Jan 6, 2019, 2:14 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
ARCHIVE: 2017 HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion
The current thread can be read here.
The current thread can be read here.
Some of you might have found your thread merged into this "consolidated" thread. If your desire is to become thoroughly familiar with the knowledge that has been accumulated about the process for acquiring MileSAAver awards feel free to read this entire thread. If you only want the assistance from those who have the knowledge your request has been merged at the end. Feel free to wait for a forthcoming answer.
If you have reached this thread by using the search process you have the same choices as above. Read the thread and become knowledgeable or post at the end and wait for a forthcoming answer.
thanks
~magic111
If you have reached this thread by using the search process you have the same choices as above. Read the thread and become knowledgeable or post at the end and wait for a forthcoming answer.
thanks
~magic111
NOTE: for more detailed fare rules, see AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd)
Awards can generally be held for five days; five day extensions require continued availability of your flights and generating a new award booking and five day hold.
Though AA can start releasing awards 331 days from the desired flight date (even though some other airlines might make award seats available to their members 355 days out), it’s very likely award seats may be released a few days after that. If seats aren’t sold and Revenue Management algorithms signify slow sales, more seats might be released going forward.
Airlines that can be booked for award travel on aa.com
oneworld alliance airline partners other airline partners
oneworld alliance airline partners
- AA - American Airlines
- BA - British Airways (awards incur significant YQ surcharge)
- AY - Finnair
- IB - Iberia
- QF - Qantas
- QR - Qatar Airways
- RJ - Royal Jordanian Airlines
- S7 - S7 Airlines
- UL - Sri Lankan Airlines
- 9K - Cape Air (but only certain cities)
- TN - Air Tahiti Nui
- AS - Alaska Airlines
- EY - Etihad
- HA - Hawaiian Airlines
All others must be requested by telephone; see Note below.
NOTE: To search for partner awards, go to advanced search from the awards search or home page and select all airlines.
Full list of oneworld airline partners (and their affiliates)
- AA - American Airlines
- BA - British Airways (Cityflyer, Comair, OpenSkies, Sun-Air of Scandinavia)
- CX - Cathay Pacific (Dragonair)
- AY -Finnair (Flybe)
- IB - Iberia (Air Nostrum, Iberia Express)
- JL - Japan Airlines (JAL Express, J-Air, Japan Transocean Air)
- LA- LAN Airlines (LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Express, LAN Colombia, LAN Peru only, merging with JJ to LATAM)
- MH - Malaysia Airlines
- QF - Qantas Airways (QantasLink, Jetconnect)
- QR - Qatar Airways
- RJ - Royal Jordanian Airlines
- S7 - S7 Airlines (Globus) (excludes Siberia / far eastern Russia awards)
- UL - SriLankan Airlines
- JJ - TAM Airlines (merging with LA to LATAM)
When you do call, you might want to search for award space on the flights you want and tell the agent about those flights; sometimes AA agents won't find award seats unless they search by segment.
When using other airline web sites or tools to search for award availability, it’s best to do so by segment rather than by trip. E. g. BA May show availability SAN-LHR and LHR-AMS, but not SAN-AMS. And in some instances (EY, FJ, etc.) AA US may not see availability that AA Australia or New Zealand might see.
Full list of additional airline partners offering award redemptions
- TN - Air Tahiti Nui
- AS - Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
- 9K - Cape Air
- EY - Etihad Airways
- FJ - Fiji Airways
- GF - Gulf Air
- HA - Hawaiian Airlines
NOTE: Ticketing charge
Effective February 16, 2015, a Reservations Ticketing Service Charge of $30.00 for domestic itineraries and $40.00 for international itineraries will be applied by AA Reservations when ticketing award reservations that can be booked on aa.com. The charge is waived for award reservations that cannot be booked on aa.com including reduced mileage awards, and for Executive Platinums. N.B. Executive Platinums booking award for non-EP will pay the service charges.
