Mar 2, 2021, 10:17 am
Last edit by: JDiver
NOTE: This archive thread contains all posts made in 2019 from the original thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-airlines-aadvantage/1511217-help-desk-milesaaver-saaver-award-questions-assistance.html
HELP DESK: MileSAAver / SAAver Award Availability - Help, Assistance & Discussion
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)
Two award search systems — TWA884
There are two search systems,
See:
New Award Booking / Search / Calendar on aa.com 2019 — link (FT thread)
The Insider Trick to Getting More American Airlines Saver Award Availability
***
If you want to make sure that you’re seeing results from both award searching systems, you’ll want to perform an award search starting on each of these:
If you want to make sure that you’re seeing results from both award searching systems, you’ll want to perform an award search starting on each of these:
NOTE: “Married segment” issues exist, wherein AA may make a IAH-DFW-XXX award available, but not DFW-XXX; or STL-PHL-LHR, but PHL-LHR May not be available in conjunction with ORD- and others. See
More award availability restricted by married segments / connections
Award hold period: 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.
Within 14 days the hold period changes from 5 days to 1 day. And AA has periodically played the game in the past whereby within certain timeframes, usually 7 or 14 days before, they eliminate all sAAver space. Completely route specific. — JJeffrey
="3"%Airlines that can be booked for award travel on aa.com
oneworld alliance airline partners
oneworld alliance airline partners
- AA - American Airlines
- BA - British Airways (awards incur significant YQ surcharge
- AY - Finnair
- IB - Iberia
- JL - Japan Airlines
- QF - Qantas
- QR - Qatar Airways
- RJ - Royal Jordanian Airlines (joining 31 Mar 2020)
- S7 - S7 Airlines
- UL - Sri Lankan Airlines
AS - Alaska Airlines*(ended 29 Feb 2020, to be restored upon joining oneworld in 2021 )- 9K - Cape Air (but only certain cities)
- TN - Air Tahiti Nui
- EY - Etihad
- HA - Hawaiian Airlines (only certain routes
* Mileage redemption on Alaska Airlines is ending effective February 29, 2020. All award travel must be booked and ticketed by February 29, 2020. Travel is valid for 1 year after ticketing date and must be flown no later than February 28, 2021. Ticket changes will not be allowed after February 29, 2020.
NOTE: To search for partner awards, go to advanced search from the awards search or home page and select all airlines.
="3"%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, ending 1 Oct 2020)
- MH - Malaysia Airlines
- QF - Qantas Airways (QantasLink, Jetconnect)
- QR - Qatar Airways
- AT - Royal Air Maroc (as of 31 Mar 2020)
- RJ - Royal Jordanian Airlines
- S7 - S7 Airlines (Globus) (excludes Siberia / far eastern Russia awards)
- UL - SriLankan Airlines
- JJ - TAM Airlines (LATAM Airlines will no longer operate using the airline code JJ for flights on or after October 27, 2019.)
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.
="3"%Full list of additional airline partners offering award redemptions
- 9K - Cape Air
AS - Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air(end 29 Feb 2020, to begin upon joining oneworld in 2021)- CZ - China Southern Airlines
- EY - Etihad Airways
- FJ - Fiji Airways
- HA - Hawaiian Airlines
- TN - Air Tahiti Nui
="3"%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 -------------------------------------------------------- CZ– China Southern Airways (unknown) -------------------------------------------------------- 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 --------------------------------------------------------
="3"%Other rules that may affect your awards="3"%:
="3"%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. Some 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 (except Hawaii), 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)
="3"%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. Some 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 (except Hawaii), 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)
="3"%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.
- See this article by the Points Guy on BA and Qantas for award searching.
- See this article to new online tool from Japan Airlines by Australian Frequent Flyer
- 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. Or use this link to use with your FT login: https://awardnexus.com/user/login?url=%2F.
...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 2018 have been archived to this archive thread.
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: HELP DESK: 2019 MileSAAver / SAAver award questions, assistance
Jul 1, 2019, 10:47 am
#181
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 125
Normally, it costs about $100-130 to fly (one-way) from KTM - Delhi but thanks to Jet Airways bankruptcy, I was quoted over 300 for economy on the same route. Anyway, we finally managed to get a ticket for 250 for the wife and daughter (infant).
