Feb 19, 2016, 2:01 pm
Last edit by: thorofare
AA Vacations / aavacations.com Flight and Ground Packages
Trust American Airlines to offer you the perfect package at the best price, guaranteed! When you choose to bundle your travel components into one package price we can offer you an unbeatable value by combining our unpublished low rates on flights with specially negotiated rates on hotels, activities and transportation. So, whether you're looking for a quick flight plus hotel weekend getaway or an all-inclusive package complete with flight, hotel, ground transportation and tickets to local attractions, you can rest easy knowing the entire trip is covered by our Lowest Price Guarantee.
FAQ
Q. Do these earn AAEQM Loyalty Points, Award Miles (RDM) and EQD (EQ Dollars in 2017)?
These generally book into discount paid fare buckets, so "Yes" at this time. There are a few promotional offers that do not earnEQM Loyalty Points; these will clearly say so, so read thoroughly. See:
Special fares: Earning Award Miles and Loyalty Points on aa.com (link)
Earning AA Elite Qualifying Miles / EQM on AA, oneworld, partners 2016
and this for the changes affecting Award Miles coming in the latter part of 2016.
Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners later 2016
Q. Can I upgrade these with AA upgrade instruments (e500 "stickers", miles and copay, SWU)? NOTE: As of July 2022, AA no longer issues 500-mile upgrade certificates ("stickers"). Auto-requested complimentary upgrades are now available to all elite status members and one traveling companion. See details at aa.com
Yes. These follow the standard AA upgrade rules.
Q. Can I use AAadvantage Award Miles to "pay" for a vacation?
(Change late 2019) Yes. You can "pay" with money (cards, etc.), AAdvantage miles or a combination of both. Miles may be used to pay for any portion of the vacation package up, and including, all of it. At this time there is no way to distinguish the breakpoint between the land portion and the air portion of the package, except by calling. And even this is a mixed bag.
Q. If I use AAdvantage Aware Miles to pay for part of my vacation, does this impact upgrades or EQM/RDM for the flights?(RDM)?
(Change 2020) AA Vacations agents are confident that using miles will have no impact on EQM/EQD/RDM as the miles are converted to "cash" to pay for the trip, so the AA system sees these as cash paid. This is supposed to apply no matter how much of the trip is paid with miles. Experiences reported here using part miles indicate that all posts as expected in these cases..
Q. So, what kinds of fares are ineligible for earning AA miles?
"Exceptions (aa.com)
Q. What aboutEQM Loyalty Points and Award ("Redeemable") Miles earning later in 2016 after 1 January 2022?
AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes select AA Vacations (where there is a * next to the booking code when looking at the flight details).
Note that the Special Fares page also says, "AAdvantage elite member bonuses will be applied in addition to the percentages shown for award miles."
Q. What fare classes do First and Business packages book into?
Typically A for international First, A, R or P domestic F, and I or D international Business.
Q. What if I'm flying on a flight on a partner airline?
AA Vacations most often books into AA "code shares" / AA marketed flights. In that case, you'll earn miles as if flying on American. If it doesn't, you'll earn per the agreement AA has with the partner airline. Start here to look them up.
Q. What advance purchase restrictions are imposed?
Most advance purchase, minimum stay, etc. normally imposed by the airline don't apply; the restrictions are those imposed by AA Vacations. (Detailed Fare Rules for your fare generally do apply, however.)
Q. Are the trips or fares refundable?
Generally not fully refundable. Hotels and ground activities are generally not at all, and air will depend on the fare bucket and detailed rules. AA vacations does offer protection, but hotels etc. may not be included.
"There are two types of protection available: We offer the Cancellation and Change Waiver (Pre-Departure Protection) which allows you to cancel and/or change either the land or air portion of their package without penalty. Trip Protector (Post-Departure protection) from Allianz Global Assistance can provide protection for your trip expenses, your health and your belongings."
A waiver is usually $129 for international travel and $69 for domestic travel. This can also be paid with miles.
Q. What is the shortest time I can book an air-hotel package for?
It appears three nights is the shortest period allowed by aavacations, unless the total duration of the trip is less than three days, then it is length of trip. However, those three nights do not need to be at a single property.
Q. Can I book a ten day package with only three days of prepaid hotel?
Sure. You'll have to call to do so, however.
