Feb 12, 2023, 11:58 pm
Last edit by: ZenFlyer
Welcome to the Rocketmiles/AAdvantage Hotels (ne BookAAHotels) Official Thread & Wiki!
reflecting July 2023 program changes
AAdvantage Hotels Customer Support phone # (844) 801-6778 and email is [email protected]
Posting times per the AA Hotels Platform FAQ: "Rewards typically post between 3-4 weeks after your stay is completed with the transaction date reflecting your check-in date. If booked through one of our suppliers that provide Pay Later rates (pay upon check-in), the rewards typically post within 4 6 weeks after your stay is completed."
Posting times per FT user experience: Varies greatly, and cyclically through the year, between several days to 6 weeks after checkout. Within 2 weeks after checkout is arguably "average" but YMMV greatly. Notwithstanding whatever wait you might have, the points will eventually post.
0. Why should I use RocketMiles over AAdvantage Hotels?
You shouldn't. There are no advantages to doing so unless you truly have no superior booking option. AAdvantage Hotels, now being on the same platform, is strictly better if your goal is AA LPs or AA RDM. (Note: RocketMiles, the engine for AAdvantage Hotels, is owned by Booking Holdings: https://about.rocketmiles.com/how-it-works who also owns Priceline, Agoda, Kayak, etc.)
1. Do base miles earned on AAdvantage Hotels count towards Loyalty Point earnings/status?
Yes - but any boost miles (miles purchased during checkout) only count as redeemable miles.
2. How can I maximize my AA earnings?
a. via AAHotels Customers who have AAdvantage elite status, and/or have any AA co-branded credit card earn significantly more LPs/RDMs per reservation. Customers who have either AA status OR an AA credit card will earn up to 5x more LPs/RDMs than the normal rate, while customers who have both AA status AND an AA credit card will earn up to 10x LPs/RDMs more than the normal rate (up to 15,000 LP max). The extra LP/RDM earnings for being an AA card holder apply whether or not you charge the reservation to your AA credit card. The total LPs/RDMs to be earned through AAHotels are reflected on your reservation and post to AA.com after your hotel stay, see questions 6 and 7 below.
b. via AA Loyalty Point Rewards Purchases made via AAHotels (and other "select partners") benefit from "Loyalty Point Reward" bonuses given to AAdvantage Members who reach certain LP thresholds (20% bonus for 6 months after achieving 60k LP; 30% for 6 months after achieving 100k LP). Further information on LP Reward bonuses here and on this FT thread. LP Reward bonuses do not generate additional RDMs. LP Reward bonuses will be added automatically to your total LP earnings when your hotel stay posts to AA.com, see questions 6 and 7 below.
c. via AA co-branded credit card You will also earn 1 LP and (generally) 1 RDM for every dollar charged to an AA credit card, as you would for any purchase. AA Hotels stays are not considered eligible AA purchases for purposes of increased miles earnings on AA credit cards. However, holders of the Citi AA Executive Mastercard will earn an additional 9x RDM per dollar spent on AAHotels (for a total of 10 RDM per dollar). LPs and RDMs earned by credit card spend, including the 9x bonus RDMs earned by Executive cardolders, will post to AA.com after statement closing.
2a. If I'm approved for an AA credit card, how long will it take for my "AA Cardholder" status to be updated on the Book AA Hotels website? YMMV. Reports here have varied from 1 day to several weeks. Citi appears to be faster than Barclay's.
3. What is the max LPs for a booking?
You can earn up to 15,000 LPs max per booking. During the checkout process you will be offered an opportunity purchase additional miles (aka "boost"), but boost miles only add RDM to your earnings, not LPs.
4. What hotels earn miles?
Since July 2023, all hotels on AAdvantage Hotels earn miles. The total will be listed on the search page and you can sort results to find the highest earning hotel for your particular journey parameters.
5. Can I earn miles booking for someone else?
Since July 2023, the booking name must match the name of the AAdvantage account attached to the AAdvantage Hotel account to earn miles. This is further specified in the T&C.
6. Are points awarded based on check-in or check-out date?
Check-in date.
7. How quickly do points post?
Expect points to post approximately 2 weeks after check-out. If points have not posted within a month, contact AAdvantage Hotels customer support.
8. I'm having an issue with my booking. Who should I contact?
If it is an issue regarding the property directly, contact the hotel you've booked with. If the issue is with points or booking, contact AAdvantage Hotels/Booking.com. If a bonus earning has not been properly applied, contact AAdvantage Customer Service. If an issue requires escalation, contact Booking.com through the following channel: [email protected].
9. Will I earn hotel points or get hotel elite benefits in my hotel loyalty program if I book thru Rocketmiles/AAdvantage Hotels?
