Jan 1, 2020, 9:11 am
Last edit by: JDiver
Welcome to the 2020 "NEWBIE LOUNGE"Ask Your Consolidated / Combined AA Questions Here (flame free)
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST: (This post can only be edited by moderators.)
Welcome to the Newbie Lounge!
MODERATOR GUIDEPOST: (This post can only be edited by moderators.)
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.
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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.)
Q. How can I find information more easily than reading through all the threads? Now that I'm here, what do I do next?
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.
- 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?)
- FlyerTalk Glossary (What is all this jargon?)
- The NEW FlyerTalk: Helpful Hints, Tips and Suggestions to Enhance Your Experience (Information Desk Forum)
- Especially useful to new members: FAQs (How to post like a pro and more)
- 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.
- New and uncertain where to start here, and it's about American Airlines? Start in our "NEWBIE LOUNGE" thread, here: link.
- 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.)
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.
- One can search FlyerTalk with Google with this web form.
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 2020: Ask "Newbie" AA Questions Here (flame free)
May 24, 2020, 12:43 pm
#76
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: UA 1K (Million Miler). AA Gold (lifetime 1 Million). TK Elite Gold
Posts: 895
Can flights be booked online? Yes, but not on all partner airlines.
Aside from miles,. What about taxes and fees. BA has huge fees. Most don’t.
route: IAH to IST. All travel on RAM via CMN. Are TK codeshares allowed on AAdvantage award ticket via CMN? No codeshares.
See HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
and AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd)
and Carrier Imposed Surcharge / YQ: AA award on BA / British (& IB) & avoiding it
Please continue your quest in those threads, which are more appropriate than a lounge thread for the complex issues relating to awards. /Moderator
Aside from miles,. What about taxes and fees. BA has huge fees. Most don’t.
route: IAH to IST. All travel on RAM via CMN. Are TK codeshares allowed on AAdvantage award ticket via CMN? No codeshares.
See HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
and AA oneworld & Other Airline Partner Award information, rules (master thd)
and Carrier Imposed Surcharge / YQ: AA award on BA / British (& IB) & avoiding it
Please continue your quest in those threads, which are more appropriate than a lounge thread for the complex issues relating to awards. /Moderator
May 25, 2020, 8:32 am
#77
Join Date: May 2020
Location: DTW
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 20
AA refund to unknown card - Chase Travel Portal
I recently requested and received a refund from American for a ticket booked as a revenue flight via the Chase Travel portal with UR points. The refund confirmation email arrived 5 days ago, but said that the refund would be going to Mastercard with a last 4 digits I'd never seen before. (I double checked, and no card with those 4 digits is on my account.) I'm not optimistic that calling either American or Chase will get me a clear answer on what this means. Does anyone know if this is a standard message when a refund is going back to Chase UR points, or did American refund my balance to someone else's card by mistake?
May 25, 2020, 3:46 pm
#78
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: MSN
Programs: AA, BAEC Gold
Posts: 3,929
I recently requested and received a refund from American for a ticket booked as a revenue flight via the Chase Travel portal with UR points. The refund confirmation email arrived 5 days ago, but said that the refund would be going to Mastercard with a last 4 digits I'd never seen before. (I double checked, and no card with those 4 digits is on my account.) I'm not optimistic that calling either American or Chase will get me a clear answer on what this means. Does anyone know if this is a standard message when a refund is going back to Chase UR points, or did American refund my balance to someone else's card by mistake?
May 28, 2020, 7:22 am
#79
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: AA PLT PRO, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plt. Premier
Posts: 587
I may need to travel to the UK in Aug/Sept if things calm don. I was thinking of using some miles/copay to upgrade my company only allows coach seats. I notice on the website that the 25K miles + $350 copay upgrades you to the next class of service, so if you are in economy you only get upgraded to PE? I do not see the value at that point, if the answer is yes. How about if after buying my ticket I get an offer to buy up to PE take it and then i\use miles/copay is that possible?
May 28, 2020, 2:38 pm
#80
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
I may need to travel to the UK in Aug/Sept if things calm don. I was thinking of using some miles/copay to upgrade my company only allows coach seats. I notice on the website that the 25K miles + $350 copay upgrades you to the next class of service, so if you are in economy you only get upgraded to PE? I do not see the value at that point, if the answer is yes. How about if after buying my ticket I get an offer to buy up to PE take it and then i\use miles/copay is that possible?
May 28, 2020, 11:05 pm
#81
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 19,901
May 29, 2020, 12:19 am
#83
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL, OZ, AC, AS, AA, BA, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Posts: 19,901
May 29, 2020, 12:46 am
#84
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, Total Wine & More Reserve
Posts: 4,510
From T&C: "Tickets upgraded using mileage upgrade awards will accrue miles based on the original purchased fare."
Would need C space available to confirm an upgrade into Business, otherwise you can waitlist.
May 29, 2020, 6:36 am
#85
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
FAQ: Miles + Copay Upgrade / Upgrades (master thread)
Jun 1, 2020, 1:51 pm
#86
formerly 1984SW
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,058
I'm a long-time Star Alliance flyer, and have never flown OneWorld. I'm looking at AA award tickets MID-BKK-MID for 31-Dec-27Feb and found a connection including:
MIA-LAX on AA
Business
Meals: Dinner
Booking code: U
Class: First
LAX-HKG on CX
Business
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Booking code: Z
Class: First
What cabin are those flights (U on AA, and Z on CX) actually booked into? They both say both "Business" and "First." (The AA flight is a 772, and the CX flight is a 77W, and the round-trip mileage cost is 187.5k, if that matters.)