Jul 9, 2019, 8:43 pm
#182
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: AA PPro, TP Gold, UA Silver, Bonvoy/Hilton Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 296
I'm trying to fly from Tokyo to Vietnam. I've been seeing availability on aa.com for MH through KUL, but the website seems to glitch out, and I can't proceed. Any workarounds to get the website working? I've already cleared my cookies, tried incognito mode, etc.
Jul 10, 2019, 4:42 am
#183
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Could be phantom MH availability that really isn't there. In any event MH would be my last choice, have you called AA to check availability on JL (nonstop flights to Vietnam from Tokyo) or CX (lots of options connecting in HKG)? Neither JL nor CX award flights are bookable at aa.com, you have to call.
Jul 10, 2019, 8:13 am
#184
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: WAS/TYO
Programs: AA PPro, TP Gold, UA Silver, Bonvoy/Hilton Gold, Global Entry
Posts: 296
Could be phantom MH availability that really isn't there. In any event MH would be my last choice, have you called AA to check availability on JL (nonstop flights to Vietnam from Tokyo) or CX (lots of options connecting in HKG)? Neither JL nor CX award flights are bookable at aa.com, you have to call.
ExpertFlyer shows P class availability for the flight in question, so it looks like some First Class (or biz suites, whatever they're called now) seats are available, but I'm not sure if that means anything re: whether it's phantom availability or not. Obviously CX F would be ideal, but not finding availability for that anywhere...
Jul 10, 2019, 8:26 am
#185
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
JL only had the early morning HND direct available, but I'd really like to avoid arriving at SGN at 5AM. BA was seeing some CX avail but AA agent could not find any. Should I try to HUCA? Would I get different results by calling the TYO/HKG/VN office rather than the US call center?
ExpertFlyer shows P class availability for the flight in question, so it looks like some First Class (or biz suites, whatever they're called now) seats are available, but I'm not sure if that means anything re: whether it's phantom availability or not. Obviously CX F would be ideal, but not finding availability for that anywhere...
ExpertFlyer shows P class availability for the flight in question, so it looks like some First Class (or biz suites, whatever they're called now) seats are available, but I'm not sure if that means anything re: whether it's phantom availability or not. Obviously CX F would be ideal, but not finding availability for that anywhere...
Jul 13, 2019, 10:51 pm
#186
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Austin, Texas, USA
Programs: AA Platinum Pro, Hilton Silver, Marriott Titanium Elite, AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 130
I'm looking at booking an award routing AUS-ORD (last flight out 6:40 pm) and it shows saver availability in first. I would like to then travel to CUN on the first flight at 7:30 am which shows saver availability in business. When I put in AUS-CUN, i do not get these flight connections as an option at the saver level but I do see them as an option at the anytime level. Is it possible to have a res agent book these flights at the saver level since there is saver availability on both flights and it meets the last-in, first-out rule?
Jul 14, 2019, 9:00 am
#187
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,601
I'm looking at booking an award routing AUS-ORD (last flight out 6:40 pm) and it shows saver availability in first. I would like to then travel to CUN on the first flight at 7:30 am which shows saver availability in business. When I put in AUS-CUN, i do not get these flight connections as an option at the saver level but I do see them as an option at the anytime level. Is it possible to have a res agent book these flights at the saver level since there is saver availability on both flights and it meets the last-in, first-out rule?
Jul 16, 2019, 12:55 pm
#188
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 105
A few questions as I try to plan out honeymoon travel 
1) Is it common to have no saver availability even at the beginning? Have a trip AUS->ORD->HKG and got the Cathay ORD->HKG booked just fine 331 days out, but there was no saver ability for AUS->ORD for the date I want. As a work-around I've got a hold on a AUS->ORD flight the day before. I've checked every evening at midnight CST but nothing comes up in Expert Flyer and AA also only shows 30k anytime award for that date. Even the operators seem confused that there's nothing in J or Y on that date and tell me to just keep calling back to check later. Been a week now and still no luck. Will it ever open up for that date or do they block off certain dates for some reason? The day before and the day after both have all 3 non-stops to AA as saver, it's just the Thursday I want that seems to be blocked off.