Unlikely, but occasionally people have posted they got elite benefits or a mistaken hotel credit. Since a hotel room booked thru RM/AA hotels is a 3rd party booking, most hotel stay programs exclude giving any credits or benefit for stays booked thru methods like this. Expect to earn nothing and get no benefits. Anything extra is a nice surprise. You can ask the hotel to add your hotel membership number to your reservation at some point such as before your stay or in person once you arrive, but be prepared for a firm "No."
WARNING: ALL INFORMATION FROM THIS POINT FORWARD REFLECTS THE PROGRAM AS IT EXISTED AS OF 7/13/23. THIS INFORMATION IS HERE PURELY FOR THOSE WITH EXISTING BOOKINGS. IF YOU HAVE QUERIES ABOUT THE CURRENT PROGRAM, PLEASE SCROLL UP.
This Wiki will be built out over time. To begin, we are going to cover a list of the most frequently asked questions in this thread. Over time, we expect to add to this guide with official information from Booking and/or AA, as well as guides on how to best optimise your earning on these wonderful platforms.
1a. Do the points earned on RM/BAAH count towards my annual qualification as Loyalty Points (LPs)?
Yes - the points earned for your booking, as well as the paid multiplier points, are both referred to (and post as) "base miles". This means they count towards your annual status progression.
1b. Which hotels on RM/BAAH earn Loyalty Points?
For RocketMiles, this is easy: once you have selected AA as your frequent flyer program, all hotels that show up in the search results will earn LPs.
The BookAAHotels interface is more complicated -- some hotels that show up in the search results will not earn LPs. LP-earning hotels will have a banner in the search results saying "Earn XX,XXX Base Miles"; no banner means no LPs. Also, before checking out make sure that the "Price Summary" states how many Base Miles (LPs) will be earned after your stay. If no base mile earnings are indicated, you may have accidentally toggled over to the regular Booking.com site, where you will not earn LPs.
2. Do points post quickly after check out?
Forum Experience: For pre-paid stays, reported posting times have varied between several days after checkout and several weeks. Post-paid stays can take up to 8 weeks to post, as their posting is dependent on communication between the hotel and Booking.com/RM/BAAH.
What BAAH and RM say: For BAAH -- "3-4 weeks". For RM -- "typically within 2 weeks after your stay is completed"" or 6-8 weeks if made through Booking.com
3. For what date will the points for a hotel stay count? If I need points by Feb 28, when should I stay at a hotel?
Forum Experience: As of February 2023, RocketMiles.com appears to post stays on AA as the date of check-out. BookAAHotels, however, appears to post stays as of the date of check-in. So if one is looking to lock in miles for February to count for the qualification period, ensure that your check-out is before the 28th of February and that your stay is pre-paid. This way you are assured of your points posting, regardless of platform, and counting towards qualification before your status drops after March ends.
Per AA.com: "Purchases made with your AAdvantage credit card will count based on the date the activity posts to your AAdvantage account. All other flight and partner transactions will count based on the activity date of the flight or other transaction." (emphasis added). See Aadvantage FAQs linked here
4. I cannot check-out on RocketMiles - help!
First of all, this isn't a question. Second of all, don't fret. There are at least two class of processing problems known on the RM platform. To solve the majority of them, follow these diagnostic pathways:
0. Clear your cache, disable ....... and JS-script blocking software, and turn off your VPN.
1. Try again with the desired credit card but dont fill out any of the optional information on the address section, only whats required. There is a known system with how they handle this info.
1a. Do as above but use your full zip code (this means the 5 required digits and the trailing 4 digits). You can look up your full ZIP here.
2. Push it all the way to the dev team by contacting support via phone. The agent will put you on hold while they reset part of their system.
3. Use another card and keep trying the first card on subsequent purchases until it works again.
If none of the above work, your problem may be related to your account/card being blocked by Booking.com. To alleviate this, contact [email protected]
While this may not work to correct checkout issues on both sites, you should at least now be able to use RM.
5. My stays haven't posted and it has been well past one week (for pre-paids) or eight weeks (for post-paids)!
Call the phone number for RM/BAAH and ask for a manager who can change the status on your stays to approved. Every legitimate stay should then be caught in the next cycle. You may receive duplicate emails about previous stays which already posted; sadly, you will not get double miles but this is a positive sign that your oustanding stays have been successfully processed.
6. How many cents per mile is a good rate?
Ultimately this is up to you. However, at the moment, it appears that RM/BAAH have a floor on their miles at around 2.15 cents per mile. The general consensus on FT seems to be that if you can secure a hotel at 2.5 cents per mile, you have done well.
7. Do I need to stay at a hotel to get points?
As long as it is a pre-paid stay, you will receive the points regardless of your presence at the hotel.
8. Will I have to pay the check-in resort fee if I "no show" the stay?
We only have one report of this happening; however, it is not standard practice for RTI (Booking.com) to pass pre-paid credit card details to the stays, so as-of-now the forum is skeptical of this report without further information.
