ARCHIVE: AA Award on JL / JAL / Japan Airlines (master thd)
Mar 12, 2015, 2:36 pm
#181
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 3,648
Mar 12, 2015, 3:07 pm
#182
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
I guess it all depends on how you value your miles, how many trips you plan on taking in a year, whether you are trying for status and/or whether you plan to use miles again. If you don't plan on using AA miles again, it makes sense. Although, I'm not sure what "going all the way to Kansas City" has to do with anything. I go "all the way to Denver" every trip home. We burn 2 million miles a year and have more than 4 million miles in different programs, but I always calculate the cost of each trip both in miles and revenue. We're using miles to go to CPT next week on miles but bought return EK First tickets ex-CPT since they were so inexpensive.
Mar 12, 2015, 4:48 pm
#183
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
FWIW, I find that JAL 2 from HND to SFO almost always shows 2F.
Mar 12, 2015, 6:05 pm
#184
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: San Francisco, CA
Programs: Jose Cuervo Gold, Bud Light Platinum, Schwab 401K, VW Bug 2MM
Posts: 1,100
Mar 12, 2015, 11:15 pm
#185
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
- just wondering.
Mar 13, 2015, 8:28 am
#186
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 3,648
I guess it all depends on how you value your miles, how many trips you plan on taking in a year, whether you are trying for status and/or whether you plan to use miles again. If you don't plan on using AA miles again, it makes sense. Although, I'm not sure what "going all the way to Kansas City" has to do with anything. I go "all the way to Denver" every trip home. We burn 2 million miles a year and have more than 4 million miles in different programs, but I always calculate the cost of each trip both in miles and revenue. We're using miles to go to CPT next week on miles but bought return EK First tickets ex-CPT since they were so inexpensive.
I usually take 2 trips a year to far away destinations using miles to travel in at least business. I'm going to South Africa myself in a month on UA miles in J on SAA. It cost 160K miles each for those tickets.
I'm not trying for status, just wanting to have great vacations at little cost for airfare. After I burn through my and my husband's 500K AA miles I still have 450K *points that can be transferred in to AA. Then I'll start working down my 600K UR points. We are set for a few years of vacations.
Mar 13, 2015, 9:18 am
#187
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
Three months out, I can find CMB-MCI for $1,433 round trip.
And you earn miles, lots of them...
Base mileage: 9,829 OW, 19,658 RT
AA EQPs: 14,744 OW - 29,488 RT
AA RDMs: 12,461 OW - 24,923 RT
As an AA Gold, you earn 25% bonus RDMs, so 31,154 for the RT (4.6 CPM).
Move up to PLT and you earn 100% bonus RDMs, so 49,847 for the RT (2.9 CPM).
Mar 13, 2015, 9:32 am
#188
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 3,648
Wow, that is cheap.
I always plan my vacations 11 months in advance if using award tickets. I'm still going to try for the award seats to use up my AA miles before the merger and coming devaluation. If I cannot get the seats I want on the days of travel I may resort to buying one. There are dozens of routings to and from CMB on oneworld carriers so hopefully something will be available 11 months out.
Once I retire and can take a trip on short notice I will keep this in mind. Are these inexpensive premium tickets on Qatar only for Sri Lanka trips or do you find these low fares on all routes QR flies?
I always plan my vacations 11 months in advance if using award tickets. I'm still going to try for the award seats to use up my AA miles before the merger and coming devaluation. If I cannot get the seats I want on the days of travel I may resort to buying one. There are dozens of routings to and from CMB on oneworld carriers so hopefully something will be available 11 months out.
Once I retire and can take a trip on short notice I will keep this in mind. Are these inexpensive premium tickets on Qatar only for Sri Lanka trips or do you find these low fares on all routes QR flies?
Mar 13, 2015, 9:39 am
#189
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
South Africa is a seemingly perpetual discounted origin. Our CPT-DXB-JFK Emirates First tickets were only $2,900.
Mar 13, 2015, 9:57 am
#190
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
It is too early for deals that far out.
Three months out, I can find CMB-MCI for $1,433 round trip.
And you earn miles, lots of them...
Base mileage: 9,829 OW, 19,658 RT
AA EQPs: 14,744 OW - 29,488 RT
AA RDMs: 12,461 OW - 24,923 RT
As an AA Gold, you earn 25% bonus RDMs, so 31,154 for the RT (4.6 CPM).
Move up to PLT and you earn 100% bonus RDMs, so 49,847 for the RT (2.9 CPM).
Three months out, I can find CMB-MCI for $1,433 round trip.
And you earn miles, lots of them...
Base mileage: 9,829 OW, 19,658 RT
AA EQPs: 14,744 OW - 29,488 RT
AA RDMs: 12,461 OW - 24,923 RT
As an AA Gold, you earn 25% bonus RDMs, so 31,154 for the RT (4.6 CPM).
Move up to PLT and you earn 100% bonus RDMs, so 49,847 for the RT (2.9 CPM).
What would be the QR fare if the first leg of the RT was MCI - CMB (like the OP needs to have)?
Mar 13, 2015, 10:01 am
#191
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,602
In our case, we used miles to CPT and bought tickets for the return.
Mar 13, 2015, 10:10 am
#192
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
However, it does depend on one's philosophy - collecting vs spending the miles (and saving money). I try to collect miles for "free" whenever I can (use of CCs, CC bonuses, etc) rather than by paying for F/J and getting miles that way.
Mar 13, 2015, 10:12 am
#193
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 3,648
Nack to my original question about the JL routing CMB MCI versus the CX routing. Pros and cons? Anyone ever do a trip like this this? The one plus of the CX routing is only 3 flight segments; JL routing has 4.
Mar 14, 2015, 12:05 am
#194
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: AA LT PLT 3 MM+, BA (very) Blue, CO nobody
Posts: 2,640
Also, can you not fly NRT-ORD-MCI instead of NRT-LAX-DFW-MCI to eliminate one segment?
Mar 14, 2015, 12:11 pm
#195
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Kansas City, MO
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 3,648
JL 10, NRT-ORD leaves at 11:10 am. I have to find a flight from CMB to NRT that doesn't involve long layovers as the UL overnight non stop arrives NRT at 11:50am.
I can fly MH 184 CMB KUL 12:55pm-7:05p m, 3h45m layover
JL 724 KUL-NRT 10:50pm-6:40 am +1, 3h55m layover
JL 10 NRT-ORD 11:10am-7:55am, 2h25m layover
AA 4329 10:20am-11:55am
total travel time 33h50min