You can change the dates of the hotel to be different from those of the flights in the "More Search Options" section of the search. You can also book multiple rooms here too, specifying the number of guests per room.I don't think you can book hotel to be in a different city though. A hotel in a different city (or continent, even) can be booked, but must be done over the phone.
Q. Is only one hotel offered?
No. A variety of properties is generally offered, but this will of course affect pricing.
Q. Does the hotel have to be in the destination city?
No. You can book a property in another city if it's offered by AA Vacations.
Q. What happens if I don't use the ground part (hotel, car, etc.)? Will they cancel my return flights?
Nothing. You can use it or forget it. No flight cancellations ensue. See AA Vacations - not checking in at Hotel Some purposely book the cheapest pricing for their trip knowing they're choosing a "throwaway hotel" they won't use.
Though one AA Vacations agent actually said "always book with us and just book the cheapest hotel for 3 days and throw it away", don't you say it's your intent.
Q. Will AA Vacations cause problems for me?
If you disclose your intent to AA Vacations to "throw away" (not stay at) the hotel, they can not sell you the package. So, don't.
Q. Will the hotel cause problems for me?
Not likely; they're paid for a prepaid stay whether you stay or not, as they get to keep the money and have "your" room to sell.
Q. Will I earn points at the hotel? Will they recognize my status?
Many chains don't recognize third party bookings for points or stay credit, but will usually recognize your status. Properties will treat as prepaid booking.
Q. Are there ever deals or promos?
Indeed. There are often sales and promotions; look for them on the site.
Q. What if I want to book open jaw or customize?
Calling can do that. There's a $39 call fee, unless it's not able to be booked online. Others have said you can generally calculate the price of an open jaw itinerary by adding half the price of pricing for vacations to the arrival and departure cities and adding those.
Q. Can I put these on "hold" while I think about it since these include air fare?
No. But: Refund of Air Ticket Portion Within 24 Hours of Purchase
Within 24 hours of booking, you are allowed to cancel your refundable or non-refundable air ticket for a full refund (and no change fees and/or difference in fare) subject to the following rules:
Q. My AAdvantage credit card earns double Award ("Redeemable") Miles on AA purchases. Will AA Vacations purchases earn 2x miles?
No. What transactions are eligible to earn double AAdvantage® miles?
Eligible American Airlines purchases are items billed by American Airlines as the merchant of record booked through American Airlines channels (aa.com, American Airlines Reservations, American Airlines airport, in-flight and city ticket counters). American Airlines tickets purchased through other channels or that are a component of any other cruise or tour package do not earn the additional mile purchase bonuses. Products or services that do not qualify for the additional bonus miles include car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines Vacations packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, duty free purchases and or AA Cargo℠
Q. Do these earn AA
These generally book into discount paid fare buckets, so "Yes" at this time. There are a few promotional offers that do not earn
Special fares: Earning Award Miles and Loyalty Points on aa.com (link)
and this for the changes affecting Award Miles coming in the latter part of 2016.
Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners later 2016
Q. Can I upgrade these with AA upgrade instruments (
Yes. These follow the standard AA upgrade rules.
Q. Can I use AAadvantage Award Miles to "pay" for a vacation?
(Change late 2019) Yes. You can "pay" with money (cards, etc.), AAdvantage miles or a combination of both. Miles may be used to pay for any portion of the vacation package up, and including, all of it. At this time there is no way to distinguish the breakpoint between the land portion and the air portion of the package, except by calling. And even this is a mixed bag.
Q. If I use AAdvantage Aware Miles to pay for part of my vacation, does this impact upgrades or EQM/RDM for the flights?(RDM)?
(Change 2020) AA Vacations agents are confident that using miles will have no impact on EQM/EQD/RDM as the miles are converted to "cash" to pay for the trip, so the AA system sees these as cash paid. This is supposed to apply no matter how much of the trip is paid with miles. Experiences reported here using part miles indicate that all posts as expected in these cases..
Q. So, what kinds of fares are ineligible for earning AA miles?
"Exceptions (aa.com)
There are certain airline ticket types that are not eligible for mileage accrual regardless of the booking class. These include, without limitation, the following:
Q Are there any types of tickets that won’t earn award miles?