9. Do I get more miles for selecting a better room?
Unfortunately not. The miles are set on a per-location basis; the only way to get more points is to pay for the multiplier/bonus points. Any more expensive rooms will simply mean you're paying more per-mile on your stay.
10. What is the best way to contact the two sites?
E-mail is always the first line of defense. If you fail to get a response within 48 hours (unless this is extremely time sensitive - then call first) then proceed to the phone line. Do note that many of the agents are extremely new or unfamiliar with certain aspects of the program, so be judicious in utilizing your two best friends: the manager and HUACA (hang up and call again).
11. Why can't I contact AA if I have issues?
They don't run the sites. Booking.com does. If you are having a REAL issue (that is, not that your miles didnt post 15 minutes after checkout, but a technical problem, etc.) a recommended point of contact is [email protected].
12. How do I view only the hotels that award miles on BAAH?
You can't.
13. How do I sort hotels by most points awarded on BAAH?
You can't.
14. How can I see the total stay cost on BAAH on the search screen (as on RM)?
You can't.
15. So then why should I use BAAH?
You shouldn't.
OK, this is a bit of a lie. It is often the occasion that BAAH will offer a slightly higher mileage reward or a hotel that isn't present on RM. Most users will find their target hotel on RM and then do a final sanity check on BAAH to make sure they aren't ignoring a better deal. We certainly recommend this until the UI/UX experience on BAAH is improved.
Also (new in 2023) BAAH is a "select partner" that benefits from LP bonuses (20% for 6 months after achieving 60k LP; 30% for 6 months after achieving 100k LP). RM is not a "select partner" so no bonus LP will be awarded. Note that the bonus is LP only (no bonus RDM are awarded). Although there as some data points with members receiving LP bonuses for the actual stay that put them over the bonus level, AA's official response has been that you'll only receive the bonus LPs for stays completed after you achieve the new bonus level.
16. Can I book a room for someone else but still get the miles in my account?
Yes, if you book through RM. No, if you book through BAAH.
Also, both RM and BAAH will let you book multiple rooms under a single reservation, but the rooms will all be non-refundable. (Booking a single room shows refundable options.)
17. Which year will my LPs count for if I check in a hotel in February but check out in March?
RM stays have their posting date effective the check OUT date.
BAAH stays have their posting date effective the check IN date.
Given the LP program is new for 2022, we assume AA will treat hotel bookings from BAAH and RM the same as a flight taken on Feb 28: LPs will count effective for the date of the posting from RM or BAAH, not the date your account actually gets miles added. Will be updated in March once we have reports
18. Will I earn points in my hotel loyalty program if I book thru RM or BAAH?
Unlikely, but occasionally people have posted they got elite benefits or a mistaken hotel credit, but it's a 3rd party booking, so most hotel stay programs exclude earning for stays booked thru methods like this. Expect to earn nothing and get no benefits. Anything extra is a nice surprise.
reflecting July 2023 program changes
AAdvantage Hotels Customer Support phone # (844) 801-6778 and email is [email protected]
Posting times per the AA Hotels Platform FAQ: "Rewards typically post between 3-4 weeks after your stay is completed with the transaction date reflecting your check-in date. If booked through one of our suppliers that provide Pay Later rates (pay upon check-in), the rewards typically post within 4 6 weeks after your stay is completed."
Posting times per FT user experience: Varies greatly, and cyclically through the year, between several days to 6 weeks after checkout. Within 2 weeks after checkout is arguably "average" but YMMV greatly. Notwithstanding whatever wait you might have, the points will eventually post.
0. Why should I use RocketMiles over AAdvantage Hotels?
You shouldn't. There are no advantages to doing so unless you truly have no superior booking option. AAdvantage Hotels, now being on the same platform, is strictly better if your goal is AA LPs or AA RDM. (Note: RocketMiles, the engine for AAdvantage Hotels, is owned by Booking Holdings: https://about.rocketmiles.com/how-it-works who also owns Priceline, Agoda, Kayak, etc.)
1. Do base miles earned on AAdvantage Hotels count towards Loyalty Point earnings/status?
Yes - but any boost miles (miles purchased during checkout) only count as redeemable miles.
2. How can I maximize my AA earnings?
a. via AAHotels Customers who have AAdvantage elite status, and/or have any AA co-branded credit card earn significantly more LPs/RDMs per reservation. Customers who have either AA status OR an AA credit card will earn up to 5x more LPs/RDMs than the normal rate, while customers who have both AA status AND an AA credit card will earn up to 10x LPs/RDMs more than the normal rate (up to 15,000 LP max). The extra LP/RDM earnings for being an AA card holder apply whether or not you charge the reservation to your AA credit card. The total LPs/RDMs to be earned through AAHotels are reflected on your reservation and post to AA.com after your hotel stay, see questions 6 and 7 below.
