Dec 31, 2016, 10:20 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Welcome to the 2017 "NEWBIE LOUNGE"
Ask Your Consolidated / Combined AA Questions Here (flame free)
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST:
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST:
(This post can only be edited by moderators.)
Welcome to the Newbie Lounge!
Welcome to the Newbie Lounge!
Welcome to Flyertalk!
The Newbie Lounge is a place for newer and less experienced members to ask their questions about American Airlines and the AAdvantage program and have answered by our more experienced and knowledgeable members. Feel free to ask any question related to American Airlines and AAdvantage here.
NOTE: This is a "flame free" thread; flaming, personal criticism for "failing to search" etc. is not allowed (if posted, the post will be summarily deleted, the poster subject to sanctions).
Advanced questions posed by veteran FT users may be moved and / or merged into existing master or GUIDE threads, most of which have Wikiposts at the top of the page that contain summaries of important information.
We volunteer Moderators monitor this "lounge" thread to assist you as well. When browsing the fora, look at the page tops of the various forums. There will be a menu, and often "sticky" threads, and threads with header "wiki posts" (created and maintained by the FlyerTalk community) with important information relating to that forum / topic.
Don't hesitate to contact a moderator or another member if you have any additional questions. You can PM the Moderators by clicking on
, which pops up a message box; the message goes to all this forum's Moderators. Note that unlike some sites with paid staff moderators, FlyerTalk Moderators are volunteers, and most work, travel, go on holiday, etc. You can Private Message us using the PM system (My Flyertalk) and our handles.
We're glad you've chosen to join the Flyertalk frequent flyer community!
Your American Airlines | AAdvantage Forum Moderation Team,
AZ Travels the World, aztimm, dstan, JDiver, JY1024, Microwave
(Our thanks to thread founder / "plank owner" HNL.)
The Newbie Lounge is a place for newer and less experienced members to ask their questions about American Airlines and the AAdvantage program and have answered by our more experienced and knowledgeable members. Feel free to ask any question related to American Airlines and AAdvantage here.
NOTE: This is a "flame free" thread; flaming, personal criticism for "failing to search" etc. is not allowed (if posted, the post will be summarily deleted, the poster subject to sanctions).
Advanced questions posed by veteran FT users may be moved and / or merged into existing master or GUIDE threads, most of which have Wikiposts at the top of the page that contain summaries of important information.
We volunteer Moderators monitor this "lounge" thread to assist you as well. When browsing the fora, look at the page tops of the various forums. There will be a menu, and often "sticky" threads, and threads with header "wiki posts" (created and maintained by the FlyerTalk community) with important information relating to that forum / topic.
Don't hesitate to contact a moderator or another member if you have any additional questions. You can PM the Moderators by clicking on
, which pops up a message box; the message goes to all this forum's Moderators. Note that unlike some sites with paid staff moderators, FlyerTalk Moderators are volunteers, and most work, travel, go on holiday, etc. You can Private Message us using the PM system (My Flyertalk) and our handles.We're glad you've chosen to join the Flyertalk frequent flyer community!
Your American Airlines | AAdvantage Forum Moderation Team,
AZ Travels the World, aztimm, dstan, JDiver, JY1024, Microwave
(Our thanks to thread founder / "plank owner" HNL.)
Check out the following resources:
- GUIDE: FT - AA Forum, LOUNGE DASHBOARD and OSO / IRROPS (Links to most important threads, "Help Desk" assistance threads, the thread with resources for off-schedule operations / irregular operations (including links to AA weather policy and tools), hub airport threads, AA lounge Dashboard for all lounges and lounge related issues.)
- FAQ: American Airlines and AAdvantage - Please check here first! (Our FAQ were originally written for the pre-merger AA forum, but there's still a lot of useful information there.)
- New and uncertain where to start here, and it's about American Airlines? Start in our "NEWBIE LOUNGE" thread, here: link.
- Do you have questions about other travel related issues that do not pertain to AA and are unsure where to start? Visit our Information Desk Forum here: U]link. [/U]
- Especially useful to new members: FAQs (How to post like a pro and more)
- The NEW FlyerTalk: Helpful Hints, Tips and Suggestions to Enhance Your Experience (Information Desk Forum)
- FlyerTalk Glossary (What is all this jargon?)
- Airport Code Guide (How do I decode an airport code / find one for a city?)
Searching can be key to finding important information and answers without waiting for someone to drop by and answer, and it helps prevent that information fragmentation. FlyerTalk Advanced Search can seem quirky to the infrequent user, but it's fairly powerful if one knows how to use it. There are several ways to search:
- Canarsie's Using the Search Feature on FlyerTalk: The Definitive Thread has relocated to the Information Desk Forum; it can be found there.
- One can search FlyerTalk with Google with this web form.
- Or, if you are used to Google search, use Google Advanced Search and insert www.flyertalk.com in the "site or domain" box.
Forum basics: Now that the new AA has become by some measures "the world's largest airline", this new, combined has become a "mega-forum", very large, very active - and theoretically very difficult to find information and easy to lose one's place. Having to search for and sort through dozens - or more - of threads on baggage, airports, minimum connect times or the like could soon become unproductive and discouraging.
To prevent this from occurring, please note we try to:
Keep a few "sticky" threads: such as GUIDE posts, OSO / IROPS, etc. for urgent and quick reference, such as basic "where do I find" reasons
Keep threads to specific topics: Prevent information fragmentation and loss by consolidating questions, answers and discussion of one topic contained in one thread. (This also honors those members who have already shared valuable information and experiences.)
"Popular" threads are likely to have a Wikipost at the head that will summarize important information and have resource links. These are "community property", and as any wiki are established, maintained and updated by the members (with 90 days of tenure and 90 posts on FlyerTalk).