2) Planning on doing HKG->NRT->LAX->AUS on the way back in F with a long layover in Tokyo. Will it be an issue to book CX for the HKG->NRT leg and then JL for the NRT->LAX leg? There is a JL codeshare for that Cathay flight, but when searching on the JL website for HKG->AUS it only lists as options the two HKG->Tokyo flights JL has each day. However I was able to get the AA website to give me the routing I wanted as a cash fare. I'm not clear how to determine if a "significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination." as I don't know how to construct a fare?
3) Anyone know how many F seats are released at the beginning for CX regional flights? There's one flight from HKG->HND that has first class, but two of us are traveling. Is it just 1 F like the transpacific flights with the hope that one will open up close to the flight date, or are there more F available for regional? BA only shows a single JL flight between HKG and Tokyo (even though there's 10 each day between CX and JL...) so I can't see what's available.
1) Is it common to have no saver availability even at the beginning? Have a trip AUS->ORD->HKG and got the Cathay ORD->HKG booked just fine 331 days out, but there was no saver ability for AUS->ORD for the date I want. As a work-around I've got a hold on a AUS->ORD flight the day before. I've checked every evening at midnight CST but nothing comes up in Expert Flyer and AA also only shows 30k anytime award for that date. Even the operators seem confused that there's nothing in J or Y on that date and tell me to just keep calling back to check later. Been a week now and still no luck. Will it ever open up for that date or do they block off certain dates for some reason? The day before and the day after both have all 3 non-stops to AA as saver, it's just the Thursday I want that seems to be blocked off.
2) Planning on doing HKG->NRT->LAX->AUS on the way back in F with a long layover in Tokyo. Will it be an issue to book CX for the HKG->NRT leg and then JL for the NRT->LAX leg? There is a JL codeshare for that Cathay flight, but when searching on the JL website for HKG->AUS it only lists as options the two HKG->Tokyo flights JL has each day. However I was able to get the AA website to give me the routing I wanted as a cash fare. I'm not clear how to determine if a "significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination." as I don't know how to construct a fare?
3) Anyone know how many F seats are released at the beginning for CX regional flights? There's one flight from HKG->HND that has first class, but two of us are traveling. Is it just 1 F like the transpacific flights with the hope that one will open up close to the flight date, or are there more F available for regional? BA only shows a single JL flight between HKG and Tokyo (even though there's 10 each day between CX and JL...) so I can't see what's available.
Jul 16, 2019, 1:40 pm
#189
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
A few questions as I try to plan out honeymoon travel
1) Is it common to have no saver availability even at the beginning? Have a trip AUS->ORD->HKG and got the Cathay ORD->HKG booked just fine 331 days out, but there was no saver ability for AUS->ORD for the date I want. As a work-around I've got a hold on a AUS->ORD flight the day before. I've checked every evening at midnight CST but nothing comes up in Expert Flyer and AA also only shows 30k anytime award for that date. Even the operators seem confused that there's nothing in J or Y on that date and tell me to just keep calling back to check later. Been a week now and still no luck. Will it ever open up for that date or do they block off certain dates for some reason? The day before and the day after both have all 3 non-stops to AA as saver, it's just the Thursday I want that seems to be blocked off.
2) Planning on doing HKG->NRT->LAX->AUS on the way back in F with a long layover in Tokyo. Will it be an issue to book CX for the HKG->NRT leg and then JL for the NRT->LAX leg? There is a JL codeshare for that Cathay flight, but when searching on the JL website for HKG->AUS it only lists as options the two HKG->Tokyo flights JL has each day. However I was able to get the AA website to give me the routing I wanted as a cash fare. I'm not clear how to determine if a "significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination." as I don't know how to construct a fare?
3) Anyone know how many F seats are released at the beginning for CX regional flights? There's one flight from HKG->HND that has first class, but two of us are traveling. Is it just 1 F like the transpacific flights with the hope that one will open up close to the flight date, or are there more F available for regional? BA only shows a single JL flight between HKG and Tokyo (even though there's 10 each day between CX and JL...) so I can't see what's available.