b. via AA Loyalty Point Rewards Purchases made via AAHotels (and other "select partners") benefit from "Loyalty Point Reward" bonuses given to AAdvantage Members who reach certain LP thresholds (20% bonus for 6 months after achieving 60k LP; 30% for 6 months after achieving 100k LP). Further information on LP Reward bonuses here and on this FT thread. LP Reward bonuses do not generate additional RDMs. LP Reward bonuses will be added automatically to your total LP earnings when your hotel stay posts to AA.com, see questions 6 and 7 below.
c. via AA co-branded credit card You will also earn 1 LP and (generally) 1 RDM for every dollar charged to an AA credit card, as you would for any purchase. AA Hotels stays are not considered eligible AA purchases for purposes of increased miles earnings on AA credit cards. However, holders of the Citi AA Executive Mastercard will earn an additional 9x RDM per dollar spent on AAHotels (for a total of 10 RDM per dollar). LPs and RDMs earned by credit card spend, including the 9x bonus RDMs earned by Executive cardolders, will post to AA.com after statement closing.
You can earn up to 15,000 LPs max per booking. During the checkout process you will be offered an opportunity purchase additional miles (aka "boost"), but boost miles only add RDM to your earnings, not LPs.
4. What hotels earn miles?
Since July 2023, all hotels on AAdvantage Hotels earn miles. The total will be listed on the search page and you can sort results to find the highest earning hotel for your particular journey parameters.
5. Can I earn miles booking for someone else?
Since July 2023, the booking name must match the name of the AAdvantage account attached to the AAdvantage Hotel account to earn miles. This is further specified in the T&C.
6. Are points awarded based on check-in or check-out date?
Check-in date.
7. How quickly do points post?
Expect points to post approximately 2 weeks after check-out. If points have not posted within a month, contact AAdvantage Hotels customer support.
8. I'm having an issue with my booking. Who should I contact?
If it is an issue regarding the property directly, contact the hotel you've booked with. If the issue is with points or booking, contact AAdvantage Hotels/Booking.com. If a bonus earning has not been properly applied, contact AAdvantage Customer Service. If an issue requires escalation, contact Booking.com through the following channel: [email protected].
9. Will I earn hotel points or get hotel elite benefits in my hotel loyalty program if I book thru Rocketmiles/AAdvantage Hotels?
Unlikely, but occasionally people have posted they got elite benefits or a mistaken hotel credit. Since a hotel room booked thru RM/AA hotels is a 3rd party booking, most hotel stay programs exclude giving any credits or benefit for stays booked thru methods like this. Expect to earn nothing and get no benefits. Anything extra is a nice surprise. You can ask the hotel to add your hotel membership number to your reservation at some point such as before your stay or in person once you arrive, but be prepared for a firm "No."
WARNING: ALL INFORMATION FROM THIS POINT FORWARD REFLECTS THE PROGRAM AS IT EXISTED AS OF 7/13/23. THIS INFORMATION IS HERE PURELY FOR THOSE WITH EXISTING BOOKINGS. IF YOU HAVE QUERIES ABOUT THE CURRENT PROGRAM, PLEASE SCROLL UP.
This Wiki will be built out over time. To begin, we are going to cover a list of the most frequently asked questions in this thread. Over time, we expect to add to this guide with official information from Booking and/or AA, as well as guides on how to best optimise your earning on these wonderful platforms.
1a. Do the points earned on RM/BAAH count towards my annual qualification as Loyalty Points (LPs)?
Yes - the points earned for your booking, as well as the paid multiplier points, are both referred to (and post as) "base miles". This means they count towards your annual status progression.
1b. Which hotels on RM/BAAH earn Loyalty Points?
For RocketMiles, this is easy: once you have selected AA as your frequent flyer program, all hotels that show up in the search results will earn LPs.
The BookAAHotels interface is more complicated -- some hotels that show up in the search results will not earn LPs. LP-earning hotels will have a banner in the search results saying "Earn XX,XXX Base Miles"; no banner means no LPs. Also, before checking out make sure that the "Price Summary" states how many Base Miles (LPs) will be earned after your stay. If no base mile earnings are indicated, you may have accidentally toggled over to the regular Booking.com site, where you will not earn LPs.
2. Do points post quickly after check out?
Forum Experience: For pre-paid stays, reported posting times have varied between several days after checkout and several weeks. Post-paid stays can take up to 8 weeks to post, as their posting is dependent on communication between the hotel and Booking.com/RM/BAAH.
What BAAH and RM say: For BAAH -- "3-4 weeks". For RM -- "typically within 2 weeks after your stay is completed"" or 6-8 weeks if made through Booking.com
3. For what date will the points for a hotel stay count? If I need points by Feb 28, when should I stay at a hotel?
Forum Experience: As of February 2023, RocketMiles.com appears to post stays on AA as the date of check-out. BookAAHotels, however, appears to post stays as of the date of check-in. So if one is looking to lock in miles for February to count for the qualification period, ensure that your check-out is before the 28th of February and that your stay is pre-paid. This way you are assured of your points posting, regardless of platform, and counting towards qualification before your status drops after March ends.
