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
Dec 5, 2019, 11:41 am
#361
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: UA Premier Gold, Starwood Gold, Plat AE, CO PP MC, Marriott Rewards Plat, Virgin Elevate Gold
Posts: 1,416
Dec 5, 2019, 6:12 pm
#362
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
We are having a horrible time returning on AA from the Croatia/Slovenia area late next October even though AA haa the new PHL routes to that area. The only good thing we found is BA charges only 1/2 the fees coming from Europe versus going to Europe.That could be our last resort to return home (BZN). Should I keep using both the old and new search tool to cast a wider net for AA business saver awards?
Dec 6, 2019, 12:00 pm
#363
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 138
Venice might be the answer but BA fees are killers
While our trip ends in Zagreb, Croatia we do have a 5 day hold to leave from Venice. What is more fun than a long bus trip at the end of vacation. We do have a J hold but fees are around $800 ouch. A very friendly AA operator said while there is no rhyme nor reason on Saver awards we may want to bite the bullet and grab the BA saver business for over the ocean using our AA miles. She reminded us if a better flight ever comes up it may be worth grabbing it and then paying the $175 total cancel fee. Also she said if we find better options on the exact same route- including using BA for the first leg- than we could change for free and get a chuck of the BA fees refunded. She also agreed that may take a miracle. Anyhow $800 for 2 for a 10 hour business flight over the ocean still is a deal.
Dec 6, 2019, 1:02 pm
#364
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: AA, UA, GE
Posts: 5,123
While our trip ends in Zagreb, Croatia we do have a 5 day hold to leave from Venice. What is more fun than a long bus trip at the end of vacation. We do have a J hold but fees are around $800 ouch. A very friendly AA operator said while there is no rhyme nor reason on Saver awards we may want to bite the bullet and grab the BA saver business for over the ocean using our AA miles. She reminded us if a better flight ever comes up it may be worth grabbing it and then paying the $175 total cancel fee. Also she said if we find better options on the exact same route- including using BA for the first leg- than we could change for free and get a chuck of the BA fees refunded. She also agreed that may take a miracle. Anyhow $800 for 2 for a 10 hour business flight over the ocean still is a deal.
Dec 6, 2019, 1:42 pm
#365
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
While our trip ends in Zagreb, Croatia we do have a 5 day hold to leave from Venice. What is more fun than a long bus trip at the end of vacation. We do have a J hold but fees are around $800 ouch. A very friendly AA operator said while there is no rhyme nor reason on Saver awards we may want to bite the bullet and grab the BA saver business for over the ocean using our AA miles. She reminded us if a better flight ever comes up it may be worth grabbing it and then paying the $175 total cancel fee. Also she said if we find better options on the exact same route- including using BA for the first leg- than we could change for free and get a chuck of the BA fees refunded. She also agreed that may take a miracle. Anyhow $800 for 2 for a 10 hour business flight over the ocean still is a deal.
If a better option opens up on AA metal, just call AA to switch (don't book a separate reservation then cancel your existing BA reservation resulting in the $175 fee). There is no fee to change an award as long as your origin and destination remain the same, and all carriers remain oneworld. The routing most definitely does not have to be the same.
So if you book say VCE-LHR-ORD on BA now, and later VCE-ORD opens up on AA, there is no fee to change, and you will be refunded all of the ripoff BA surcharges.
Dec 8, 2019, 12:02 pm
#366
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: On strike
Posts: 8,135
If your trip already includes a stay in Ljubljana, consider rejiggering the itinerary to visit after Zagreb instead. I can think of few places I’d rather spend the last part of a trip in Central Europe. YMMV.
Also, consider flying back in Y on AA if there’s space. We always book J eastbound to get real sleep, but unless you’re a large person physically uncomfortable in Y, why not just book there, save a few miles, and spend your time reading a book or watching a few movies? Tastes vary, of course, but I don’t find TATL Y all that bad during waking hours.
Dec 8, 2019, 12:12 pm
#367
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 506
Hi, I searched but could not find a clear answer:
I found a round-trip ticket where one-way is a sAAver but the other way is not. I currently have this trip on hold.
I understand that AA awards are booked as one-ways. However...
I want to get a reduced mileage award on the one-way that has SAAver availability. However, the complete trip is within the close-in period so I don't want to pay the $75 close-in booking fee twice. Is there a way that I can get the reduced mileage award while only paying the close-in booking fee once?
