CLT

Personally I think a lot of good deals remain available if you put the time and effort into searching for them, and you plan your travels around said deals. I will say I hate the new UX when trying to book an award ticket on AA.com. I can never get the calendar to work whenever I click on it...I always get some sort of error message.

I ended up not being able to go due to a work obligation, but I was about to do a trip next week to EZE. There were a number of days available where I found Premium Economy awards from DCA through JFK for just 40k. Getting back to DCA was a challenge, so I was going to fly back to DCA from SCL, and I saw Y awards for just 30k. That's a pretty good deal IMO.

I just booked a last minute award this morning for DCA-CHS R/T this weekend for 16k, which I also think is a good deal considering it is a holiday weekend.

HaleiwaFlyer

As a person who recently booked my first AA Award Tickets, I agree that it is still worth it. When I first research tickets, I saw the dynamic pricing of AA own metal being in the 350-500k range per ticket to Europe/Doha/Jakarta, which rose to Delta SkyMiles astronomical levels. However, once I looked at non AA metal, such as QR/JL, then the redemption rate started to become reasonable, on or around 75k. I did have to switch origin and destinations to figure out the most optimal itineraries, however, once you know the major hubs for AA/OW partners, it is not too difficult anymore.

Pretty much after 10 AA domestic flights, I get a free one way QR business class ticket that I would have purchased anyway. The rebate to redeem award tickets is still worth it, at least for my flight patterns.

steveholt

AA miles are less valuable than they used to be and still significantly more valuable than DL miles, especially if you want to travel in J across an ocean.