Per AA.com: "Purchases made with your AAdvantage credit card will count based on the date the activity posts to your AAdvantage account. All other flight and partner transactions will count based on the activity date of the flight or other transaction." (emphasis added). See Aadvantage FAQs linked here
4. I cannot check-out on RocketMiles - help!
First of all, this isn't a question. Second of all, don't fret. There are at least two class of processing problems known on the RM platform. To solve the majority of them, follow these diagnostic pathways:
0. Clear your cache, disable ....... and JS-script blocking software, and turn off your VPN.
1. Try again with the desired credit card but dont fill out any of the optional information on the address section, only whats required. There is a known system with how they handle this info.
1a. Do as above but use your full zip code (this means the 5 required digits and the trailing 4 digits). You can look up your full ZIP here.
2. Push it all the way to the dev team by contacting support via phone. The agent will put you on hold while they reset part of their system.
3. Use another card and keep trying the first card on subsequent purchases until it works again.
If none of the above work, your problem may be related to your account/card being blocked by Booking.com. To alleviate this, contact [email protected]
While this may not work to correct checkout issues on both sites, you should at least now be able to use RM.
5. My stays haven't posted and it has been well past one week (for pre-paids) or eight weeks (for post-paids)!
Call the phone number for RM/BAAH and ask for a manager who can change the status on your stays to approved. Every legitimate stay should then be caught in the next cycle. You may receive duplicate emails about previous stays which already posted; sadly, you will not get double miles but this is a positive sign that your oustanding stays have been successfully processed.
6. How many cents per mile is a good rate?
Ultimately this is up to you. However, at the moment, it appears that RM/BAAH have a floor on their miles at around 2.15 cents per mile. The general consensus on FT seems to be that if you can secure a hotel at 2.5 cents per mile, you have done well.
7. Do I need to stay at a hotel to get points?
As long as it is a pre-paid stay, you will receive the points regardless of your presence at the hotel.
8. Will I have to pay the check-in resort fee if I "no show" the stay?
We only have one report of this happening; however, it is not standard practice for RTI (Booking.com) to pass pre-paid credit card details to the stays, so as-of-now the forum is skeptical of this report without further information.
9. Do I get more miles for selecting a better room?
Unfortunately not. The miles are set on a per-location basis; the only way to get more points is to pay for the multiplier/bonus points. Any more expensive rooms will simply mean you're paying more per-mile on your stay.
10. What is the best way to contact the two sites?
E-mail is always the first line of defense. If you fail to get a response within 48 hours (unless this is extremely time sensitive - then call first) then proceed to the phone line. Do note that many of the agents are extremely new or unfamiliar with certain aspects of the program, so be judicious in utilizing your two best friends: the manager and HUACA (hang up and call again).
11. Why can't I contact AA if I have issues?
They don't run the sites. Booking.com does. If you are having a REAL issue (that is, not that your miles didnt post 15 minutes after checkout, but a technical problem, etc.) a recommended point of contact is [email protected].
12. How do I view only the hotels that award miles on BAAH?
You can't.
13. How do I sort hotels by most points awarded on BAAH?
You can't.
14. How can I see the total stay cost on BAAH on the search screen (as on RM)?
You can't.
15. So then why should I use BAAH?
You shouldn't.
OK, this is a bit of a lie. It is often the occasion that BAAH will offer a slightly higher mileage reward or a hotel that isn't present on RM. Most users will find their target hotel on RM and then do a final sanity check on BAAH to make sure they aren't ignoring a better deal. We certainly recommend this until the UI/UX experience on BAAH is improved.
Also (new in 2023) BAAH is a "select partner" that benefits from LP bonuses (20% for 6 months after achieving 60k LP; 30% for 6 months after achieving 100k LP). RM is not a "select partner" so no bonus LP will be awarded. Note that the bonus is LP only (no bonus RDM are awarded). Although there as some data points with members receiving LP bonuses for the actual stay that put them over the bonus level, AA's official response has been that you'll only receive the bonus LPs for stays completed after you achieve the new bonus level.
16. Can I book a room for someone else but still get the miles in my account?
Yes, if you book through RM. No, if you book through BAAH.
Also, both RM and BAAH will let you book multiple rooms under a single reservation, but the rooms will all be non-refundable. (Booking a single room shows refundable options.)
17. Which year will my LPs count for if I check in a hotel in February but check out in March?
RM stays have their posting date effective the check OUT date.
BAAH stays have their posting date effective the check IN date.
Given the LP program is new for 2022, we assume AA will treat hotel bookings from BAAH and RM the same as a flight taken on Feb 28: LPs will count effective for the date of the posting from RM or BAAH, not the date your account actually gets miles added. Will be updated in March once we have reports
18. Will I earn points in my hotel loyalty program if I book thru RM or BAAH?
Unlikely, but occasionally people have posted they got elite benefits or a mistaken hotel credit, but it's a 3rd party booking, so most hotel stay programs exclude earning for stays booked thru methods like this. Expect to earn nothing and get no benefits. Anything extra is a nice surprise.