Code:
oneworld Partners Award Fare Codes First-Business-Economy -------------------------------------------------------- AA - American Airlines Z U T -------------------------------------------------------- AY – Finnair U X -------------------------------------------------------- BA – British Airways Z U X -------------------------------------------------------- CX – Cathay Pacific Z U T KA - DragonAir -------------------------------------------------------- IB – Iberia U X -------------------------------------------------------- JL – Japan Airlines (Intl) Z U T JL – Japan Airlines (Dom) Z D S -------------------------------------------------------- LATAM Group JJ - TAM Airlines O I X LA – LAN Chile Z U T XL - LAN Ecuador LP - LAN Peru 4M - LAN Argentina -------------------------------------------------------- MH - Malaysia Airlines P U X -------------------------------------------------------- QF - QANTAS Airways P U X -------------------------------------------------------- QR - Qatar Airways Z U X -------------------------------------------------------- RJ – Royal Jordanian U X -------------------------------------------------------- S7 – S7 Airlines U E -------------------------------------------------------- UL - SriLankan Airlines -------------------------------------------------------- Other Partners First Business Economy -------------------------------------------------------- FJ – Fiji Airways U X -------------------------------------------------------- TN – Air Tahiti Nui F for Business U for Economy -------------------------------------------------------- AS – Alaska Airlines A W -------------------------------------------------------- LY – El Al Israel P X E -------------------------------------------------------- EY - Etihad O I N -------------------------------------------------------- HA – Hawaiian Airlines D T --------------------------------------------------------
Other rules that may affect your awards:
Award Rules
American Airlines Awards are valid for travel on flights that are marketed and operated by AA (no codeshares). These awards can be booked online at AA.com.
oneworld and Other Airline awards are valid for travel on AA and any of its partner airlines, and can include travel on multiple partners. Many of these awards must be booked over the phone, and will not incur a Ticketing Service Charge (waived for EXPs in any case) if they cannot be booked online.
Up to four one-way awards can be booked on a single PNR. Codeshares are not bookable as Awards.
MPM or Maximum Permitted Miles: A Fare or award may not exceed the most direct routing by more than 25% (unless the fare routing includes a ticketed point deduction (essentially a miles allowance that extends MPM). See MPM / Maximum Permitted Mileage & Ticketed Point Deductions (merged threads).
Stopovers and Connections
Stopovers are no longer allowed on AA awards. Stopovers will require multiple awards.
Connections are limited to two connections / three flight segments for domestic awards, and three connections / four flight segments for international awards as of Aug 2017. Link
Domestic Connections must be under 4 hours for domestic flights, with some exceptions: "LIFO" (Last In - First Out connections are generally allowed.
Hawaii itinerary: Effective on 14 Jul 2014 on an all-AA-metal award itinerary, you now have up to 18 hours to connect when traveling to/from Hawaii. NOTE: Hawaii interisland connections must be separate awards and can not be included as part of a mainland-island award.
International Connections must generally not exceed 23:59 hours. Some leeway has occasionally been granted when connecting flights are not daily. If the itinerary includes an international flight, the rules for international connections apply. Link to these courtesy of JonNYC.
If there is a non-stop flight that departs after the 4h / 23h59m windows and arrives at the destination earlier than a connecting flight within the 4h / 23h59m window, the passenger may be booked on the non-stop flight. It may be difficult getting some agents to book this.
"Most Significant Carrier" rule: To price as a single award, AAdvantage requires the most significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination. Airline MSC (e.g. DFW-SFO-HKG-BKK, CX SFO-HKG is the prevailing or most significant carrier) would have to have a published fare from XXX to YYY that allows travel on all included airlines, and routing that you want. If the MSC only offers constructed fares between your desired origin and destination, AA will price this as two awards.
Constructed fares: Another rule disallows awards where the fare must be constructed (also referred to as "YY"): Using a partner, the trip will require two awards if the governing carrier (e,g. airline operating on the major route, such as transpacific carrier) doesn't publish a through fare that includes the award's proposed origin and destination that allows the carriers proposed.
See this thread about examples using TN.
Married Segment Logic - a prospective trip may be available when searching segment by segment, yet not be bookable through from origin to destination. When selling seats for through flights and the desired inventory is not available, you cannot opt to sell the flight point-to-point. If sold point-to-point, the error response MULTIPLE SEGMENTS FOR SAME FLIGHT - SELL AS ONE SEGMENT will be received, indicating this booking is not allowed. Overriding the error check by ending the PNR twice is not acceptable.
See Award with available segments not bookable? (Married Segment issues)
Award Rules
American Airlines Awards are valid for travel on flights that are marketed and operated by AA (no codeshares). These awards can be booked online at AA.com.
oneworld and Other Airline awards are valid for travel on AA and any of its partner airlines, and can include travel on multiple partners. Many of these awards must be booked over the phone, and will not incur a Ticketing Service Charge (waived for EXPs in any case) if they cannot be booked online.
Up to four one-way awards can be booked on a single PNR. Codeshares are not bookable as Awards.
