Your guide to spending Avios | 2015

Old Jan 8, 2015, 9:38 am
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
Yes, your interpretation is correct. That said you have to look at the actual routing that aa.com shows as available.

With BAEC, you pay in avios for each flight in your itinerary.

If you click through to see the milesaaver flights that are available on those dates on aa.com you will see that they involve two connections each way (the outbound is over a period of two days). ba.com does not handle partner flights that require one connecting flight well (it often fails to show the flights as available), and so one should search for each flight individually on ba.com and then book them separately or call to book them together.

In this case, the AA milesaaver flights involve two connections and so I would not expect ba.com to show this as available. Again, if you search for each of the connecting flights individually on ba.com they will probably show as available and then you can book them individually or call and have them booked together on one ticket. Looking at the outbound, ORD-DFW,DFW-MIA,MIA-SXM, the avios required will be 7500+7500+10000=25000 one way.
Thank you for the very detailed response / research - that has helped clarify things a great deal.

Last question - does this apply to both economy and business?

Last edited by Prospero; Jan 8, 2015 at 12:54 pm Reason: Combine consecutive posts into a single post
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Old Jan 8, 2015, 10:14 am
  #47  
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Originally Posted by grantsi
Last question - does this apply to both economy and business?
Yes. Actually, if a milesaaver routing that you find on AA involves connections, the domestic flights on 2 class planes will be in first and will require 3X the avios required for coach. The AA flights to the Caribbean are in business (in your example, MIA-SXM or if there was a direct nonstop flight ORD-SXM and it was available), will require 2X the avios.

Searching AA for your routing and dates does not show any milesaaver availability in business.
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Old Jan 8, 2015, 10:21 am
  #48  
 
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Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
Yes. Actually, if a milesaaver routing that you find on AA involves connections, the domestic flights on 2 class planes will be in first and will require 3X the avios required for coach. The AA flights to the Caribbean are in business (in your example, MIA-SXM or if there was a direct nonstop flight ORD-SXM and it was available), will require 2X the avios.

Searching AA for your routing and dates does not show any milesaaver availability in business.
Thank you again.
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Old Jan 8, 2015, 8:21 pm
  #49  
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If I book a reward flight from Dublin-Manchester via LHR and cancel it on the day of travel, prior to departure, do I get a full refund of Avios and 17.50 / 25?

I'm looking for a backup plan should my US Airways flight from Philadelphia be late causing me to miss a not so flexible Ryanair booking (their call centre will be closed at take off time on the east coast and "flex" is limited).

Plan A: Book a reward flight in advance and cancel if not needed.
Plan B: Book a last minute reward flight, subject to availability, if needed.
Plan C: Pay a walk up far to Aer Lingus, Ryanair or BA - unlikely to be cheap.

Thanks.
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Old Jan 8, 2015, 9:41 pm
  #50  
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Originally Posted by PeacefulWaters
If I book a reward flight from Dublin-Manchester via LHR and cancel it on the day of travel, prior to departure, do I get a full refund of Avios and 17.50 / 25?

I'm looking for a backup plan should my US Airways flight from Philadelphia be late causing me to miss a not so flexible Ryanair booking (their call centre will be closed at take off time on the east coast and "flex" is limited).

Plan A: Book a reward flight in advance and cancel if not needed.
Plan B: Book a last minute reward flight, subject to availability, if needed.
Plan C: Pay a walk up far to Aer Lingus, Ryanair or BA - unlikely to be cheap.

Thanks.
No. You must cancel at least 24 hours before to have your avios refunded.
See part 4 of this post in this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24087975-post2.html
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Old Jan 8, 2015, 11:12 pm
  #51  
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Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
No. You must cancel at least 24 hours before to have your avios refunded.
See part 4 of this post in this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24087975-post2.html
Thanks. I'll risk putting nothing in place.
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 9:07 am
  #52  
 
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Anomoly in the BA booking calendar!

I have been playing around with booking a R/T to Europe this summer using my Chase 241.Two years ago I booked first class for July 2013 travel, but made the booking 11 months in advance.

I realized that my current 241 expires this September so decide even though fees were over $2000 it is flying first class for the price of coach. Living three hours from ORD, that was the best choice and an easy drive. I found flights out of other BA cities in the US, but kept checking ORD.

When I scrolled forward on the calendar there was nothing available all summer. Yesterday, by chance, I scrolled backwards. When I did this several dates appeared in August that weren't there before. I was able to book R/T ORD to TXL First Class mid-August with a return 10 days later. Club was also available on those dates, but only after scrolling backwards on the calendar.

This may have been mentioned before, but I missed it, so wanted to share it with everyone. This thread has been a great help. Thanks!
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 11:10 am
  #53  
 
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Contact to cancel an avios award tic

Originally Posted by jerry a. laska
No. You must cancel at least 24 hours before to have your avios refunded.
See part 4 of this post in this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/24087975-post2.html
Thank you Jerry for sharing.
I read this part 4. Helpful info there. But I need a phone # or a specific online contact.
Am looking for ways to contact BA (online preferred) re an award cancellation.

TIA
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Old Jan 9, 2015, 11:52 am
  #54  
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Originally Posted by PeacefulWaters
If I book a reward flight from Dublin-Manchester via LHR and cancel it on the day of travel, prior to departure, do I get a full refund of Avios and 17.50 / 25?