It was suggested to me that I could call in and get the sAAver award reduced while keeping the trip on hold, then I could hang up and complete the booking online. This way I would get the reduced mileage award while only paying the $75 fee once.
Thank you in advance!
I found a round-trip ticket where one-way is a sAAver but the other way is not. I currently have this trip on hold.
I understand that AA awards are booked as one-ways. However...
I want to get a reduced mileage award on the one-way that has SAAver availability. However, the complete trip is within the close-in period so I don't want to pay the $75 close-in booking fee twice. Is there a way that I can get the reduced mileage award while only paying the close-in booking fee once?
It was suggested to me that I could call in and get the sAAver award reduced while keeping the trip on hold, then I could hang up and complete the booking online. This way I would get the reduced mileage award while only paying the $75 fee once.
Thank you in advance!
Dec 8, 2019, 6:50 pm
#368
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,588
To answer my own question: I called in and the agent would not take care of me. The agent put me on hold then came back and said I would have to pay $75 fee twice. I did not HUCA as I didn't feel it was worth the trouble for this segment. If you HUCA enough times you may be able to accomplish it.
Dec 10, 2019, 11:02 am
#369
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Philadelphia
Programs: HH Diamond, IHG Plat, SPG & Marriott Gold, CC Silver
Posts: 541
So I have a ticketed award itinerary PHL-AMS-LHR-SOF for next May/June. The reason for the extra segments is that LHR-SOF is only once a day, and o/n flights arrive too late in the morning to catch it. Since we had to layover, we were going to spend the day in Amsterdam.
Unfortunately, BA has switched their once a day flight from 7:45a to 2:40p! This changeover happens on 6/1. On 5/31, the flight is still a morning flight (although still too early to connect same day).
Before I call, what are my options if I don't want to accept a sucky layover at LHR? Will I still need to find award space or will they be more flexible since it is such a large time change? Is there ever a waiver of the <23:59 layover restriction? (There are several later morning flights out of AMS, but they are >24 hrs.)
I've looked at my options at both AMS and LHR and most are impossible due to being over 23:59. Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately, BA has switched their once a day flight from 7:45a to 2:40p! This changeover happens on 6/1. On 5/31, the flight is still a morning flight (although still too early to connect same day).
Before I call, what are my options if I don't want to accept a sucky layover at LHR? Will I still need to find award space or will they be more flexible since it is such a large time change? Is there ever a waiver of the <23:59 layover restriction? (There are several later morning flights out of AMS, but they are >24 hrs.)
I've looked at my options at both AMS and LHR and most are impossible due to being over 23:59. Thanks in advance.
Dec 10, 2019, 11:25 am
#370
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,438
I doubt an AA agent will re-ticket me onto AA flights just because BA moved me up 10 minutes. If they change me by a couple of hours, however, I'd make the call.
Dec 10, 2019, 11:27 am
#371
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
So I have a ticketed award itinerary PHL-AMS-LHR-SOF for next May/June. The reason for the extra segments is that LHR-SOF is only once a day, and o/n flights arrive too late in the morning to catch it. Since we had to layover, we were going to spend the day in Amsterdam.
Unfortunately, BA has switched their once a day flight from 7:45a to 2:40p! This changeover happens on 6/1. On 5/31, the flight is still a morning flight (although still too early to connect same day).
Before I call, what are my options if I don't want to accept a sucky layover at LHR? Will I still need to find award space or will they be more flexible since it is such a large time change? Is there ever a waiver of the <23:59 layover restriction? (There are several later morning flights out of AMS, but they are >24 hrs.)
I've looked at my options at both AMS and LHR and most are impossible due to being over 23:59. Thanks in advance.
Unfortunately, BA has switched their once a day flight from 7:45a to 2:40p! This changeover happens on 6/1. On 5/31, the flight is still a morning flight (although still too early to connect same day).
Before I call, what are my options if I don't want to accept a sucky layover at LHR? Will I still need to find award space or will they be more flexible since it is such a large time change? Is there ever a waiver of the <23:59 layover restriction? (There are several later morning flights out of AMS, but they are >24 hrs.)
I've looked at my options at both AMS and LHR and most are impossible due to being over 23:59. Thanks in advance.