MPM or Maximum Permitted Miles: A Fare or award may not exceed the most direct routing by more than 25% (unless the fare routing includes a ticketed point deduction (essentially a miles allowance that extends MPM). See MPM / Maximum Permitted Mileage & Ticketed Point Deductions (merged threads).
Stopovers and Connections
Stopovers are no longer allowed on AA awards. Stopovers will require multiple awards.
Connections are limited to two connections / three flight segments for domestic awards, and three connections / four flight segments for international awards as of Aug 2017. Link
Domestic Connections must be under 4 hours for domestic flights, with some exceptions: "LIFO" (Last In - First Out connections are generally allowed.
Hawaii itinerary: Effective on 14 Jul 2014 on an all-AA-metal award itinerary, you now have up to 18 hours to connect when traveling to/from Hawaii. NOTE: Hawaii interisland connections must be separate awards and can not be included as part of a mainland-island award.
International Connections must generally not exceed 23:59 hours. Some leeway has occasionally been granted when connecting flights are not daily. If the itinerary includes an international flight, the rules for international connections apply. Link to these courtesy of JonNYC.
If there is a non-stop flight that departs after the 4h / 23h59m windows and arrives at the destination earlier than a connecting flight within the 4h / 23h59m window, the passenger may be booked on the non-stop flight. It may be difficult getting some agents to book this.
"Most Significant Carrier" rule: To price as a single award, AAdvantage requires the most significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination. Airline MSC (e.g. DFW-SFO-HKG-BKK, CX SFO-HKG is the prevailing or most significant carrier) would have to have a published fare from XXX to YYY that allows travel on all included airlines, and routing that you want. If the MSC only offers constructed fares between your desired origin and destination, AA will price this as two awards.
Constructed fares: Another rule disallows awards where the fare must be constructed (also referred to as "YY"): Using a partner, the trip will require two awards if the governing carrier (e,g. airline operating on the major route, such as transpacific carrier) doesn't publish a through fare that includes the award's proposed origin and destination that allows the carriers proposed.
See this thread about examples using TN.
Married Segment Logic - a prospective trip may be available when searching segment by segment, yet not be bookable through from origin to destination. When selling seats for through flights and the desired inventory is not available, you cannot opt to sell the flight point-to-point. If sold point-to-point, the error response MULTIPLE SEGMENTS FOR SAME FLIGHT - SELL AS ONE SEGMENT will be received, indicating this booking is not allowed. Overriding the error check by ending the PNR twice is not acceptable.
See Award with available segments not bookable? (Married Segment issues)
Resources
Some airlines or areas have different, extra or special characteristics for securing awards. See
aa.com Basic (front page) vs Advanced Award Search Results (abbreviated results for front page search vs. Advanced award search)
AAdvantage awards to / from Australia, New Zealand link
AAdvantage awards to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador link
AAdvantage awards on Air Tahiti Nui link
AAdvantage awards using British Airways incurring (avoiding) high fees link
AAdvantage award on Cathay Pacific (and Cathay Dragon) link
AAdvantage awards using Etihad Airways link
AAdvantage awards using Fiji Airways link
AAdvantage awards using Japan Airlines link
AAdvantage awards using Qantas Airways link
AAdvantage awards on S7 (Siberian) Airlines link
aa.com Basic (front page) vs Advanced Award Search Results (abbreviated results for front page search vs. Advanced award search)
AAdvantage awards to / from Australia, New Zealand link
AAdvantage awards to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador link
AAdvantage awards on Air Tahiti Nui link
AAdvantage awards using British Airways incurring (avoiding) high fees link
AAdvantage award on Cathay Pacific (and Cathay Dragon) link
AAdvantage awards using Etihad Airways link
AAdvantage awards using Fiji Airways link
AAdvantage awards using Japan Airlines link
AAdvantage awards using Qantas Airways link
AAdvantage awards on S7 (Siberian) Airlines link
Awards assistance tools: Use at your own risk; may not be up to date. These are not recommendations.
- Check this oneworld interactive map and timetable by Innosked to see potential routes.
- British Airways Executive Club: You can sign up for British Airways Executive Club, Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank or Qantas Frequent Flyer to use their sites to find awards (look for the lowest level awards) you can't see on aa.com. BA in particular is prone to show "phantom" availability.
- Award booking services - list and reviews (FT thread)
- Award Nexus: It's easy to do your experiments for some free browsing (click "more signup options" under the green Purchase button to sign up with your FlyerTalk login info). You might want to run each segment rather than origin to destination.