1) Is it common to have no saver availability even at the beginning? Have a trip AUS->ORD->HKG and got the Cathay ORD->HKG booked just fine 331 days out, but there was no saver ability for AUS->ORD for the date I want. As a work-around I've got a hold on a AUS->ORD flight the day before. I've checked every evening at midnight CST but nothing comes up in Expert Flyer and AA also only shows 30k anytime award for that date. Even the operators seem confused that there's nothing in J or Y on that date and tell me to just keep calling back to check later. Been a week now and still no luck. Will it ever open up for that date or do they block off certain dates for some reason? The day before and the day after both have all 3 non-stops to AA as saver, it's just the Thursday I want that seems to be blocked off.
2) Planning on doing HKG->NRT->LAX->AUS on the way back in F with a long layover in Tokyo. Will it be an issue to book CX for the HKG->NRT leg and then JL for the NRT->LAX leg? There is a JL codeshare for that Cathay flight, but when searching on the JL website for HKG->AUS it only lists as options the two HKG->Tokyo flights JL has each day. However I was able to get the AA website to give me the routing I wanted as a cash fare. I'm not clear how to determine if a "significant carrier to publish a cash fare (non-constructed) between the origin and destination." as I don't know how to construct a fare?
3) Anyone know how many F seats are released at the beginning for CX regional flights? There's one flight from HKG->HND that has first class, but two of us are traveling. Is it just 1 F like the transpacific flights with the hope that one will open up close to the flight date, or are there more F available for regional? BA only shows a single JL flight between HKG and Tokyo (even though there's 10 each day between CX and JL...) so I can't see what's available.
2) Forget about the published fare rule or worrying about constructing a fare for your flights, etc. That is putting the cart in front of the horse. Just find award availability for your flights and call AA to book. If for whatever the reason you can't book any given award, or it costs more miles, etc. then that's when you check published fares (and come back here for help). It should be no problem to book HKG-NRT-LAX-AUS as a single award. You say you want a long layover in Tokyo, keep in mind your NRT connection must be 24 hrs. or less, otherwise it will price as 2 awards.
3) Not sure, haven't looked for CX regional F awards in ages. I would search a number of random dates to see what kind of F award space you see on HKG-Tokyo.
Jul 16, 2019, 1:44 pm
#190
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
This is solid, proven advice. Normally it's a hassle when the airlines change your itinerary, but when you prefer a re-schedule anyway, it's perfect.
Jul 18, 2019, 11:42 am
#191
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 6
Trying to book my first award tix and needed some help
Flying two people from JFK to India 8/27-9/10/19
Qatar: JFK - DOH - ATQ (econmy for 2ppl - no biz availability) - using aa miles would i need to call in or can i book from aa.com
Etihad: DEL - AUH - JFK - (biz) i see availability, would i need to call in for this? what about adding a stop over - would agent be able to help me with that?
Flying two people from JFK to India 8/27-9/10/19
Qatar: JFK - DOH - ATQ (econmy for 2ppl - no biz availability) - using aa miles would i need to call in or can i book from aa.com
Etihad: DEL - AUH - JFK - (biz) i see availability, would i need to call in for this? what about adding a stop over - would agent be able to help me with that?
Jul 18, 2019, 11:46 am
#192
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Trying to book my first award tix and needed some help
Flying two people from JFK to India 8/27-9/10/19
Qatar: JFK - DOH - ATQ (econmy for 2ppl - no biz availability) - using aa miles would i need to call in or can i book from aa.com
Etihad: DEL - AUH - JFK - (biz) i see availability, would i need to call in for this? what about adding a stop over - would agent be able to help me with that?
Flying two people from JFK to India 8/27-9/10/19
Qatar: JFK - DOH - ATQ (econmy for 2ppl - no biz availability) - using aa miles would i need to call in or can i book from aa.com
Etihad: DEL - AUH - JFK - (biz) i see availability, would i need to call in for this? what about adding a stop over - would agent be able to help me with that?
Note that stopovers are not allowed using AA miles. For DEL-AUH-JFK, you have up to 24 hrs. to connect in AUH, anything over that and it would just have to be booked as 2 awards DEL-AUH + AUH-JFK.