AAdvantageHotels vs RocketMiles - useability, experiences, questions, data points
Mar 25, 2024, 1:00 pm
#4216
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: PHX
Programs: AAdvantage EP
Posts: 51
Speaking of Pay Later hotels, I have an odd one - a stay I booked for August, in Brazil, using the AAdvantage Hotels portal like normal; it shows as a booking in the hotels portal, but unlike the other bookings I have in the future, there is no option for viewing the receipt (surely because there's been no payment yet). However, the booking also appears in Booking.com. I never visited Booking.com in regards to making this reservation, but it's there. I know the companies are under the same umbrella so that's not too odd but I had never seen it before.
The odd part is that I was contacted by the hotel, through the Booking.com email system, asking me for a deposit of one night's rate, paid via Brazilian bank transfer - which are common there, but not for us from here. My wife is Brazilian and called the hotel directly to ask directly about that because it felt very scammy, especially since the reservation was already guaranteed through Booking.com with my card info there.
They convinced her that the deposit was the necessary step to actually reserving the room, which is a PITA but since she still has a Brazilian bank account, it wasn't hard to do, and there is a transaction history. But that transaction does not show up on the Booking.com reservation. Now the question is, if we have to cancel, which is allowed up until the week of the stay, but we have paid the deposit not through Booking, but directly to the hotel, how does that get unwound? She's going to call today and ask those specifics and argue the point that it all feels very unnecessary when they've chosen to manage bookings through a portal such as Booking.com who guarantees it themselves.
Just a rambling DP on the most convoluted booking I've ever made through the AAdvantage Hotels portal.
Edit: I suppose all of this is simply because we didn't actually book the room on AAdvantage Hotels, we only reserved it; so the payment happens elsewhere; it's just a much more complicated scenario than any others I've done on the portal before.
The odd part is that I was contacted by the hotel, through the Booking.com email system, asking me for a deposit of one night's rate, paid via Brazilian bank transfer - which are common there, but not for us from here. My wife is Brazilian and called the hotel directly to ask directly about that because it felt very scammy, especially since the reservation was already guaranteed through Booking.com with my card info there.
They convinced her that the deposit was the necessary step to actually reserving the room, which is a PITA but since she still has a Brazilian bank account, it wasn't hard to do, and there is a transaction history. But that transaction does not show up on the Booking.com reservation. Now the question is, if we have to cancel, which is allowed up until the week of the stay, but we have paid the deposit not through Booking, but directly to the hotel, how does that get unwound? She's going to call today and ask those specifics and argue the point that it all feels very unnecessary when they've chosen to manage bookings through a portal such as Booking.com who guarantees it themselves.
Just a rambling DP on the most convoluted booking I've ever made through the AAdvantage Hotels portal.
Edit: I suppose all of this is simply because we didn't actually book the room on AAdvantage Hotels, we only reserved it; so the payment happens elsewhere; it's just a much more complicated scenario than any others I've done on the portal before.
Last edited by mikeFT; Mar 25, 2024 at 1:12 pm Reason: Corrections and the Edit addition
Mar 25, 2024, 9:36 pm
#4217
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,334
Speaking of Pay Later hotels, I have an odd one - a stay I booked for August, in Brazil, using the AAdvantage Hotels portal like normal; it shows as a booking in the hotels portal, but unlike the other bookings I have in the future, there is no option for viewing the receipt (surely because there's been no payment yet). However, the booking also appears in Booking.com. I never visited Booking.com in regards to making this reservation, but it's there. I know the companies are under the same umbrella so that's not too odd but I had never seen it before.
The odd part is that I was contacted by the hotel, through the Booking.com email system, asking me for a deposit of one night's rate, paid via Brazilian bank transfer - which are common there, but not for us from here. My wife is Brazilian and called the hotel directly to ask directly about that because it felt very scammy, especially since the reservation was already guaranteed through Booking.com with my card info there.
They convinced her that the deposit was the necessary step to actually reserving the room, which is a PITA but since she still has a Brazilian bank account, it wasn't hard to do, and there is a transaction history. But that transaction does not show up on the Booking.com reservation. Now the question is, if we have to cancel, which is allowed up until the week of the stay, but we have paid the deposit not through Booking, but directly to the hotel, how does that get unwound? She's going to call today and ask those specifics and argue the point that it all feels very unnecessary when they've chosen to manage bookings through a portal such as Booking.com who guarantees it themselves.
Just a rambling DP on the most convoluted booking I've ever made through the AAdvantage Hotels portal.
Edit: I suppose all of this is simply because we didn't actually book the room on AAdvantage Hotels, we only reserved it; so the payment happens elsewhere; it's just a much more complicated scenario than any others I've done on the portal before.
