barb64

I am planning a future trip to "somewhere" in the south pacific using my many american miles and I am so frustrated as i cannot seem to do any of this on their website. Right now I am just trying to see where they will fly to from NY (changing over in California). I have enough miles, i see they go to Fiji for example and put in a fake date (I have tried many from soon to almost a year from now and all NY airports and it keeps telling me something is wrong call customer service. Am I doing something wrong. I never had a problem with United"s website. I don't normally fly American but that is where I happen to have a lot of miles right now.
At this point there are many places in the south pacific we would be interested in so that is why I said "somewhere" Fiji, Tahiti, Cook Islands, New Caledonia. for starters...Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. I am really looking to do this in Sept 2019 but its too far out to look for FF flights so just trying to get an idea of where they will fly into and timing.. so fake dates will work to give me some ideas
Thanks1

JDiver

One of your best bets is Fiji Airways, as they will probably become a oneworld connect airline and fly into some interesting destinations.

See here for the benefits and advantages coming with FJ’s new connection with AA, BA, CX and QF.See route map, below.

Air Tahiti Nui (TN) is also an award partner, and of course Qantas.

For good preparation, I recommend reading - particularly the Wikiposts at the top of each thread - the following threads:

HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance for lots of useful information on securing awards .

AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd) (Rules in greater detail)

FJ / Fiji Airways (ex-Air Pacific) and AA, miles, awards, etc. (consolidated) (getting a new Wikipost soon).

AA Miles Award: TN / Air Tahiti Nui award redemptions (master thread) can get you to PPT, but area islands are only accessible with paid flights or those purchased with e,iguble crecut Card points.

AA miles awards: using / redeeming AA miles on Qantas (QF) & related (consolidated) would work for Noumea, I believe.

chicago747

The two partners you are most likely to use are Air Tahiti Nui and Fiji Airways and neither are bookable on AA.com. You need to call AA to book. Expertflyer shows both and will probably be the best place to search. You can also search Fiji Airways via Alaska.com or Qantas.com. I'm not sure where else to search for Air Tahiti Nui, but maybe others can chime in. Fiji operates SFO/LAX-NAN and Air Tahiti Nui operates LAX-PPT.

Hawaiian operates HNL-PPT which is bookable on AA.com, but not sure how easy it is to find connecting flights from NYC to connect to that flight as it usually leaves around 3:30pm Hawaii time.

ijgordon

Yes - this is the key factor.

3Cforme

UA and Delta have vastly superior coverage of partner carriers that can be booked online for awards. AA books eight of 25. Delta books 23 of 27. You're going to need to call to book. There are some 3rd party tools that can help you search. Unless you want to spend a lot of time developing AA award search skills just let an AA agent do it.

ijgordon

Eh, well for DL it's really only DL at ridiculous mileage prices, Aeroflot or one of the MLC carriers.

barb64

Thank you all for your suggestions which I will take.. looks like I need to do this through an agent.. its so much easier to do on my own as I like to look at all options and sometimes change my mind...but thats life.. I will use the tools suggested here and see if I can at least find when flights leave and return before I call so I can call with some knowledge.. I just don't understand why they don't make it easier to book unless of course they want to make it difficult to use your miles
THanks again to all who responded I will circle back as i go through the process with any additional questions

JDiver

Be sure to read the threads linked to above.

The Sabre CRS / GDS is the oldest one out there. There are incompatibilities between Sabre and the GDS other airlines use. Prior to bankruptcy, AA had an agreement with H-P to develop an entirely new GDS, JetStream. That was cancelled, and we’re stuck with Sabre.