I'm looking for a backup plan should my US Airways flight from Philadelphia be late causing me to miss a not so flexible Ryanair booking (their call centre will be closed at take off time on the east coast and "flex" is limited).

Plan A: Book a reward flight in advance and cancel if not needed.
Plan B: Book a last minute reward flight, subject to availability, if needed.
Plan C: Pay a walk up far to Aer Lingus, Ryanair or BA - unlikely to be cheap.

Thanks.
Y fares on that route are maximum 325 one way on EI and 366 on BA. However given the plethora of carriers (BE is also in the mix via SOU or IOM) I'd be surprised if you paid more than 200.
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 4:10 pm
  #55  
 
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Question Only miles savers seats for Avios redemption on AA?

I'm new to Avios, BA, and AA, so please excuse the simple-minded questions. In the sticky it mentions that only miles savers award seats on AA can be booked with Avios. If I read this right, how severely does this limit the availability of seats using Avios for AA travel?

I'm using Firefox with no-script as my preferred web browser and it doesn't display AA's web site very well at all. It doesn't even show miles savers as a category if I'm on the right screen. Do you folks prefer either chrome or IE for airline browsing?

What is the best way to search, looking for a trip from TPA to OGG in August? I was able to find and book a partial return from LIH-LAX using the BA website.

If I understand the sticky right, the AA website might show me more options than BA if I can use it correctly.
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 4:48 pm
  #56  
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Originally Posted by bigjimbo99
In the sticky it mentions that only miles savers award seats on AA can be booked with Avios. If I read this right, how severely does this limit the availability of seats using Avios for AA travel?
A "MileSAAver" award on AA is a standard redemption at 'normal' rates. Seats made available as "MileSAAver" awards are also opened up to members of other FFPs. "AAnytime" awards are only available to members of AA's AAdvantage programme, who (if they're desperate) can redeem oodles of miles for them.

I'm using Firefox with no-script as my preferred web browser and it doesn't display AA's web site very well at all. It doesn't even show miles savers as a category if I'm on the right screen.
I also use Firefox, with NoScript and ....... Plus, and frequently find and book award flights on both AA and BA. You'll need to be alert for warnings about forbidden scripts, of course.

The AA page showing award flights found has colourful column headings: "Economy MileSAAver", "Economy AAnytime" and so on.

What is the best way to search, looking for a trip from TPA to OGG in August? [...] If I understand the sticky right, the AA website might show me more options than BA if I can use it correctly.
In theory it might, but for a couple of dates I tried on your routing I'm seeing the same availability on britishairways.com as on aa.com. Only BA will show you the Avios pricing.
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 4:54 pm
  #57  
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Originally Posted by bigjimbo99
I'm new to Avios, BA, and AA, so please excuse the simple-minded questions. In the sticky it mentions that only miles savers award seats on AA can be booked with Avios. If I read this right, how severely does this limit the availability of seats using Avios for AA travel?

I'm using Firefox with no-script as my preferred web browser and it doesn't display AA's web site very well at all. It doesn't even show miles savers as a category if I'm on the right screen. Do you folks prefer either chrome or IE for airline browsing?

What is the best way to search, looking for a trip from TPA to OGG in August? I was able to find and book a partial return from LIH-LAX using the BA website.

If I understand the sticky right, the AA website might show me more options than BA if I can use it correctly.
At aa.com, you select find flights, AAdvantage Award, and then conduct your search. Depending upon your route a calendar showing a week around your selected dates should be returned listing the types of rewards available across the top. Economy Milesaaver and Business/First Milesaaver should be among the options. If you want economy milesaaver you click on that date and any dates with economy milesaaver availability will be reflected on the calendar.

Depending upon your desired route and flexibility regarding dates you may or may not find availability. I have found that usually AA milesaaver nonstop availability is reflected without issue on ba.com. When ba.com falls down is with connecting flights. You often need to search for each flight individually and then book them separately or call to book them together.
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 4:55 pm
  #58  
 
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Thanks IMH. I see it now, just no availability right now. More seats may be added, hopefully, in the future, right?
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 6:27 pm
  #59  
 
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I am trying to book an AA flight using Avios from EWR to ORD for Feb 6th, but there are only 2 flights available on BA.com. On the AA website, there are like 7 flights available on mileagesaver. What gives with this discrepancy? Should I call? Is there a reason why these flights are not showing up on BA.com?
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Old Jan 11, 2015, 6:44 pm
  #60  
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Originally Posted by TheAJ
I am trying to book an AA flight using Avios from EWR to ORD for Feb 6th, but there are only 2 flights available on BA.com. On the AA website, there are like 7 flights available on mileagesaver. What gives with this discrepancy? Should I call? Is there a reason why these flights are not showing up on BA.com?
ba.com has trouble when there are more than seven (or nine?) flights between a city pair with partners. It will only look at the first flights offered and will not return any flights after those first seven (or nine) flights. That may be what is happening to you. If you want to book another flight you will have to call. You should ask for the telephone booking fee to be waived as booking AA award flights online is something ba.com is supposed to do, but it isn't working correctly.
See these threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ty-online.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ilability.html

Last edited by jerry a. laska; Mar 15, 2015 at 4:25 pm Reason: oops wrong post
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