All of the above can be accomplished by booking at aa.com, use the multi-city tool to search JFK-ATQ, DEL-AUH, AUH-JFK.
Jul 18, 2019, 11:49 am
#193
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,647
For booking on Etihad, take a look at this thread:
Jul 25, 2019, 4:16 pm
#194
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: AA EXP, HH Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 22
Hey folks!
This is more of a teach-me-to-fish (search) strategy question... I've read the Wiki, several of its child pages, and most of the 54 pages to date here, and am looking for your recommendations for prioritizing my searching time. Flexibility in travel plans is creating MANY combinations and making it challenging for this new user to plan award travel!
Goal: Italy in the Fall 2020
We two hope to take a two-or-three week honeymoon vacation flying First/Business class in the Fall 2020. We want to see Italy, but are flexible in arrival/departure cities. Being based out of San Diego, we can get to LAX easily, or to other hubs if need be, to support amazing awards. I'll have around 400k AAdvantage miles to spend on two people's travel, a premium EF subscription, and minimum PlatPro status in 2020 (possibly EXP, but mostly domestic work travel, so that bump to $15k might get me).
Planning: Identify best potential options
From reading the Wiki, since it's more than ~330 days out yet from a Sept-Nov 2020 time-frame departure... I can't check for awards in the time window yet, but I would like to get my ducks in a row for which Hubs/Routes are typically best for award travel.
Here are the routes I was planning to search:
Departure Locations (SAN, LAX, SFO, DFW, IAH, JFK, PHL, ORD, MIA, ?)
Arrival Locations (FCO, MXP, VCE, BGY, ?)
Carriers (AA, BA, IB, ?)
Execution: Woof, that's a lot... where to begin?
Across months of time, carriers, locations, and routings, the possible combinations seem endless! Can you advise on suggested days/routes/carriers to spend my time (and 200 EF standing queries) on, based on common successes or tacit knowledge of the routes? Or even better, take a generalist approach and describe how you'd go about searching, given the above goal - I'm happy to do the leg work with a bit of guidance.
Appreciate your time and insights,
Mike
This is more of a teach-me-to-fish (search) strategy question... I've read the Wiki, several of its child pages, and most of the 54 pages to date here, and am looking for your recommendations for prioritizing my searching time. Flexibility in travel plans is creating MANY combinations and making it challenging for this new user to plan award travel!
Goal: Italy in the Fall 2020
We two hope to take a two-or-three week honeymoon vacation flying First/Business class in the Fall 2020. We want to see Italy, but are flexible in arrival/departure cities. Being based out of San Diego, we can get to LAX easily, or to other hubs if need be, to support amazing awards. I'll have around 400k AAdvantage miles to spend on two people's travel, a premium EF subscription, and minimum PlatPro status in 2020 (possibly EXP, but mostly domestic work travel, so that bump to $15k might get me).
Planning: Identify best potential options
From reading the Wiki, since it's more than ~330 days out yet from a Sept-Nov 2020 time-frame departure... I can't check for awards in the time window yet, but I would like to get my ducks in a row for which Hubs/Routes are typically best for award travel.
Here are the routes I was planning to search:
Departure Locations (SAN, LAX, SFO, DFW, IAH, JFK, PHL, ORD, MIA, ?)
Arrival Locations (FCO, MXP, VCE, BGY, ?)
Carriers (AA, BA, IB, ?)
Execution: Woof, that's a lot... where to begin?
Across months of time, carriers, locations, and routings, the possible combinations seem endless! Can you advise on suggested days/routes/carriers to spend my time (and 200 EF standing queries) on, based on common successes or tacit knowledge of the routes? Or even better, take a generalist approach and describe how you'd go about searching, given the above goal - I'm happy to do the leg work with a bit of guidance.
Appreciate your time and insights,
Mike
Jul 25, 2019, 4:20 pm
#195
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 315
Mike, I agree it can be overwhelming. However it is what I do every time. It takes a lot of time, and over a sustained period of time. And IMO the tools that you can subscribe to still don't help much for a single individual. If your time is valuable and you don't consider it a funny hobby, I would pay one of the consultants to do it for you.