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-   -   Would appreciate clarification on Award Travel expectations and availability on AA... (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1975141-would-appreciate-clarification-award-travel-expectations-availability-aa.html)

atwnsw2 Jun 22, 2019 3:09 pm
Would appreciate clarification on Award Travel expectations and availability on AA...
 
I am trying to book a round trip from TPA-FCO in the future (flexible on dates). Given that I only want 1 stop, I am left with flying either through PHL or CLT since those are the major gateways to FCO on AA. Every flight that I have checked for availability shows that Biz Anytime is TPA-CLT-FCO or TPA-PHL-FCO and the reverse the on the return. However, whenever I try to book using either Business or First MileSAAver, they always require either an airport change or another stop (making it 2 total connections which I don't want).

Is it possible to find a MileSAAver tickets on either Biz or First that will include just 1 stop at the same airport or is this no longer a realistic goal?

Antarius Jun 22, 2019 5:27 pm
They are rare.

guv1976 Jun 22, 2019 5:42 pm
Originally Posted by atwnsw2 (Post 31229477)
I am trying to book a round trip from TPA-FCO in the future (flexible on dates). Given that I only want 1 stop, I am left with flying either through PHL or CLT since those are the major gateways to FCO on AA. Every flight that I have checked for availability shows that Biz Anytime is TPA-CLT-FCO or TPA-PHL-FCO and the reverse the on the return. However, whenever I try to book using either Business or First MileSAAver, they always require either an airport change or another stop (making it 2 total connections which I don't want).

Is it possible to find a MileSAAver tickets on either Biz or First that will include just 1 stop at the same airport or is this no longer a realistic goal?
TPA-CLT-FCO and TPA-PHL-FCO are not your only one-stop MileSAAver options, but they are your only no-surcharge one-stop MileSAAver options. BA flies TPA-LGW-FCO,

MathMusic Jun 22, 2019 6:31 pm
If you end up booking an itinerary with two connections well in advance, you could use a schedule change to push for a one stop flight you really want when AA inevitably shuffles the schedule. Also, If a one stop saaver itinerary ever opens up you can switch to it for no fee if you book a two stop connection.

stephem Jun 22, 2019 6:49 pm
TPA-DFW-FCO is a valid routing and gives you a better night of sleep on the flight over.

atwnsw2 Jun 22, 2019 7:44 pm
Thank you everybody for your responses.

I have 3 follow up questions:

Stephem: You mention the routing option of TPA-DFW-FCO which I had not considered. If I want to pick this one as an example, how would you go about finding this routing availability?

Guv1976: Yes, you are correct in that BA does fly TPA-LGW-FCO. Given that I have triple the amount of AA miles compared to BA miles, is there a trick to finding BA flights using AA miles?

General Question: If I use miles from TPA-LGW in business and buy a ticket in cash in economy from LGW-FCO, would I be able to check my luggage through to FCO?

freeagent Jun 22, 2019 9:46 pm
Originally Posted by atwnsw2 (Post 31229927)
Thank you everybody for your responses.

General Question: If I use miles from TPA-LGW in business and buy a ticket in cash in economy from LGW-FCO, would I be able to check my luggage through to FCO?
No it is not possible to have your luggage checked through to FCO, as you would have two separate PNRs.

enviroian Jun 22, 2019 9:50 pm
Originally Posted by Antarius (Post 31229721)
They are rare.
Yep. You’ll only see BA flights through lhr

Those tickets in “saver” are $1K in fees

no1cub17 Jun 22, 2019 10:20 pm
Originally Posted by atwnsw2 (Post 31229927)
Thank you everybody for your responses.

I have 3 follow up questions:

Stephem: You mention the routing option of TPA-DFW-FCO which I had not considered. If I want to pick this one as an example, how would you go about finding this routing availability?

Guv1976: Yes, you are correct in that BA does fly TPA-LGW-FCO. Given that I have triple the amount of AA miles compared to BA miles, is there a trick to finding BA flights using AA miles?

General Question: If I use miles from TPA-LGW in business and buy a ticket in cash in economy from LGW-FCO, would I be able to check my luggage through to FCO?
The trick to finding BA award availability using AA miles is that you go to aa.com and search for an award. BA "awards" are displayed on AA.com. Of course given the $1000 extortion BA charges, the term "award" is used loosely here.

No, BA will not check bags through on separate tickets. If you fly TPA-LGW on one ticket and LGW-FCO on another, you'll have to go through immigration, claim your bags, then recheck them with BA for the flight to FCO.

AA100k Jun 23, 2019 10:17 am
You never stated when this future trip was, which matters. Today, you can get optimal routing (one stop through CLT or PHL) Business Class SAAver awards from TPA to FCO and return 13-27 August 2019. I booked this trip last week - it’s wide open. As someone who travels to Italy on AA five times a year, this is a rare event.


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