...Award Nexus is free (up to a point) for FlyerTalk users. Click "more signup options" under the green Purchase button to sign up for free as a FlyerTalk member.
What I like about Award Nexus is it has a much nicer user interface than BA and lets you choose whether to search through BA and/or QF, and as you can see each of those may give somewhat different results.
The "cost" to do all these searches once was a total of 12 points, and you get 200 points free when you signup, and then every 90 days you can reload 100 more points for free (once you're below 10 points). So that gives an idea of how many searches could do free...
- AwardAce: Compare Award Redemptions Across Airlines In Seconds
- AwardHacker: "a tool we build to tell you how to travel with the least miles"
- Award Nexus: which can search availability but can't determine cost, with FT member free limited use
- Economical Excursionist's Tools: compare Frequent Flyer Mile Redemptions
- ExpertFlyer is a common tool used on FT. There is a $99.99 annual fee, monthly fee and five day trial
- Great Circle Mapper is useful for calculating distance and MPM (Maximum Permitted Mileage)
- You can try PEX+ (currently in beta), which will even tell you how many miles you'll need, though it draws data from aa.com and S7 so it can't reveal awards that can not be seen on those sites.
- Travel Codex Award Maximiser commercial blog
Also see:
aa.com Basic (front page) vs Advanced Award Search Results
Phantom / false AA award availability with AA partners (consolidated)
oneworld and Other Airline (Partner) Awards info, rules 2014 on
Help with British Airways / BA surcharge / YQ (AA award on BA, consolidated) (Awards using BA incur significant "YQ" surcharges.)
UK APD / Air Passenger Duty charged for UK departures[/quote] (Flights originating in the UK other than INV or BFS - or connections 24:00 or over - incur UK Air Passenger Duty excise taxes.)
MileSAAver / SAAver award reduction / scarcity >= Aug 2011 onward (consolidated)
Older posts from 2017 have been archived to: this archive thread
Older posts from 2016 have been archived to: this archive thread
Older posts through 2015 have been archived to: this archive thread
ARCHIVE: 2017 HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
Jan 24, 2017, 1:59 pm
#136
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,606
Aer Lingus is offering the roundtrip on the OP's dates for $817 -- but that requires a DUB connection in each direction.
Jan 24, 2017, 2:25 pm
#137
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Southern California
Programs: American Airlines
Posts: 88
Thank you guys for your replies. I am trying to get rid of AA miles just as wetrat0 mentioned because of the ever pending devaluations. And my dates, are not flexible, darn it!
@guv1976, after plugging in my dates, locations and after my mileage summary updated it showed 60,000 miles left. I am assuming AA counted in the surcharges?
I am thinking about booking with cash, and using my AA miles for a one-time trip to Australia or New Zealand or in the USA. Decisions, decisions!
@guv1976, after plugging in my dates, locations and after my mileage summary updated it showed 60,000 miles left. I am assuming AA counted in the surcharges?
I am thinking about booking with cash, and using my AA miles for a one-time trip to Australia or New Zealand or in the USA. Decisions, decisions!
Jan 24, 2017, 3:03 pm
#138
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
130,000 if you use AAnytime award in Economy with much less airline imposed fees as you're using AA and not BA.
Jan 24, 2017, 3:10 pm
#139
Join Date: Aug 2010
Programs: AA 1.6MM EXP; UA GS; SPG LTG,Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,477
Hmmm I guess i'm confused as to what this "double connection is all about". I pretty much "never" use miles to go anywhere, because in order to to requal for EXP every year, I pretty much have to be on all paid tickets. I'm sure I can get him on one AWARD from ORD-LHR direct on AA Metal. But the only OneWorld Carrier that serves KBP is BA. So how do I get him out of LHR to KBP without having to pay ridiculous fees and costs?
That said, you can reduce them somewhat by flying AA across the water rather than BA. What dkc192 is saying (I believe, not having tried this myself_ is that if you book ORD-XXX (say CDG for instance) - LHR-KBP, you can minimize the BA fees, relative to ORD-LHR-KBP. Adding the CDG leg (in this instance) makes this a double connection.
The BA fees you pay even with a double connect may be greater than the cost of a nonstop FRA-KBP (on Lufthansa, paid economy) for instance, YMMV.
Jan 24, 2017, 3:20 pm
#140
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
A few months ago, I booked a J sAaver award trip from LAX to DUB in June. The best I could book was LAX-ORD in coach, and then ORD-LHR-DUB in business. All 3 flights are AA, so no BA metal fees. It's 57.5 K miles.