Yes, tickets that currently do not earn award miles, elite-qualifying miles or elite-qualifying segments will not earn award miles in the future. This includes:
Q Are there any types of tickets that won’t earn award miles?
Yes, tickets that currently do not earn award miles, elite-qualifying miles or elite-qualifying segments will not earn award miles in the future. This includes:
- All tickets issued as AAdvantage awards
- Other free ticket promotions including free or reduced rate tickets
- Companion tickets
- Charter flight tickets
- Travel agency/industry reduced rate tickets
- Infant tickets
- Extra seats or items occupying a purchased seat
- Unpublished fare tickets, including consolidator fares
- Tickets issued subject to special provisions
Q. What about
AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes select AA Vacations (where there is a * next to the booking code when looking at the flight details).
Some fares (such as bulk or consolidator fares) earn award miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) Loyalty Points (LPs) at a modified rate based on a percentage of the distance flown as determined by the booking code.
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
- Bulk fares
- Cruise fares
- Consolidator fares
- Discounted or inclusive tour packages
- Vacation packages, including select American Airlines Vacations® packages. For Vacations, special fares are marked with an asterisk (*) after the booking code in the AAVacations.com booking path,
- Other tickets where the fare isn't disclosed, excluding bookings made through priceline.com or hotwire.com where the carrier isn't disclosed before buying
Q. What fare classes do First and Business packages book into?
Typically A for international First, A, R or P domestic F, and I or D international Business.
Q. What if I'm flying on a flight on a partner airline?
AA Vacations most often books into AA "code shares" / AA marketed flights. In that case, you'll earn miles as if flying on American. If it doesn't, you'll earn per the agreement AA has with the partner airline. Start here to look them up.
Q. What advance purchase restrictions are imposed?
Most advance purchase, minimum stay, etc. normally imposed by the airline don't apply; the restrictions are those imposed by AA Vacations. (Detailed Fare Rules for your fare generally do apply, however.)
Q. Are the trips or fares refundable?
Generally not fully refundable. Hotels and ground activities are generally not at all, and air will depend on the fare bucket and detailed rules. AA vacations does offer protection, but hotels etc. may not be included.
"There are two types of protection available: We offer the Cancellation and Change Waiver (Pre-Departure Protection) which allows you to cancel and/or change either the land or air portion of their package without penalty. Trip Protector (Post-Departure protection) from Allianz Global Assistance can provide protection for your trip expenses, your health and your belongings."
A waiver is usually $129 for international travel and $69 for domestic travel. This can also be paid with miles.
Q. What is the shortest time I can book an air-hotel package for?
It appears three nights is the shortest period allowed by aavacations, unless the total duration of the trip is less than three days, then it is length of trip. However, those three nights do not need to be at a single property.
Q. Can I book a ten day package with only three days of prepaid hotel?
You can change the dates of the hotel to be different from those of the flights in the "More Search Options" section of the search. You can also book multiple rooms here too, specifying the number of guests per room.
Q. Is only one hotel offered?
No. A variety of properties is generally offered, but this will of course affect pricing.
Q. Does the hotel have to be in the destination city?
No. You can book a property in another city if it's offered by AA Vacations.
Q. What happens if I don't use the ground part (hotel, car, etc.)? Will they cancel my return flights?
Nothing. You can use it or forget it. No flight cancellations ensue. See AA Vacations - not checking in at Hotel Some purposely book the cheapest pricing for their trip knowing they're choosing a "throwaway hotel" they won't use.
Though one AA Vacations agent actually said "always book with us and just book the cheapest hotel for 3 days and throw it away", don't you say it's your intent.
Q. Will AA Vacations cause problems for me?
If you disclose your intent to AA Vacations to "throw away" (not stay at) the hotel, they can not sell you the package. So, don't.
Q. Will the hotel cause problems for me?
Not likely; they're paid for a prepaid stay whether you stay or not, as they get to keep the money and have "your" room to sell.
Q. Will I earn points at the hotel? Will they recognize my status?
Many chains don't recognize third party bookings for points or stay credit, but will usually recognize your status. Properties will treat as prepaid booking.
Q. Are there ever deals or promos?
Indeed. There are often sales and promotions; look for them on the site.
