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FAQ: aavacations.com / AA Vacations flight & vacation package questions, discussion

i find the rates for an aa vacation IAD-ATH with hotel in biz class to be at a decent price. i wish to book this 4-5 months out. due to my age and health,( me 78 yo, wife 70yo). i worry if there is a need to cancel. travel; insurance is not a real option, as the cost for me and if would be probably over $5000 for real insurance.

i cannot find any real information regarding cancellations on the website. where is the real legal document regarding cancellations?

$5,000 for travel insurance??!?!? Where are you getting a quote from? Try SquareMouth.com and you should get much more affordable rates. This is a site that will show you many insurance providers, along with a good matrix showing what the various coverages are.

In general, unless you buy a refundable fare, you won't be able to get a refund on the flight portion of your trip. The amount travel insurance would cost though would be much cheaper than buying a refundable fare.

I googled "AAvacations cancellation" and these were the 1st two results returned:

https://www.aavacations.com/waiver.asp

Code:

With the purchase of the Cancellation and Change Waiver, travelers may 

cancel and/or change either the land and/or air portion of their package. Some 

hotel room categories and airfares may be non-refundable and are not covered 

by this Waiver. Optional activities (transfers, sight-seeing, theme park passes, 

rail passes, etc) are non-refundable even when the waiver is purchased. In 

addition, some airfares may be available only in connection with land 

arrangements and those requirements are not covered by this Waiver. 

Administrative Service Charges (ASC) on certain airfares may still be applicable 

even if waiver is purchased. 

 

If one traveler purchases the Waiver, it is mandatory for all other travelers 

booked in the same reference number to purchase the Waiver. This includes both 

adults and children. The Cancellation and Change Waiver may only be purchased 

when the initial reservation is made. 

 

Cancel - the waiver covers cancellations, for any reason, up until scheduled 

departure time. The waiver also covers revision fees. Restrictions may apply as 

outlined in land revisions of terms and conditions. When making your reservation 

on-line, you will be given the option to add this valuable protection in the 

booking process. Please read the terms and conditions associated with the 

package you are purchasing before selecting the Cancellation and Change Waiver 

option and completing your reservation. When two or more parties travel 

together and stay in the same room, a cancellation will result in a refund on air 

and land only if the room is cancelled completely. If one person still stays in 

the room then there is no refund of the land cost to the canceling party. 

Cancellation should be advised as early as possible. 

 

Change - changes resulting in an increase to the air or land price will be at the 

expense of the traveler. Changes from one tour destination to an alternative tour 

destination or adding another tour to an existing itinerary are subject to the 

rules/restrictions of the new tour. 

 

Reminder: Some airfares may remain non-refundable even with the purchase of 

the waiver.

https://www.aavacations.com/faq.asp?...-FAQ-ALL-13-42
that one yielded this:

Quote:

What is the Cancellation and Change Waiver?

The Cancellation and Change Waiver will protect you in the event that your plans change. The waiver covers cancellations, for any reason, up until scheduled departure time. The waiver also covers revision fees. Restrictions may apply as outlined in our Terms and Conditions.

Are there cancellation terms for AA Vacations? I'd read rhem closely.

Does AA Vacations offer insurance at the end of booking, like aa.com does?

See InsureMyTrip.com for options, including the fine print. See SquareMouth.com as previously suggested.

Purchase an @:-) annual travel insurance policy; these are generally much more reasonable than TCII by the trip. My last purchase of such was 29 Dec 2014, it cost $295 iirc.

DAN (Divers Alert Network, a non-profit you can join as a non-diver) offers annual travel insurance at https://www.diversalertnetwork.org/a...%2Dinsurance/? and medevac (not available in FL, IN, NY, WA).
Another annual travel insurance source is Allianz: url]https://www.allianztravelinsurance.com/travel/seniors/annual-travel-insurance-over-65.htm[/url].

You may have or acquire a credit card that provides insurance. My Citi® AAdvantage® Executive MasterCard® offers $5,000 trip cancellation and interruption protection for travel purchased with the card.

AA Vacation package VS flt only booking (?)

I've noticed you can book a flt + hotel for much lower price than just the flt--add in the $175 discount promo (valid until Jan 24), makes the vacation package even better.:) [You must explicitly invoke the discount--it is not automatic.]
Separate issue: you can pay all cash, or on a sliding scale, miles + cash; it is interesting to note, that in one of my "dummy" bookings, they SEEM to value 94,000 @ $500--will AA sell me 94,000 miles for $500.:confused:

This is pretty well-documented in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premi...vacations.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrr (Post 26018688)

I did 2 AA Europe vacations recently and saved a lot of money! Vienna ORD LHR VIE in I on BA, including 5 nights at the Ritz Carlton Vienna for $4,300. Booked separately that would have been over $9,000. Also, a TPA LHR in J with AA including 5 nights at the Goring for $4,100. For the two trips with the promotions they offered I received over 110,000 AA miles. Terrific deals to Europe! But not really good for other continents.

Quote:

Originally Posted by josmul123 (Post 26019064)

This is pretty well-documented in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/premi...vacations.html

Also, very reduced F fares using AA vacations.

AA Vacations site not synced with aa.com for passport, emergency contact, etc.

I purchased an AA (intl) VACATION (I also logged into my AA.COM acct in case I wanted to use miles + $ to pay for it). After everything was finalized and ticketed, I had to MANUALLY populate (nearly) every field to update: pp number, expiration date, name, contact info, etc.--the only number that was synced was my KTN number.
When I directly purchase an intl ticket on aa.com, all of the above fields are already populated--the contact info is the only one which must be reentered.

I've updated the thread title to more accurately reflect its contents.

~Moderator

Is there a question in there? Or is this just a report?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Microwave (Post 26042075)

Is there a question in there? Or is this just a report?

Indirectly the question is WHY? But directly it is intended as an alert to those booking an AA VACATION, that the missing info would prevent on-line check-in, until properly entered.

AA Vacation Packages - EQM and upg questions

I suck at searching and did try but too many results returned and I am on a very tight window to book a flight to Frankfurt. The standalone fare in coach is about $2200 on AA but I see a package with the same flights (includes a dump of a hotel that I wouldn't use) for $1200. Will I earn both qualifying miles and redeemable miles for the flights, and, can I request an upgrade either with a SWU or miles/co-pay?
And, BTW, for those who are good at searching - what should I have searched for?

Yes you will earn EQM's and are able to request upgrades. I have used AAVacations for 2 packages thus far and earned full EQM's, bonuses, and was able to request upgrades.

OK, sufficient interest and questions in this thread and the one linked to I've put up a wikipost with a FAQ.