I see they now opened up an award itinerary that's much better, LAX-PHL-DUB, that wasn't offered before. But that is Aanytime only at 110 K miles.
For experienced AA frequenters, is there any chance that they'll offer that same LAX-PHL-DUB flight at SAaver rates (57.5) as it gets closer? I know I can change it if I spend an extra 52K miles, but I don't know if it's worth it to spend the miles, if there's a chance of getting that better itinerary a different way.
Thanks!
I see they now opened up an award itinerary that's much better, LAX-PHL-DUB, that wasn't offered before. But that is Aanytime only at 110 K miles.
For experienced AA frequenters, is there any chance that they'll offer that same LAX-PHL-DUB flight at SAaver rates (57.5) as it gets closer? I know I can change it if I spend an extra 52K miles, but I don't know if it's worth it to spend the miles, if there's a chance of getting that better itinerary a different way.
Thanks!
Jan 24, 2017, 4:21 pm
#141
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,606
Thank you guys for your replies. I am trying to get rid of AA miles just as wetrat0 mentioned because of the ever pending devaluations. And my dates, are not flexible, darn it!
@guv1976, after plugging in my dates, locations and after my mileage summary updated it showed 60,000 miles left. I am assuming AA counted in the surcharges?
I am thinking about booking with cash, and using my AA miles for a one-time trip to Australia or New Zealand or in the USA. Decisions, decisions!
@guv1976, after plugging in my dates, locations and after my mileage summary updated it showed 60,000 miles left. I am assuming AA counted in the surcharges?
I am thinking about booking with cash, and using my AA miles for a one-time trip to Australia or New Zealand or in the USA. Decisions, decisions!
Jan 24, 2017, 4:35 pm
#142
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,515
Gambling on PHX-JFK non-stop awards (2) being released???
Only way I could get to Ibiza the last week of July without paying BA's BS surcharges is JFK-MAD-IBZ on Iberia for very low taxes. I have booked this flight for us with AA Miles in J.
There is one PHX-JFK flight that leaves on Sunday morning putting us into JFK in time for our JFK-MAD flight that leaves at about 8am on a Sunday morning. I have booked this flight for us with AA Miles in J.
There is NO saver availability in Y or F for PHX-JFK.
I'm semi-new to AA so I'm asking if it's even possible they will open up 2 Seats at the saver level for FC.
I have an option to buy a Delta One way non-stop for $157ea, which is a great deal.....obviously non-refundable. Or, I can use 12,500 DL Skymiles for each of us for the same flight, which ARE fully refundable if AA does open up inventory.
I have an EF alert set for the PHX-JFK flight but I just can't seem them releasing 2 seats in FC, although I would settle for a voluntary downgrade into Y for that flight if they released saver.
Flight is in Late July.
Thoughts....???
There is one PHX-JFK flight that leaves on Sunday morning putting us into JFK in time for our JFK-MAD flight that leaves at about 8am on a Sunday morning. I have booked this flight for us with AA Miles in J.
There is NO saver availability in Y or F for PHX-JFK.
I'm semi-new to AA so I'm asking if it's even possible they will open up 2 Seats at the saver level for FC.
I have an option to buy a Delta One way non-stop for $157ea, which is a great deal.....obviously non-refundable. Or, I can use 12,500 DL Skymiles for each of us for the same flight, which ARE fully refundable if AA does open up inventory.
I have an EF alert set for the PHX-JFK flight but I just can't seem them releasing 2 seats in FC, although I would settle for a voluntary downgrade into Y for that flight if they released saver.
Flight is in Late July.
Thoughts....???
Last edited by 355F1; Jan 24, 2017 at 5:17 pm
Jan 24, 2017, 4:59 pm
#143
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: DCA/IAD/WAS
Programs: MAR AMB, WOH Explorist, AA EXP, UA 2P
Posts: 2,138
Only way I could get to Ibiza the last week of July without paying BA's BS surcharges is JFK-MAD-IBZ on Iberia for very low taxes.
There is one flight that leaves on Sunday morning putting us into JFK in time for our JFK-MAD flight that leaves at about 8am on a Sunday morning. I have booked this flight for us with AA Miles in J.
There is NO saver availability in Y or F for PHX-JFK.
I'm semi-new to AA so I'm asking if it's even possible they will open up 2 Seats at the saver level for FC.
I have an option to buy a Delta One way non-stop for $157ea, which is a great deal.....obviously non-refundable. Or, I can use 12,500 DL Skymiles for each of us for the same flight, which ARE fully refundable if AA does open up inventory.