You may find your question or post merged into one of those threads. Be sure that we will leave a link behind from your original thread, and to look up to see if there's a wiki with information. We apologize for any possible inconvenience or difference between this forum and others, but we think you'll like some of the resources and tools here to enable more convenient, comfortable travel on AA and greater knowledge sharing.
Keep it welcoming: We're proud the members of both FFPs have kept the brickbats to a minimum; we want this forum to be welcoming, civil and information rich, so name calling (including calling a member one disagrees with "AApologist") and snark are not tolerated. Posts with such are likely to be summarily deleted in their entirety; repeated such behavior may result in suspension of one's membership privileges or being banned from this forum. Let's keep it friendly and in accordance with the FT Rules.
FlyerTalk Rules (We all agree to abide by these, and are held accountable.)
Thanks for reading!
[2017 NEWBIE LOUNGE] Ask Your "Newbie" AA Questions Here (flame free)
Sep 6, 2017, 12:07 pm
#1666
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 234
Cancelled AA segment in travel agency booking due to hurricane Irma
I have booked a mixed airline ticket to Colombia via London and Miami and American Airlines just cancelled that segment due to the hurricane Irma. My travel agency won't do anything (they have a lot of complaint for igoring their customers) and there's a huge line to customer support at American Airlines. What will happen if I go to London? Will they put me on another One World flight or will I be stuck in London with no other option than purchasing a new ticket from there?
Sep 6, 2017, 12:09 pm
#1667
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
No, there isn't, unless the nonstop flight costs more than the connecting flights; for some, that might be a benefit.
Once you have status, connecting flights render more EQS, and generally more EQM. Some may perceive those as benefits worth striving for, particularly with the elite 500 mile minimum granted even on very short (e,g. DFW-AYS) flights.
Sep 6, 2017, 12:11 pm
#1668
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,733
I have booked a mixed airline ticket to Colombia via London and Miami and American Airlines just cancelled that segment due to the hurricane Irma. My travel agency won't do anything (they have a lot of complaint for igoring their customers) and there's a huge line to customer support at American Airlines. What will happen if I go to London? Will they put me on another One World flight or will I be stuck in London with no other option than purchasing a new ticket from there?
Sep 6, 2017, 12:18 pm
#1669
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 234
Keep holding for AA. Also try messaging @AmericanAir on Twitter. I've gotten good help through Twitter in IRROPs situations before.
Sep 6, 2017, 12:21 pm
#1670
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: AA
Posts: 14,733
But they specifically say on their alerts webpage that you should contact the travel agency if booked by travel agency. So maybe it's better to wait until the ticket is under airport control? I have no deadline to reach my final destination so any re-routing is fine with me, I just don't want to have to buy an expensive last-minute ticket.
Sep 6, 2017, 1:27 pm
#1671
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 234
I just called them and the answering machine said the waiting time was over 2 hours, but I only had to wait 30 minutes. The customer representative was absolutely outstanding and found a different routing for me.
Sep 6, 2017, 1:44 pm
#1673
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Please remember the Newbie Lounge is targeted to new members unfamiliar with FlyerTalk; it is not designed for longtime members to ask multiple questions that are much better addressed in existing threads.
Thank you.
/Moderator
Thank you.
/Moderator
Sep 6, 2017, 3:10 pm
#1674
Join Date: Jun 2017
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 17
This may be a dumb question but I'm a BAEC member and I end up flying AA the vast majority of the time. Should I look to switch membership, or does it matter since they're both OW?
Sep 6, 2017, 3:16 pm
#1675
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MSN
Programs: AA, BAEC Gold
Posts: 3,928
AA Platinum would get you a small chance of upgrades. BAEC Silver gets you free lounge access. The value of the miles/Avios depends on how you use them and you will earn more in the native program. You may find the comparable AA status harder to earn than the BAEC one but you do need 4 BA segments.
Sep 6, 2017, 3:18 pm
#1676
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Location: MSY; 2-time FT Fantasy Football Champ, now in recovery.
Programs: AA lifetime GLD; UA Silver; Marriott LTTE; IHG Plat,
Posts: 14,518
Well, if you are qualifying the normal way, then you need (EQDs plus) either miles or segments. For Plat, 50K EQM or 60 segments. A majority of people hit the EQM mark first, especially those living on the coasts or in hub cities, but if you expect to be doing a lot of short flights, then you may get there on segments first. Adding the connection in DFW will give you an extra segment.
Sep 7, 2017, 8:19 am
#1677
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 3
I registered for the re-engagement challenge to reinstate ~200K miles and I am on track to earn 10K partner miles (Thanks to the Citi card). I still have to make two round trips by the end of October. Can someone tell me the best deals from CLT to achieve this?
Sep 7, 2017, 8:56 am
#1678
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 18
I'm trying to visit Bogota, Colombia. I live in the DFW area. DFW-BOG roundtrips are a little over $1000. But, Austin-BOG roundtrips are under $600, and DFW-Austin roundtrips are $240. Would American Airlines permit me to book a roundtrip within a roundtrip, i.e, a flight to Austin then the roundtrip Austin to Bogota and back, then a return flight from Austin to DFW? It doesn't seem to be a hidden city or throwaway city ploy, though it is a ploy to save me about two hundred dollars.
Sep 7, 2017, 9:29 am
#1679
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,470
I'm trying to visit Bogota, Colombia. I live in the DFW area. DFW-BOG roundtrips are a little over $1000. But, Austin-BOG roundtrips are under $600, and DFW-Austin roundtrips are $240. Would American Airlines permit me to book a roundtrip within a roundtrip, i.e, a flight to Austin then the roundtrip Austin to Bogota and back, then a return flight from Austin to DFW? It doesn't seem to be a hidden city or throwaway city ploy, though it is a ploy to save me about two hundred dollars.