MIA-LAX on AA
Business
Meals: Dinner
Booking code: U
Class: First
LAX-HKG on CX
Business
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Booking code: Z
Class: First
What cabin are those flights (U on AA, and Z on CX) actually booked into? They both say both "Business" and "First." (The AA flight is a 772, and the CX flight is a 77W, and the round-trip mileage cost is 187.5k, if that matters.)
Jun 1, 2020, 3:09 pm
#87
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
I'm a long-time Star Alliance flyer, and have never flown OneWorld. I'm looking at AA award tickets MID-BKK-MID for 31-Dec-27Feb and found a connection including:
MIA-LAX on AA
Business
Meals: Dinner
Booking code: U
Class: First
LAX-HKG on CX
Business
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Booking code: Z
Class: First
What cabin are those flights (U on AA, and Z on CX) actually booked into? They both say both "Business" and "First." (The AA flight is a 772, and the CX flight is a 77W, and the round-trip mileage cost is 187.5k, if that matters.)
MIA-LAX on AA
Business
Meals: Dinner
Booking code: U
Class: First
LAX-HKG on CX
Business
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Booking code: Z
Class: First
What cabin are those flights (U on AA, and Z on CX) actually booked into? They both say both "Business" and "First." (The AA flight is a 772, and the CX flight is a 77W, and the round-trip mileage cost is 187.5k, if that matters.)
I say should because the award pricing you're showing does not make sense. An F award to BKK on CX should be 110k miles each way. Can you post a screenshot or the one-way pricing? Also doesn't make sense that the CX flight says business when the booking code shows Z/First.
AA offers dynamic and variable pricing on business and first awards to Asia, but you have to stay on AA metal, and obviously AA doesn't fly to BKK so thats not an option.
Jun 1, 2020, 5:31 pm
#88
formerly 1984SW
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,058
This is the breakdown of the 187.5k miles:
That looks like the correct pricing for a Mexico-Thailand trip in F MID-BKK and J BKK-MID, no?
If so, what confused me was the "Business" tags & pricing being displayed:
So U is in the AA Business Class cabin on LAX-MIA, but Z is the CX First Class cabin on MIA-HKG?
Heaven knows that the various Star Alliance carrier web sites have their own peccadilloes, so I'm not criticizing AA for (what to me currently are) confusing inconsistencies. I just need to learn how to work with the AA reservations site.
That looks like the correct pricing for a Mexico-Thailand trip in F MID-BKK and J BKK-MID, no?
If so, what confused me was the "Business" tags & pricing being displayed:
So U is in the AA Business Class cabin on LAX-MIA, but Z is the CX First Class cabin on MIA-HKG?
Heaven knows that the various Star Alliance carrier web sites have their own peccadilloes, so I'm not criticizing AA for (what to me currently are) confusing inconsistencies. I just need to learn how to work with the AA reservations site.
Jun 1, 2020, 6:43 pm
#89
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
This is the breakdown of the 187.5k miles:
That looks like the correct pricing for a Mexico-Thailand trip in F MID-BKK and J BKK-MID, no?
If so, what confused me was the "Business" tags & pricing being displayed:
So U is in the AA Business Class cabin on LAX-MIA, but Z is the CX First Class cabin on MIA-HKG?
Heaven knows that the various Star Alliance carrier web sites have their own peccadilloes, so I'm not criticizing AA for (what to me currently are) confusing inconsistencies. I just need to learn how to work with the AA reservations site.
That looks like the correct pricing for a Mexico-Thailand trip in F MID-BKK and J BKK-MID, no?
If so, what confused me was the "Business" tags & pricing being displayed:
So U is in the AA Business Class cabin on LAX-MIA, but Z is the CX First Class cabin on MIA-HKG?
Heaven knows that the various Star Alliance carrier web sites have their own peccadilloes, so I'm not criticizing AA for (what to me currently are) confusing inconsistencies. I just need to learn how to work with the AA reservations site.
In short everything looks good, for LAX-HKG you'll be in CX F as you're certainly paying the F award price, just disregard that aa.com says "business", the booking code Z/First is what matters.
Jun 2, 2020, 11:47 pm
#90
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Explorist, Marco Polo Gold
Posts: 1,084
Hi guys, thanks for the help.
1) I plan to use miles to upgrade, from Economy to Business (if possible). Reading the AA website upgrade chart is a bit confusing. NA - HK: do they mean 25,000 miles + $350 for each person upgrading from Discount Economy to Business class? So that means for a family of 5 (2 children), it's a total of 125,000 miles + $1750?
2) I am a bit short on miles. Is transferring Bonvoy points to AA program the best option, or straight up buy the miles from AA?
3) The flight is in mid-July Dallas non-stop to HK, I know airlines are canceling flights. Based on your knowledge of AA, does this particular route have high cancellation rate or it's pretty stable?
Thanks in advance.
1) I plan to use miles to upgrade, from Economy to Business (if possible). Reading the AA website upgrade chart is a bit confusing. NA - HK: do they mean 25,000 miles + $350 for each person upgrading from Discount Economy to Business class? So that means for a family of 5 (2 children), it's a total of 125,000 miles + $1750?
2) I am a bit short on miles. Is transferring Bonvoy points to AA program the best option, or straight up buy the miles from AA?
3) The flight is in mid-July Dallas non-stop to HK, I know airlines are canceling flights. Based on your knowledge of AA, does this particular route have high cancellation rate or it's pretty stable?
Thanks in advance.