scubadu

Have to say, I'm delighted to be wrong in this case.

I do worry about the amount of visibility this and the Visa discount method have been getting and a bit surprised that it's going to continue, but again, quite happy to be proven incorrect.

Regards

golfmad

You can start worrying about the Chase 10% now It's only available for bookings up to Dec 31st 2015. I just tried to book something in the new year but it won't work which is a real shame.

IMH

In previous years that offer has been extended either in the second half of November or the first ten days of December.

golfmad

But I want it now

(Before the CW sale ends tomorrow).

scubadu

Quick question, in order to utilize the AARP discount process, does one have to have a BA FFP account? For example, if someone is planning to credit to AA, can they just purchase the tickets without a BA Exec Club account?

Regards

golfmad

I don't see why not. You don't have to be logged into a BA account in order to access the discounts. Just go to Ba.com/aarp and click on the link "Log into your AARP account".

HilFly

I used the AARP discount when the BA site was being a pain and telling me that my account number and password didn't match. I clicked on "continue as a guest" or something like that, and completed the whole booking. At a later stage it asked me for a frequent flyer account number - I put in my BAEC number and the flight showed up in MMB. It asked me which airline and the account number so I presume at that stage I could have added my AA number, or any other OW account.

It was a pain because I had to type information into fields that would have self populated if I had been logged in, but I was just glad that I could still book my tickets with the AARP discount when the BA site was playing silly beggars and wouldn't let me log in.

stephem

I wanted to share some experiences changing the return on several super cheap business class tickets that I purchased using the AARP discount in the event anyone else runs into similar problems.
First, the discount does NOT supercede the fare rules that you see at purchase, so if you have a fare that says $400 change fee for return and use historical pricing then that is what should happen.
Second, "computer says Nooooo" so these will have to be sent to the rate desk for a quote and eventually reissue.
Third, when you rebook a return, you simply need to find same fare class (in my case I class) and you are good to go.
Fourth, it's best to ask them to send over to the rate desk for a quote and specially ask for use of historical pricing, for them to notate the record AND for them to make a reservation for you on your desired return. They will actually do this last part and it's brilliant because it wont auto cancel and then you don't worry that I space will G to zero.
Last, once the reservation is made and the annotation about the fare is made, consider flying the outbound first. That is what all the BA agents urged me to do and it worked well. It seems like their systems aren't set up to do this prior to outbound. But give yourself a couple of days. It took BA 3 days to actually reticket, so my original return left prior to reticketing.

Oh, one other item, if you have multiple people booked you CAN have the reservation split and change only one traveler.

I was told at the outset that none of this was possible, but it in fact all is. I read the fare rules carefully and stuck to my guns. I respectfully asked if someone would investigate my interpretation vs what the computer was showing, and eventually got a nice call back thanking me for my patience and conceding I was correct.

MADPhil

Thanks for the helpful information.

The standard fare rules I have looked at all distinguish between changes before the first segment has been flown (reprice at current cost) and after that (original price if inventory is available).

stephem

Many BA fares do allow changing other than the first segment at any time, and utilizing historical fare pricing. It is actually kind of silly to allow such change only after departure.

MADPhil

Thanks, I have mostly read the detailed rules on AA.com. I suspect that their goal is to prevent people from getting flexibility (for a price) on what are meant to be inflexible fares while allowing for circumstances to change during the trip. Though charging a hefty fee and requiring the same inventory seems to achieve that.

gustavmahler

I realise this has to be booked ex-US, paid for in USD. However, can these be booked by UK registered BAEC (and AARP) members? The T&Cs state:

However, I was wondering if you booked this as a UK resident (with or without logging in) in USD, whether it would work. I was thinking about joining, as it might come in handy if there's a decent sale on. It could be nested around an ex-EU or redemption booking.

golfmad

Why not try a dummy booking?

scubadu

I have what might be an odd question, but haven't seen it addressed.

I generally handle travel details, bookings, etc. for my wife and I. However, right now my wife is OneWorld Emerald (AA EXP) and I am not. Obviously, that is quite material when flying on BA (e.g. seat selection, etc.)

To take advantage of the AARP discount, I was about to open an AARP account. However, upon thinking about this a bit, wondering if it's best to open the membership it in my wife's name. That is, when you go through the AARP portal, I assume it puts the AARP member as the primary passenger on the PNR, is that correct?

My concern would be a scenario, that sometimes happens on AA, where the highest elite level member needs to be listed first on the PNR in order to trigger elite recognition.

Regards

MADPhil

I don't know how it works with respect to BA but when you join AARP your spouse automatically becomes a member: Membership fee includes spouse/partner free. Your spouse will also receive a membership card. so presumably your wife could also have a login (which you need for the BA discount).