.
Originally Posted by dkjb3t4
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry: BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)
Yes: the mileage cost between Asia 2 and Asia 2 (or any other region) is clearly set forth on the Partner award chart. The only requirement to get the posted redemption rate is that, if one or more connections is involved, the most significant carrier on the itinerary publishes a through-fare between origin and destination that permits your particular routing.
Yes: the mileage cost between Asia 2 and Asia 2 (or any other region) is clearly set forth on the Partner award chart. The only requirement to get the posted redemption rate is that, if one or more connections is involved, the most significant carrier on the itinerary publishes a through-fare between origin and destination that permits your particular routing.
Does that mean I could do something like Beijing to HKG to anywhere within the Asia 2 region without any problems?
Dec 22, 2015, 9:32 am
#7599
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 214
AA/one world partners LAX- Italy/France next fall
Hi I'm trying to figure out which routes/airlines I can use with my AA miles, trying to book a flight for next Fall before year end and the devaluation goes into effect in April. I want to avoid BA because of the fees. I would prefer to fly through NYC or a major city in Canada so i can get a stopover on the way.
Would appreciate your sharing experiences if youve done this before. ive been looking on AA.com and havent found many partners, where might i be able to find better availability or more options ? dates i'm looking at are the last 2 wks of October - first 2 wks of Nov.
thank you
Would appreciate your sharing experiences if youve done this before. ive been looking on AA.com and havent found many partners, where might i be able to find better availability or more options ? dates i'm looking at are the last 2 wks of October - first 2 wks of Nov.
thank you
Dec 22, 2015, 9:55 am
#7600
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: DFW
Programs: AA ExPlat, 4mm
Posts: 102
Understanding that the seat map on AA.com is not necessarily indicative of how many seats have been sold...
I am looking for an F MileSAAVer award ticket from AA963 DFW to GRU next week. The AA.com maps shows:
12/28 - 0 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver NOT available)
12/29 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
12/30 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
Has anyone recently experienced if/when AA gives up on selling F seats and opens up award availability on AA963?
I am looking for an F MileSAAVer award ticket from AA963 DFW to GRU next week. The AA.com maps shows:
12/28 - 0 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver NOT available)
12/29 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
12/30 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
Has anyone recently experienced if/when AA gives up on selling F seats and opens up award availability on AA963?
Dec 22, 2015, 10:12 am
#7601
Formerly known as jlars77
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: ORD
Posts: 361
Interesting, BA shows one in J on that flight the 29th. Not sure why it would show on BA but not AA, thought the inventory would be the same.
EDIT: 6 in J on the 30th and 1 in F on the 31st. 75,000 Avios for J and 100,000 for F.
EDIT: 6 in J on the 30th and 1 in F on the 31st. 75,000 Avios for J and 100,000 for F.
Understanding that the seat map on AA.com is not necessarily indicative of how many seats have been sold...
I am looking for an F MileSAAVer award ticket from AA963 DFW to GRU next week. The AA.com maps shows:
12/28 - 0 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver NOT available)
12/29 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
12/30 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
Has anyone recently experienced if/when AA gives up on selling F seats and opens up award availability on AA963?
I am looking for an F MileSAAVer award ticket from AA963 DFW to GRU next week. The AA.com maps shows:
12/28 - 0 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver NOT available)
12/29 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
12/30 - 1 of 8 seats assigned (J MileSAAver award available)
Has anyone recently experienced if/when AA gives up on selling F seats and opens up award availability on AA963?
Dec 22, 2015, 10:12 am
#7602
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
This is probably going to be the most problematic issue for OP- the domestic connection. OP's best shot at CX/JL availability (in terms of most flights/day) is West Coast or JFK, which means a double connection domestic (MSP-ORD/DFW-XXX-NRT/HKG), though they have a shot out of ORD on JL/CX.
Dec 22, 2015, 11:12 am
#7603
Moderator, OneWorld
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: SEA
Programs: RAA RIP; AA ExEXP
Posts: 11,803
Hi I'm trying to figure out which routes/airlines I can use with my AA miles, trying to book a flight for next Fall before year end and the devaluation goes into effect in April. I want to avoid BA because of the fees. I would prefer to fly through NYC or a major city in Canada so i can get a stopover on the way.
Would appreciate your sharing experiences if youve done this before. ive been looking on AA.com and havent found many partners, where might i be able to find better availability or more options ? dates i'm looking at are the last 2 wks of October - first 2 wks of Nov.
thank you
Would appreciate your sharing experiences if youve done this before. ive been looking on AA.com and havent found many partners, where might i be able to find better availability or more options ? dates i'm looking at are the last 2 wks of October - first 2 wks of Nov.
thank you
Gardyloo
Oneworld moderator
Dec 22, 2015, 11:15 am
#7604
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,767
This is probably going to be the most problematic issue for OP- the domestic connection. OP's best shot at CX/JL availability (in terms of most flights/day) is West Coast or JFK, which means a double connection domestic (MSP-ORD/DFW-XXX-NRT/HKG), though they have a shot out of ORD on JL/CX.
There are MANY J seats on various days from LAX on CX. The 0940am departure often has 1 F.
Not nearly as many from JFK.
Pure luck to find J from BOS and ORD. I would do a brief "fly by" to check it despite the often futile attempts.
For all purpose and intent, we have long given up other CX gateways but concentrate our efforts on LAX.
Connect at TYO often require some sort of overnight somewhere en-route. Just one thing to keep in mind.
Dec 22, 2015, 11:26 am
#7605
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,605
If you book 10-11 months out, there is lots of CX Business availability from both BOS and JFK.
Even some single BOS First seats.