The odd part is that I was contacted by the hotel, through the Booking.com email system, asking me for a deposit of one night's rate, paid via Brazilian bank transfer - which are common there, but not for us from here. My wife is Brazilian and called the hotel directly to ask directly about that because it felt very scammy, especially since the reservation was already guaranteed through Booking.com with my card info there.
They convinced her that the deposit was the necessary step to actually reserving the room, which is a PITA but since she still has a Brazilian bank account, it wasn't hard to do, and there is a transaction history. But that transaction does not show up on the Booking.com reservation. Now the question is, if we have to cancel, which is allowed up until the week of the stay, but we have paid the deposit not through Booking, but directly to the hotel, how does that get unwound? She's going to call today and ask those specifics and argue the point that it all feels very unnecessary when they've chosen to manage bookings through a portal such as Booking.com who guarantees it themselves.
Just a rambling DP on the most convoluted booking I've ever made through the AAdvantage Hotels portal.
Edit: I suppose all of this is simply because we didn't actually book the room on AAdvantage Hotels, we only reserved it; so the payment happens elsewhere; it's just a much more complicated scenario than any others I've done on the portal before.
just google "booking.com scam emails"
don't send any money to the people who have contacted you. speak directly with the hotel and don't use any numbers or emails in the message you received.
your reservation is with booking.com and is safe, but if you send money in addition to arrangements made with booking.com/aa hotels, you'll likely never see the money again and it most certainly will NOT be applied to your stay.
be careful!
Mar 25, 2024, 11:26 pm
#4218
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: PHX
Programs: AAdvantage EP
Posts: 51
this is likely a scam. Booking.com has been the victim of hackers doing the exact thing you were contacted about.
just google "booking.com scam emails"
don't send any money to the people who have contacted you. speak directly with the hotel and don't use any numbers or emails in the message you received.
your reservation is with booking.com and is safe, but if you send money in addition to arrangements made with booking.com/aa hotels, you'll likely never see the money again and it most certainly will NOT be applied to your stay.
be careful!
just google "booking.com scam emails"
don't send any money to the people who have contacted you. speak directly with the hotel and don't use any numbers or emails in the message you received.
your reservation is with booking.com and is safe, but if you send money in addition to arrangements made with booking.com/aa hotels, you'll likely never see the money again and it most certainly will NOT be applied to your stay.
be careful!
I wouldn't even mention it if we booked directly and the hotel themselves asked for the deposit - it just feels awfully unnecessary to have to do that when you booked it through a US site in the first place, who holds the reservation for you.
Mar 26, 2024, 5:42 am
#4219
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,770
this is likely a scam. Booking.com has been the victim of hackers doing the exact thing you were contacted about.
just google "booking.com scam emails"
don't send any money to the people who have contacted you. speak directly with the hotel and don't use any numbers or emails in the message you received.
your reservation is with booking.com and is safe, but if you send money in addition to arrangements made with booking.com/aa hotels, you'll likely never see the money again and it most certainly will NOT be applied to your stay.
be careful!
just google "booking.com scam emails"
don't send any money to the people who have contacted you. speak directly with the hotel and don't use any numbers or emails in the message you received.
your reservation is with booking.com and is safe, but if you send money in addition to arrangements made with booking.com/aa hotels, you'll likely never see the money again and it most certainly will NOT be applied to your stay.
be careful!
Mar 26, 2024, 9:12 am
#4220
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: PHX
Programs: AAdvantage EP
Posts: 51
Yeah, this was the most convoluted reservation I've ever seen from the AAdvantage platform (whether bookaahotels / Rocketmiles / hotels.aa.com).
Mar 31, 2024, 3:27 am
#4222
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NYC
Programs: AA Exec Plat
Posts: 14
I am hoping for some advice, as I have been trying to make a reservation for about a week and get this message every time...I know this has happened before to others.
I have tried different browsers, different hotels, cleared caches, different computers, different names (me/my wife), different credit cards, etc...anyone know how I can get out of the doom loop?
I have tried different browsers, different hotels, cleared caches, different computers, different names (me/my wife), different credit cards, etc...anyone know how I can get out of the doom loop?
Mar 31, 2024, 9:12 am
#4223
Join Date: Feb 2024
Posts: 39
Just a data point - I've tried to use a VPN etc and it doesn't work. The one thing I've noticed is that the site shows two of my AA credit cards - one Citibusiness AA and one Barclays Business AA - I've already canceled one and kept the other - so perhaps that's causing an error?
Mar 31, 2024, 3:29 pm
#4224
Join Date: Aug 2023
Location: PHX/SFO/LAX
Posts: 88
Been having some trouble with LPs. The hotel stays, LPs and miles get credited retroactively so I hit the threshold 20% bonus a couple days ago (credited to March 13). All subsequent bookings from Mar 13 should've received a 20% bonus but they didn't. I think it is tied to the booking date somehow and needs manual adjustments.