Q. What if I want to book open jaw or customize?
Calling can do that. There's a $39 call fee, unless it's not able to be booked online. Others have said you can generally calculate the price of an open jaw itinerary by adding half the price of pricing for vacations to the arrival and departure cities and adding those.
Q. Can I put these on "hold" while I think about it since these include air fare?
No. But: Refund of Air Ticket Portion Within 24 Hours of Purchase
Within 24 hours of booking, you are allowed to cancel your refundable or non-refundable air ticket for a full refund (and no change fees and/or difference in fare) subject to the following rules:
- You must call 800-321-2121 within 24 hours of purchase to cancel the air ticket reservation and request a refund of the air ticket.
- The reservation must have been booked at least 7 days before scheduled departure.
- This policy does not apply to hotel or other non-air portions of the package. Standard cancellation policies will apply to all non-air components of the package.
- Refunds are only issued for tickets booked on aavacations.com or with American Airlines Vacations Reservations.
Q. My AAdvantage credit card earns double Award ("Redeemable") Miles on AA purchases. Will AA Vacations purchases earn 2x miles?
No. What transactions are eligible to earn double AAdvantage® miles?
Eligible American Airlines purchases are items billed by American Airlines as the merchant of record booked through American Airlines channels (aa.com, American Airlines Reservations, American Airlines airport, in-flight and city ticket counters). American Airlines tickets purchased through other channels or that are a component of any other cruise or tour package do not earn the additional mile purchase bonuses. Products or services that do not qualify for the additional bonus miles include car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines Vacations packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, duty free purchases and or AA Cargo℠
(lower right wiki corner)Updated by JDiver 19 Feb 2016
FAQ: aavacations.com / AA Vacations flight & vacation package questions, discussion
Oct 29, 2017, 1:06 pm
#256
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Oakland
Programs: AA Explat, UA former 1K + PremExec, DL
Posts: 1,151
Has anyone had trouble receiving hotel status benefits (not points or stay credit) on these packages?
Has anyone been able to receive distance-based credit after booking a refundable hotel or car rental and cancelling that portion?
Oct 31, 2017, 8:22 am
#257
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
1. If I cancel a ticket booked via AA.com, can I use that credit at AAVacations f I call in?
2. Can CS vouchers be used for an AAVacations package?
Thanks!
(I think the answer for 1 is no and 2 is yes, but am not sure)
2. Can CS vouchers be used for an AAVacations package?
Thanks!
(I think the answer for 1 is no and 2 is yes, but am not sure)
Oct 31, 2017, 2:04 pm
#258
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinium
Posts: 1,334
Yes on both, read my last message on this thread.
Oct 31, 2017, 2:34 pm
#259
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Nov 24, 2017, 12:06 pm
#260
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Marriott Platinium
Posts: 1,334
I'm sorry for the delay, which change fee are you asking? I had a regular AA reservation (not AA Vacation package) that I bought using the $100 airfare discount trough Ritz Carlton CC, but that flight was canceled because they rebooked me due to Hurricane Irma, so no fee from AA. When I found a AAV package that I like, I called and I was able to apply the amount that I paid from my canceled reservation (I didn't request an refund, I leave it open), that way I was able to maintain the $100 discount that I got trough the Ritz CC.
Dec 6, 2017, 11:36 am
#261
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Oakland
Programs: AA Explat, UA former 1K + PremExec, DL
Posts: 1,151
Special Fares Asia are back
Not sure if this thread was it, but someone was asking about special fares to Asia going away. This morning they are back to ICN, PEK, HKG, etc...
Jan 1, 2018, 3:11 pm
#262
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: jfk area
Programs: AA platinum; 2MM AA, Delta Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,291
Carefully check routings using AA Vacations
I was trying to book jfk-zrh AA Vacation package (hotel + flight), some of the flts had 2 stops and others (for zrh-jfk) required an overnight stopover in LHR.
Jan 1, 2018, 3:53 pm
#263
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
This goes without saying.
Most carriers offer their cheapest tickets and that would include seats they sell to tour consolidators, for multi-stop routings. Second are very short connections.
It always pays, no matter how and where you book to check the exact routing as well as connection times and to make certain that those meet your needs.
Most carriers offer their cheapest tickets and that would include seats they sell to tour consolidators, for multi-stop routings. Second are very short connections.
