Jan 1, 2019, 2:12 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Welcome to the 2019 "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.)
NOTE: 2019 NEWBIE LOUNGE older posts are here.
The 2018 AA NEWBIE LOUNGE post thread is here
The 2017 AA NEWBIE LOUNGE post thread is here
The 2016 AA NEWBIE LOUNGE post thread is here
Thanks for reading!
ARCHIVE: NEWBIE LOUNGE 2019: Ask "Newbie" AA Questions Here (flame free)
Mar 26, 2019, 11:25 pm
#481
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere near a Airstrip
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Gold, Marriot Platinum
Posts: 647
LHR - AA missed connection
I'm scheduled to connect to a AA Flight in LHR T3. Incoming from a BA international flight to T5. The ticket is issued by BA with AA LHR-USA as a code share (BA Flight #). All segments are in the same Ticket.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
Mar 27, 2019, 12:05 am
#482
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,024
I'm scheduled to connect to a AA Flight in LHR T3. Incoming from a BA international flight to T5. The ticket is issued by BA with AA LHR-USA as a code share (BA Flight #). All segments are in the same Ticket.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
BA-AA would not have sold if the connection was not possible. Airlines do not like taking risks;- that cost $$$
Mar 27, 2019, 4:45 am
#483
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,482
I'm scheduled to connect to a AA Flight in LHR T3. Incoming from a BA international flight to T5. The ticket is issued by BA with AA LHR-USA as a code share (BA Flight #). All segments are in the same Ticket.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
The connection time is 2 Hrs and I want to know what happens if I miss the connection due to late arrival or delay at security / Transit betw Terminals.
Do I need to go back to BA flight connections or will AA take care of it. I'm a BA Gold (OWE) and flying in Business class.
The last time I did miss a connection (2014), on AA to USA, I went back to BA Desk to get re booked.
A few years back I had a late arriving BA flight into LHR that caused me to miss my AA flight from T3, the AA agents in T3 had no problem rebooking me. If you are late I would just go to the first service desk you come across.
But as mentioned above, 2 hrs is plenty of time for a T5-T3 connection, nothing to worry about.
Mar 27, 2019, 12:04 pm
#484
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 26
Booking 2 award tickets for Jan 2020. I need 25k miles from my husband's account to cover. Any free way to do this?
Mar 27, 2019, 12:10 pm
#485
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,586
Mar 27, 2019, 7:52 pm
#487
Join Date: May 2009
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP, DL DM HH Gold, Marriot Titanium
Posts: 1,298
Probably a super-dumb question. I've started flying with AA this year due to a relocation to Philly. I've gotten platinum status as of this week due to the number of segments I've flown in 2019. When booking flights through my work (using Concur) I always have to manually change the booking code from B to whatever non-basic economy fare is available. That said, now that I'm a platinum (and will likely hit EXP prior to August), what are the downsides to booking into basic economy? Do I retain any of the same perks associated with status? I'm mostly curious about this for personal travel.
Mar 27, 2019, 7:57 pm
#488
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: BGI | MIA
Programs: AA Platinum Pro | Hyatt Globalist | HH Diamond | SPG Gold
Posts: 316
Probably a super-dumb question. I've started flying with AA this year due to a relocation to Philly. I've gotten platinum status as of this week due to the number of segments I've flown in 2019. When booking flights through my work (using Concur) I always have to manually change the booking code from B to whatever non-basic economy fare is available. That said, now that I'm a platinum (and will likely hit EXP prior to August), what are the downsides to booking into basic economy? Do I retain any of the same perks associated with status? I'm mostly curious about this for personal travel.
Basic economy with status is not eligible for seat selection or upgrades.
Mar 28, 2019, 10:15 am
#489
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,303
I am looking at an award flight from KOA (Kona, Hawaill) to the east coast in November. I take it the 20/22.5k AA miles is the lowest an award flight will go for on way, so I should probably book now?
Mar 28, 2019, 10:52 am
#490
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
If you find the award you want, book it now. It could easily go up in miles cost or disappear.
Mar 28, 2019, 9:22 pm
#491
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 62
Just started flying a lot for work this year. AA exclusively. No status yet. Executive World Elite Mastercard holder.
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Mar 28, 2019, 9:33 pm
#492
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: San Diego
Programs: Plat Pro AAdvantage, but defected to BAEC
Posts: 1,222
Just started flying a lot for work this year. AA exclusively. No status yet. Executive World Elite Mastercard holder.
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Mar 28, 2019, 9:36 pm
#493
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: BGI | MIA
Programs: AA Platinum Pro | Hyatt Globalist | HH Diamond | SPG Gold
Posts: 316
Just started flying a lot for work this year. AA exclusively. No status yet. Executive World Elite Mastercard holder.
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Flying ORD to LHR tomorrow and LHR to ORD return. Booked on American and operated by BA.
I dont think AA has a lounge in T5 at ORD so am I out of luck? I assume I can’t use any other lounges there?
Thanks in advance.
Brian
Mar 29, 2019, 11:44 am
#495
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 139
Dumb question:
I had Gold status on American (I don't normally fly American these days though I do fly a lot for work) through January but have since "lost" my status. I'm Platinum with United and Gold with Delta, FWIW. Last year I did about 100,000 EQM on United (I didn't hit the spend to get 1K, womp womp) so that was my primary carrier/alliance for 2018.
I need to buy a series of tickets for this summer and AA/AA codeshares are coming up as the best options, but I won't get any benefits as if I flew UA or DL (lounge access, etc. -- these are international long-haul tickets).
AA has offered to let me 'buy back' my gold status for $650. I also have 14 500-mile upgrades sitting in my AA account that I can't use unless I am elite (I have ~250,000 AA miles at the moment).
I am thinking of instead asking for a status match. Has anyone successfully done a status match based upon UA or DL status?
Would it be better to buy back gold rather than to do a status match?
Does anyone know the status match challenge requirements for various categories? Would rather not "burn" a status match if I should just buy my gold back and then save status match for when I *really* think I need/want to use it (because you can only do it once, right?)?
Thanks!
I had Gold status on American (I don't normally fly American these days though I do fly a lot for work) through January but have since "lost" my status. I'm Platinum with United and Gold with Delta, FWIW. Last year I did about 100,000 EQM on United (I didn't hit the spend to get 1K, womp womp) so that was my primary carrier/alliance for 2018.
I need to buy a series of tickets for this summer and AA/AA codeshares are coming up as the best options, but I won't get any benefits as if I flew UA or DL (lounge access, etc. -- these are international long-haul tickets).
AA has offered to let me 'buy back' my gold status for $650. I also have 14 500-mile upgrades sitting in my AA account that I can't use unless I am elite (I have ~250,000 AA miles at the moment).
I am thinking of instead asking for a status match. Has anyone successfully done a status match based upon UA or DL status?
Would it be better to buy back gold rather than to do a status match?
Does anyone know the status match challenge requirements for various categories? Would rather not "burn" a status match if I should just buy my gold back and then save status match for when I *really* think I need/want to use it (because you can only do it once, right?)?
Thanks!