AAdvantage MileSAAver: Through Award Fare Restriction Dec 2018
Mar 23, 2019, 10:54 pm
#76
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: Whatever's Cheapest, Accruing Miles, Redeeming for Premium Cabins, Not Chasing Status Unnecessarily
Posts: 2,264
Requiring connecting itineraries like this (two PNR's for 2 nonstops) has another 'enhancement' effect:
Change fees and other fees are also potentially increased.
Change fees and other fees are also potentially increased.
Mar 24, 2019, 9:33 am
#77
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
If the multi-city award-booking engine will not let you reserve the two nonstops, put the two nonstops on hold on separate PNRs, call AA to combine them, and then go back to aa.com to purchase the award itinerary on a single ticket.
Mar 24, 2019, 10:22 am
#78
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: IND/NYC/MEX
Programs: AA PPro BA Bronze SPG Gold HH GLD Hyatt Exp
Posts: 1,134
When redeeming AAdvantage miles, note that a single ticket can hold multiple awards.
If the multi-city award-booking engine will not let you reserve the two nonstops, put the two nonstops on hold on separate PNRs, call AA to combine them, and then go back to aa.com to purchase the award itinerary on a single ticket.
If the multi-city award-booking engine will not let you reserve the two nonstops, put the two nonstops on hold on separate PNRs, call AA to combine them, and then go back to aa.com to purchase the award itinerary on a single ticket.
Mar 24, 2019, 10:52 am
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
Are you saying that you placed two flights on separate holds, and you then called AA and requested that the two flights be be put on a single ticket as two awards (at the higher mileage required for two awards)?
Mar 24, 2019, 2:22 pm
#80
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,574
If there is no availability due to married segment availability being different to standalone availability, then I would not expect the agent to be able to combine into a through itinerary with 2 awarss. Once comboned, then the availabioity wiuld be based on the through availability
Mar 24, 2019, 3:08 pm
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
If there is no availability due to married segment availability being different to standalone availability, then I would not expect the agent to be able to combine into a through itinerary with 2 awarss. Once comboned, then the availabioity wiuld be based on the through availability
Mar 24, 2019, 3:32 pm
#82
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: FIND ME ON TWITTER FOR THE LATEST
Posts: 27,730
Mar 24, 2019, 6:20 pm
#83
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,950
Whether making AAA-CCC via BBB unavailable when AAA-BBB and BBB-CCC are both available is married segment availability or some other term strikes me as strictly a matter of semantics. Everyone agrees both on the practical effects and when it started; the only disagreement is whether the same term applies to both concepts. Rather silly to go on like this.
Mar 24, 2019, 6:25 pm
#84
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: YYF/YLW
Programs: AA, DL, AS, VA, WS Silver
Posts: 5,950
I’m purely guessing here.
Mar 24, 2019, 7:35 pm
#85
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,574
Becuase , although you may be happy to pay for 2 awards, once A-B is put onto the same booking as B-C , it would revert to being an A-C via B booking
Mar 25, 2019, 5:30 am
#86
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: BWI
Programs: Everyone!
Posts: 1,024
My method was to complain about the error on the old booking tool which was generated when trying to choose my preferred routing via manually selecting my two legs in the multiple-city booking option. A-C was showing 57.5K in new booking tool (didn't appear at all in old booking tool), A-B was 12.5K in old booking tool and B-C was 30K in old booking tool. So it should have priced 30K, if not for the "new" married surcharge/ restriction. I could get old booking tool to show 42.5K all the way to the last page via multi-city and then it would error out.
More award availability restricted by married segments / connections
Last edited by PGHflyer; Mar 25, 2019 at 5:47 am
Mar 25, 2019, 6:34 am
#87
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: BA
Posts: 954
So partners like BA can't put the 2 flights on the same itinerary either? They can't in my experience - they can book the flights individually, which is often cheaper than doing it with AA due to Avios pricing structure, but you have to pay twice the taxes and more importantly your connection isn't protected. I ran into this on SAT-CLT-LGA. They are charging exorbitant 50k AAnytime award for the whole trip when there is sAAver space on each leg.
Mar 25, 2019, 7:44 am
#88
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: BWI
Programs: Everyone!
Posts: 1,024
What do you mean by "connection isn't protected?" When I spoke to the AA agent and eventually got mine combined and repriced, he said two separate bookings is no big deal and that they would connect and through-bag check on check-in.
FWIW on the itinerary I was looking at, you are correct, BA showed the same limitation on A-C as AA did, even though A-B and B-C were open in the appropriate fare class.
FWIW on the itinerary I was looking at, you are correct, BA showed the same limitation on A-C as AA did, even though A-B and B-C were open in the appropriate fare class.
Mar 25, 2019, 7:48 am
#89
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: BA
Posts: 954
What do you mean by "connection isn't protected?" When I spoke to the AA agent and eventually got mine combined and repriced, he said two separate bookings is no big deal and that they would connect and through-bag check on check-in.
FWIW on the itinerary I was looking at, you are correct, BA showed the same limitation on A-C as AA did, even though A-B and B-C were open in the appropriate fare class.
FWIW on the itinerary I was looking at, you are correct, BA showed the same limitation on A-C as AA did, even though A-B and B-C were open in the appropriate fare class.
I was looking at SAT-CLT-LGA with only a 39 minute connection in CLT. Using Avios, I could book the segments separately but not together on the same itinerary. Of course, it's the same price with Avios, but I'm nervous to keep them separate, even without baggage.
Mar 25, 2019, 9:41 am
#90
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,572
Not sure why AA would care if you miss your connection if you have 2 separate bookings, but I'm not up to speed on their policies.
I was looking at SAT-CLT-LGA with only a 39 minute connection in CLT. Using Avios, I could book the segments separately but not together on the same itinerary. Of course, it's the same price with Avios, but I'm nervous to keep them separate, even without baggage.
I was looking at SAT-CLT-LGA with only a 39 minute connection in CLT. Using Avios, I could book the segments separately but not together on the same itinerary. Of course, it's the same price with Avios, but I'm nervous to keep them separate, even without baggage.
You could try calling a BAEC Service Center to see if an agent can place both AA flights on a single ticket. You might or might not be able to get the telephone-ticketing service fee waived, but you should be able to avoid the second $5.60 September 11 security fee if both flights are on a single ticket.