It always pays, no matter how and where you book to check the exact routing as well as connection times and to make certain that those meet your needs.
Jan 1, 2018, 4:30 pm
#266
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 3,698
Huh? I've never noticed any particular pattern of short or long connections having a different price than "normal" connections. Mostly the price is based on fare inventory availability across the various flights. Do you have any data to substantiate this assertion?
Jan 1, 2018, 7:12 pm
#267
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: jfk area
Programs: AA platinum; 2MM AA, Delta Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 10,291
This goes without saying.
Most carriers offer their cheapest tickets and that would include seats they sell to tour consolidators, for multi-stop routings. Second are very short connections.
It always pays, no matter how and where you book to check the exact routing as well as connection times and to make certain that those meet your needs.
Most carriers offer their cheapest tickets and that would include seats they sell to tour consolidators, for multi-stop routings. Second are very short connections.
It always pays, no matter how and where you book to check the exact routing as well as connection times and to make certain that those meet your needs.
On AA VACATIONS they pre-select flts and then you choose from a hotel list (the default is "popularity") but low to high price is also an option. Depending on your internet browser, changing the flts can be convoluted and the flt + hotel price package can have wide swings as you tweak these.
ADDED COMMENT: Since AA has dropped 64/65 non-stops between JFK and ZRH, they've replaced these with a one-stop via PHL [RJ: JFK-PHL] with a 1H 05MIN connection in PHL (their "default" flt)--but if that flt is delayed and/or cancelled, if you miss the PHL-ZRH flt...there are no reasonable alternatives; JFK-LHR-ZRH leaves you with more options.
Last edited by nrr; Jan 1, 2018 at 10:24 pm
Jan 13, 2018, 10:16 am
#268
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Arizona
Programs: AA 2MM EXPL, DL 2MM GLD, Hilton DMD, Starwood GLD, Marriott
Posts: 6
AA Vacations Not Working Do BA Vacations Earn
I am trying to book a trip to Milan next month. The other day the AA Vacations site had what appears to be a decent deal compared to the AA.com. Now it is showing a business ticket close to $7,000 despite the flights being very light Hotel addition made sense but total was close to $9K which is insanity. I looked at BA Vacations and the price was half of the AA site! I have looked everywhere online that I could including searching this thread and others in FT, but I cannot seem to find out if my BA Vacation flights can be credited to AAdvantage and what the rules will be for EQM and EQD. I would really appreciate any guidance on this. Thank you in advance!
Jan 13, 2018, 11:41 am
#269
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 47
I am trying to book a trip to Milan next month. The other day the AA Vacations site had what appears to be a decent deal compared to the AA.com. Now it is showing a business ticket close to $7,000 despite the flights being very light Hotel addition made sense but total was close to $9K which is insanity. I looked at BA Vacations and the price was half of the AA site! I have looked everywhere online that I could including searching this thread and others in FT, but I cannot seem to find out if my BA Vacation flights can be credited to AAdvantage and what the rules will be for EQM and EQD. I would really appreciate any guidance on this. Thank you in advance!
If the flights have AA flight numbers, you will earn either according to the regular AA rules (based on price and your AA status) or the special fares table (based on fare code and distance). If the fares are heavily discounted and part of a flight/hotel package, then it's more likely they will accrue according to the special fares table. Depending how expensive the flights are and your AA status, the price-based method may be much more fruitful. Unfortunately, I don't know if there's a definitive way to determine which method (price or distance) will be used to earn miles.
Jan 13, 2018, 12:25 pm
#270
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,535
I am trying to book a trip to Milan next month. The other day the AA Vacations site had what appears to be a decent deal compared to the AA.com. Now it is showing a business ticket close to $7,000 despite the flights being very light Hotel addition made sense but total was close to $9K which is insanity. I looked at BA Vacations and the price was half of the AA site! I have looked everywhere online that I could including searching this thread and others in FT, but I cannot seem to find out if my BA Vacation flights can be credited to AAdvantage and what the rules will be for EQM and EQD. I would really appreciate any guidance on this. Thank you in advance!
. Fully expect the EQM and EQD to be posting to AA just as if a regular BA purchase - based on distance and purchased fare class.Cheers.