Just so we understand correctly, previously you had PHL-AMS-LHR arriving in the evening at LHR, spending the night in London, then departing the next morning at 7:45a on LHR-SOF? And everything is still the same, except the LHR-SOF now departs at 2:40p?
If yes, then personally I would just enjoy the extra time in London, sleep in, eat breakfast, then head to the airport. In the case of schedule change issues you can definitely have connections over 24 hrs, so you could try and ask for a longer layover in AMS, however I wouldn't count on it.
Dec 10, 2019, 11:56 am
#372
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Philadelphia
Programs: HH Diamond, IHG Plat, SPG & Marriott Gold, CC Silver
Posts: 541
On such an odd-ball itinerary and on a route that's only served once a day your options are going to be few and far between.
Just so we understand correctly, previously you had PHL-AMS-LHR arriving in the evening at LHR, spending the night in London, then departing the next morning at 7:45a on LHR-SOF? And everything is still the same, except the LHR-SOF now departs at 2:40p?
If yes, then personally I would just enjoy the extra time in London, sleep in, eat breakfast, then head to the airport. In the case of schedule change issues you can definitely have connections over 24 hrs, so you could try and ask for a longer layover in AMS, however I wouldn't count on it.
Just so we understand correctly, previously you had PHL-AMS-LHR arriving in the evening at LHR, spending the night in London, then departing the next morning at 7:45a on LHR-SOF? And everything is still the same, except the LHR-SOF now departs at 2:40p?
If yes, then personally I would just enjoy the extra time in London, sleep in, eat breakfast, then head to the airport. In the case of schedule change issues you can definitely have connections over 24 hrs, so you could try and ask for a longer layover in AMS, however I wouldn't count on it.
Sat 5/30 6:50p-8:40a PHL-AMS (AA)
Sun 5/31 9:25p-9:40p AMS-LHR (BA)
Mon 6/1 7:45a-12:45p LHR-SOF (BA) <Itinerary entirely due to this flight time, because all AA PHL-LHR flights arrive after this departs.
It is now Mon 6/1 2:40p-7:50p LHR-SOF. That's not really "time in London"; with the time it takes to get to the city, we were already sleeping at Heathrow. At any rate, I want to know what my *other* options are, if I don't want to suck it up.
I'd be happy to drop AMS altogether, but with the BA flight now being in the afternoon, all of those connex PHL-LHR-SOF would be way over 24 hrs. You seem to be saying that is unlikely, so could you answer my other question? I wouldn't have asked in the past, but the "new" American seems to like making award travel difficult. I want to know if I have an uphill battle getting any reasonable accommodation so I'm prepared before I call.
Dec 10, 2019, 12:25 pm
#373
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: RDU <|> MMX
Programs: AA EXP 2MM, SK EBS
Posts: 12,483
Yes, the itinerary was:
Sat 5/30 6:50p-8:40a PHL-AMS (AA)
Sun 5/31 9:25p-9:40p AMS-LHR (BA)
Mon 6/1 7:45a-12:45p LHR-SOF (BA) <Itinerary entirely due to this flight time, because all AA PHL-LHR flights arrive after this departs.
It is now Mon 6/1 2:40p-7:50p LHR-SOF. That's not really "time in London"; with the time it takes to get to the city, we were already sleeping at Heathrow. At any rate, I want to know what my *other* options are, if I don't want to suck it up.
I'd be happy to drop AMS altogether, but with the BA flight now being in the afternoon, all of those connex PHL-LHR-SOF would be way over 24 hrs. You seem to be saying that is unlikely, so could you answer my other question? I wouldn't have asked in the past, but the "new" American seems to like making award travel difficult. I want to know if I have an uphill battle getting any reasonable accommodation so I'm prepared before I call.
Sat 5/30 6:50p-8:40a PHL-AMS (AA)
Sun 5/31 9:25p-9:40p AMS-LHR (BA)
Mon 6/1 7:45a-12:45p LHR-SOF (BA) <Itinerary entirely due to this flight time, because all AA PHL-LHR flights arrive after this departs.
It is now Mon 6/1 2:40p-7:50p LHR-SOF. That's not really "time in London"; with the time it takes to get to the city, we were already sleeping at Heathrow. At any rate, I want to know what my *other* options are, if I don't want to suck it up.