Now the issue is I hit 89.6k LPs on Mar 18 when the next hotel credited, which should've been higher had the 20% LP bonus credited correctly. That meant my credit card bonus of 10k and the 100k threshold should've been triggered earlier - it should've pushed me to 30% LP bonus on March 18 instead of March 23 when my most recent stay credited and the 10k LP bonus triggered. I've contacted customer service and they've put in a request for the 20% stays, and it looks like if that works out in my favor, I'll have to do it manually again for the remaining stays that should've been 30%.
Anyone else face a similar issue and any luck with getting the right LPs?
Now the issue is I hit 89.6k LPs on Mar 18 when the next hotel credited, which should've been higher had the 20% LP bonus credited correctly. That meant my credit card bonus of 10k and the 100k threshold should've been triggered earlier - it should've pushed me to 30% LP bonus on March 18 instead of March 23 when my most recent stay credited and the 10k LP bonus triggered. I've contacted customer service and they've put in a request for the 20% stays, and it looks like if that works out in my favor, I'll have to do it manually again for the remaining stays that should've been 30%.
Anyone else face a similar issue and any luck with getting the right LPs?
Mar 31, 2024, 3:47 pm
#4225
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Pacific Northwest
Programs: UA Gold 1MM, AS 75k, AA ExPlat, Bonvoyed Gold, Honors Dia, Hyatt Explorer, IHG Plat, ...
Posts: 17,019
I passed 100k (for last year) in late Feb. The 30% loyalty award didnt automatically trigger and I only received the email for it after I contacted AA CS around March 13. But it still isnt actually working - my hotel stays and shopping trips still only receive 20%, so its on my todo list to follow up again. I am waiting for a window in time when I dont expect any transactions, so I can give them a list of all transactions that need to be adjusted.
Mar 31, 2024, 4:00 pm
#4226
Join Date: Aug 2023
Location: PHX/SFO/LAX
Posts: 88
Honestly I think this is the smarter thing to do, thanks! All my hotel stays would be done by the end of April, and I could just provide a big list for the 30% adjustment mid May rather than call them up each time. Fwiw, my transactions are still crediting without any bonus, so this is going to be quite the AA CS ticket. I do hope they realize the credit card 10k triggered late because of the LP calculation on their end, but worst case I'd be out 3k LPs or so which shouldn't matter too much.
Mar 31, 2024, 4:39 pm
#4227
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,770
It happened to me last year, it got very congested around the 60k-100k marks, and I never got the correct bonus LPs, probably left several thousands LPs on the table. This year I will probably contact them and also space out activity more until the bonuses are clearly applied.
The one thing I have verified for sure is that the expiring 30% bonus from last year is applied correctly until the last day of its validity (the 185th day), and based on stay check-in date (and not check-out date or date of stay posting). So this seems good and solid.
This also likely indirectly answers the question of what if your last year's 30% bonus period overlaps with this year's 20% bonus period. Given that the 30% period is tracked properly to the end of 185 days, and the fact that the 20% takes a bit to kick in, it is much more likely that the 30% will prevail until the end of its 185 days duration. Of course, there are no guarantees, but this makes the most sense from all sides (fairness, and system functional competence).
The one thing I have verified for sure is that the expiring 30% bonus from last year is applied correctly until the last day of its validity (the 185th day), and based on stay check-in date (and not check-out date or date of stay posting). So this seems good and solid.
This also likely indirectly answers the question of what if your last year's 30% bonus period overlaps with this year's 20% bonus period. Given that the 30% period is tracked properly to the end of 185 days, and the fact that the 20% takes a bit to kick in, it is much more likely that the 30% will prevail until the end of its 185 days duration. Of course, there are no guarantees, but this makes the most sense from all sides (fairness, and system functional competence).
Mar 31, 2024, 7:45 pm
#4228
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 2,334
Honestly I think this is the smarter thing to do, thanks! All my hotel stays would be done by the end of April, and I could just provide a big list for the 30% adjustment mid May rather than call them up each time. Fwiw, my transactions are still crediting without any bonus, so this is going to be quite the AA CS ticket. I do hope they realize the credit card 10k triggered late because of the LP calculation on their end, but worst case I'd be out 3k LPs or so which shouldn't matter too much.
when you contact them, do the math for them on you list of transactions and make it easy for them to understand...
for example, do a "before" and "after" example of before and after they edit your credit, to what it's supposed to be with the % bonuses applied correctly
Apr 2, 2024, 6:29 am
#4230
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,514
I can understand why the 20%/30% bonuses might have been a posting issue the first year of LPs as everything was new. But going into the second year there is no excuse for these posting problems to persist. A lot of people are likely leaving LPs on the table because of it and, in a way, the bonuses are illusory and false advertising. It should be happening automatically and not require contacting CS.