Discrepancy between award availability table and final quoted mile "cost"
 

I see a persistent discrepancy on ALL Europe to US award flights I look at. The discrepancy is that the award availability calendar will show most days with (say) Anytime business class awards for 135k miles, but when I go to find flights for such a day, it **always** then changes to show a higher level of 180k. 135k, one way is already supposed to be the higher Anytime war level, so why does EVERY day change from 135k to 180k? This seems all too similar - in fact exactly the same shenanigans - as the Delta Skymiles programme indulged in for years.

When AA announced the new award chart they spoke of five levels but didn't define mileage for the 3rd level of AAnytime awards. Maybe you're the first person to post of this find.

http://thepointsguy.com/2014/04/amer...d-bag-changes/

Just done an award search for LHR-ORD for August 11 and been offered business anytime at 110k and 1st anytime at 140k which are both Level 1 prices, so it isn't all days which are showing it, though some dates in July seem to have these 180k prices showing. June 30 and July 1 seems to show Anytime awards in business at Level 2 prices whilst 29 June shows 180k

How about ConUS Hawai'i AAnytime showing 47,500 but going to 90,000? They've just added a high demand seasonal component, as well.

Ahem, this is the reverse of the search I did. US to EU award availability is completely different (much better) than EU to US availability in July. I was looking at DUB, LHR, MAN, MAD or CDG to SAN or LAX.

Also, my main beef is not the 180k for business per se (though that is shocking enough), but AA's dishonesty with regard to what they will charge. Again, the award calendar actually shows "just" 135k for most days in July (if "just" is the correct term) , but when you actually try to book, EVERY day increases to 180k!

Yes, it is clear that the "Level 3" AAnytime business award level to/from Europe is 180k. Shocking. But for myself, I think it is even more shocking that AA is clearly being dishonest up front with regard to what the "cost" will be. The award calendar shows "just" 135k for most days in July (if "just" is the correct term), but when you actually try to book, EVERY day increases to 180k! That is EXACTLY what Delta did with their Skymiles award booker/calendar for years (may still be doing for all I know). The low award levels you initially saw on Delta.com were MEANINGLESS! I truly fear that AA may be going down the same road.

Off-topic here but DL fixed its award calendar display and search engine circa November 2014, and now proficiently searches across flexible dates on 19 carriers. That's not to say low level award availability is good (a business decision, not a search matter).

IMHO this is probably more likely a matter of poor communications and errant systems development than plain deception on the part of AA.

Very common. I've actually encountered the opposite also (where the "calendar" shows let's say 50K, but if you actually try to book for that date it will display lower awards available). And then there was the case where I could plainly see a "saver" award on the aa.com website but the AAgent couldn't see it in her system... until after she selected the return flight.... and then the outbound suddenly appeared....

Fun stuff!

In your post you did state that you could not find availability on "ALL Europe to US award flights "

LHR-ORD is from Europe to USA

AA is a multibillion dollar industry. Ticketing is a basic, step zero function for them. This week, I found and reported here TWO major "discrepancies" with regard to AA ticketing. With both both issues, folks have claimed that these are just somehow innocent mistakes. However, both discrepancies are in AA's favour, and both are pretty large.
- Showing and selling nonexistent "premium economy" seats on US Airways flights, and
- Bait and switch award redemption "cost" levels (for transatlantic business class, at any rate).

Mistake fares get fixed in hours, or less, but both of these issues, which are to AA's AAdvantage, have probably been there for ages.

Sorry, somehow read it the other way around. But I did check LHR for July, and it was no different than the others. The difference may be that you checked August, while I was looking at July. In any case, this is tangential to my main point/concerns.

As I also said, I found availability on July 1 at level 2 pricing

That the points on other days is extremely high I do agree with given that the award chart at https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/r...ward-chart.jsp seems to have no reference to there being any higher costing than level 2

If AA is going to have a level 3 , it should at least be referenced on the award chart

You're making a fundamental error: Purchased ticket transactions are regulated under U.S. law, subject to scrutiny by the DOT and FTC. Frequent flyer transactions are largely unregulated. So it's not just plain old ticketing as step zero.

You saw (and I saw for years, and many others in the DL forum remarked) on odd and unhelpful responses from delta.com to award search requests. Given access to courts in the U.S., I'll say if the behaviors were illegal somebody would have sued. Class action, probably - the hurdles seem pretty low. And yet to my knowledge (with lots of reading in the DL forum) courts did not intervene.

Search anomalies from paid and award searches on AA, DL and UA get reported on FT on pretty much a daily basis. It's pretty clear to me that the various databases and search platforms aren't robust compared to (what we hope is in place for) financial transactions systems. If you want more regulation of FF programs start with your congressman.

Again, I think you've found evidence of AA's rollout of the previously announced fifth tier of award pricing. If (and I think the evidence is compelling) AA's systems are impaired by caching/database sync issues, the simple presence of more tiers of award prices will mean more transaction (defined as search results thru to issued ticket at the same award mileage) failures.

Yep. The agent I spoke with yesterday implied that was exactly what was affecting my award gift requiring 90,000 miles per person HNL-DFW-PHL ("that's because they're Thanksgiving week"). That was certainly not what was showing on the award availability table on aa.com for selection.

Welcome to the new norm?