I'd be happy to drop AMS altogether, but with the BA flight now being in the afternoon, all of those connex PHL-LHR-SOF would be way over 24 hrs. You seem to be saying that is unlikely, so could you answer my other question? I wouldn't have asked in the past, but the "new" American seems to like making award travel difficult. I want to know if I have an uphill battle getting any reasonable accommodation so I'm prepared before I call.
You can try calling AA and asking them to move you to an AA operated PHL-LHR departing the next day 5/31. That way you would have a straight through PHL-LHR-SOF and no overnight layover.
Again, given the unique nature of your itinerary, and the fact that everything still works despite a longer layover, I'm guessing you will have a tough time, but you never know. You can always cancel and get all your miles refunded for free, and book something else that works better.
Dec 10, 2019, 1:25 pm
#374
Join Date: Sep 2018
Posts: 38
Yes, the itinerary was:
Sat 5/30 6:50p-8:40a PHL-AMS (AA)
Sun 5/31 9:25p-9:40p AMS-LHR (BA)
Mon 6/1 7:45a-12:45p LHR-SOF (BA) <Itinerary entirely due to this flight time, because all AA PHL-LHR flights arrive after this departs.
It is now Mon 6/1 2:40p-7:50p LHR-SOF. That's not really "time in London"; with the time it takes to get to the city, we were already sleeping at Heathrow. At any rate, I want to know what my *other* options are, if I don't want to suck it up.
I'd be happy to drop AMS altogether, but with the BA flight now being in the afternoon, all of those connex PHL-LHR-SOF would be way over 24 hrs. You seem to be saying that is unlikely, so could you answer my other question? I wouldn't have asked in the past, but the "new" American seems to like making award travel difficult. I want to know if I have an uphill battle getting any reasonable accommodation so I'm prepared before I call.
Sat 5/30 6:50p-8:40a PHL-AMS (AA)
Sun 5/31 9:25p-9:40p AMS-LHR (BA)
Mon 6/1 7:45a-12:45p LHR-SOF (BA) <Itinerary entirely due to this flight time, because all AA PHL-LHR flights arrive after this departs.
It is now Mon 6/1 2:40p-7:50p LHR-SOF. That's not really "time in London"; with the time it takes to get to the city, we were already sleeping at Heathrow. At any rate, I want to know what my *other* options are, if I don't want to suck it up.
I'd be happy to drop AMS altogether, but with the BA flight now being in the afternoon, all of those connex PHL-LHR-SOF would be way over 24 hrs. You seem to be saying that is unlikely, so could you answer my other question? I wouldn't have asked in the past, but the "new" American seems to like making award travel difficult. I want to know if I have an uphill battle getting any reasonable accommodation so I'm prepared before I call.
AA0728 flight.
PHL-LHR 5/31. 9:55PM- 10:20 AM
LHR-SOF 6/1 2:40-7:50
you won't have a >24 hour layover so it should work. and AA controls the PHL-LHR flight because it's AA metal so they can open it up no matter what.
You'll now have about a 4 hour layover in LHR before making your way to SOF.
Also that PHL-LHR flight is showing sAAver in Y. Not sure if you booked Y or J for this flight. so you shouldn't actually have any types of issues in you booked Y to eliminate the AMS segment.
Last edited by humbled_thoughts; Dec 10, 2019 at 1:31 pm
Dec 10, 2019, 4:09 pm
#375
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Philadelphia
Programs: HH Diamond, IHG Plat, SPG & Marriott Gold, CC Silver
Posts: 541
You both suggested leaving a day later, which hadn't even occurred to me because I'm thinking more about the destination than they layover (would rather have more time in Sofia than London). It's not my favorite, but I see that would eliminate a lot of the negatives. Thanks for pointing me that direction.
I'm actually going to try to leave a day earlier (5/29) on that same 9:55PM- 10:20 AM flight so that the layover in LHR is <24 hrs and we can get on the morning departure LHR-SOF 5/31. Probably harder to pull off since I need new BA flights as well as AA.
I'm actually going to try to leave a day earlier (5/29) on that same 9:55PM- 10:20 AM flight so that the layover in LHR is <24 hrs and we can get on the morning departure LHR-SOF 5/31. Probably harder to pull off since I need new BA flights as well as AA.