I have an EF alert set for the PHX-JFK flight but I just can't seem them releasing 2 seats in FC, although I would settle for a voluntary downgrade into Y for that flight if they released saver.
Flight is in Late July.
Thoughts....???
There is one flight that leaves on Sunday morning putting us into JFK in time for our JFK-MAD flight that leaves at about 8am on a Sunday morning. I have booked this flight for us with AA Miles in J.
There is NO saver availability in Y or F for PHX-JFK.
I'm semi-new to AA so I'm asking if it's even possible they will open up 2 Seats at the saver level for FC.
I have an option to buy a Delta One way non-stop for $157ea, which is a great deal.....obviously non-refundable. Or, I can use 12,500 DL Skymiles for each of us for the same flight, which ARE fully refundable if AA does open up inventory.
I have an EF alert set for the PHX-JFK flight but I just can't seem them releasing 2 seats in FC, although I would settle for a voluntary downgrade into Y for that flight if they released saver.
Flight is in Late July.
Thoughts....???
Jan 24, 2017, 5:17 pm
#144
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,515
Jan 24, 2017, 5:17 pm
#145
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
You can buy an F seat on a nonstop transcon for $157??!??!
I'd run with it and not bother with playing with the waiting game on AA. Of course you're kind of boned should things go sideways on separate tickets, but presumably you're prepared for that, right? Presumably a DL DM/AA EXP can have someone do them a solid.
I'd run with it and not bother with playing with the waiting game on AA. Of course you're kind of boned should things go sideways on separate tickets, but presumably you're prepared for that, right? Presumably a DL DM/AA EXP can have someone do them a solid.
Jan 24, 2017, 5:20 pm
#146
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AA EXP, IHG Diamond, IC Amb
Posts: 5,515
You can buy an F seat on a nonstop transcon for $157??!??!
I'd run with it and not bother with playing with the waiting game on AA. Of course you're kind of boned should things go sideways on separate tickets, but presumably you're prepared for that, right? Presumably a DL DM/AA EXP can have someone do them a solid.
I'd run with it and not bother with playing with the waiting game on AA. Of course you're kind of boned should things go sideways on separate tickets, but presumably you're prepared for that, right? Presumably a DL DM/AA EXP can have someone do them a solid.
It would give us a 7hr layover at JFK, which is plenty of time.
There is also another DL nonstop that would give us a 2hr layover. But since I have never been to any JFK lounge (as I try to route all of my monthly international flying through LAX as I LOVE the Qantas FC Lounge. 
), I would like to sample the FC lounges at JFK.
Jan 24, 2017, 5:37 pm
#147
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: DTW/MBS
Programs: UA 1K, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Formerly Starbucks Gold
Posts: 3,525
I'm sorry, no. The $157 is for Y but I would get the good seats and maybe an UG to FC as I am a Diamond with DL.
It would give us a 7hr layover at JFK, which is plenty of time. There is also another DL nonstop that would give us a 2hr layover. But since I have never been to any JFK lounge (as I try to route all of my monthly international flying through LAX as I LOVE the Qantas FC Lounge. ), I would like to sample the FC lounges at JFK.
It would give us a 7hr layover at JFK, which is plenty of time.
There is also another DL nonstop that would give us a 2hr layover. But since I have never been to any JFK lounge (as I try to route all of my monthly international flying through LAX as I LOVE the Qantas FC Lounge. ), I would like to sample the FC lounges at JFK. If you book AA, you'll be protected, DL you won't. That 157 is a good price, plus a long layover and time to really take your time to get to the JFK Flagship lounge and in case anything happens with your flight, you have the later flight as a potential backup.
Jan 24, 2017, 5:41 pm
#148
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: AA PLT, SPG Gold
Posts: 2,405
IMO I'd take the $157 one way morning flight, since it sounds like you're me and you're a lounge person (which is probably the unpopular opinion on FT).
If you book AA, you'll be protected, DL you won't. That 157 is a good price, plus a long layover and time to really take your time to get to the JFK Flagship lounge and in case anything happens with your flight, you have the later flight as a potential backup.
If you book AA, you'll be protected, DL you won't. That 157 is a good price, plus a long layover and time to really take your time to get to the JFK Flagship lounge and in case anything happens with your flight, you have the later flight as a potential backup.
Jan 24, 2017, 5:43 pm
#149
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,397
, because I thought you meant "Delta One". I'd also be inclined to take the early DL flight and laze around JFK given those circumstances (lots of time, good status on DL and AA).