gcuk

Hi JonNYC. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Greatly appreciated.
Slightly OT but I've often wondered about the schedule changes. The change on October 2 affected my US domestic December bookings but left my end-November ones as booked.
As you mention a Nov 12 schedule change, are they scheduled at certain dates throughout the year and do they typically affect bookings 2+ months out?

World Traveller Fuss

Flip side of this is it makes "First" class avios redemptions a lot more reasonable.

Flexible preferences

I have two sectors booked and ticketed (about a month ago) in domestic F on AA to fly April 2017. Does this mean that I will earn J Avios and TPs for these flights, even though booked and paid before these changes? Thanks

Prospero

Even with today’s confirmation by AA, we are not any closer to knowing what will happen to future BAEC earning on AA’s Domestic First Class. It is possible there won’t be any change at all.

KARFA

Well, we assume that it will. However it is not implausible that it won't change since it is still a "first" cabin.

Flexible preferences

OK, thanks.

dylanks

If this change happens and reduces AA domestic tier points, it probably means I won't receive the CCR card beyond next year.

If this was in place last year, I would have earned 4375 instead of 5805 tier points. I probably would have optimised a few more bookings to push things over 5000. I've always seen the 210 over 140 as reasonable given the discomfort of flying in one of those seats for nearly the same duration as a JFK-LHR flight!

Looking at this year, I'd be on pace for about 800 tier points less, and would still clear 5000 fairly easily.

If this does change and my travel remains roughly the same, I'll probably aim for 3500 tier points instead of 5000. Given that there's no CCR in T3, I get to use the CCR at most 10 times per year, so I wouldn't likely push for 5000 unless that becomes the new renewal threshold for GGL. SH+ would be a nice way to make up for this change, but I won't hold my breath waiting.

gengar

Ironically this change will actually lower my spend on BA in the short term because I don't MR and I just won't fly enough year in and out to make 3k TPs so there's no longer a reason to chase GGL - so I'll start using Avios when possible on my most expensive BA flights (F TATLs), whereas previously I would pay for all my BA longhauls because I wanted to maximize TPs. It's probably the smart thing to do anyway, so I'm not complaining.

Even with a 33% reduction on domestic AA TPs, BA Gold is still easy for anyone who flies a lot of paid "first" class so I don't see this as significantly affecting most fliers. The big impact for me will be in how long it takes to earn BA lifetime gold - but given I only started BA 3 years ago and how little frequent flyer programs drive loyalty these days, it's not exactly like I was expecting to get there anyway.

jock

I should be disappointed about this news..but since the pound is worth so little against the dollar just now...I won't be heading to USA anytime soon. I wonder if non business travellers are starting to think the same??

TravellerFrequently

Agreed.

Looks like Bournemouth's beaches for my 2017 holiday rather than those at Waikiki .

Schwann

If I want to go to the USA, I'll still go... you can usually combat the crap pound/dollar by just changing your spending habits. These days, it's more to do with getting irritated by the US culture than the cost, combined with a greater desire to fly east rather than west from the UK!

Swiss Tony

This.

Yes it's dire to look at the exchange rate and see we're getting 1.2...

However, on a notional £10k spend over 2 weeks.
£5k is air fare
£2.5k is hotel
£2.5k is eating, drinking & entertainment.

The air fare is priced in GBP, so that's fixed.

If you can trim $40 a night off your hotel costs then you're making good progress. Just staying at the airport on the first night can achieve a lot of this.

Then shelve one blow out meal.

You're going to be pretty close to square.

xenole

Some airport hotels cost $$$ though and if you've an early flight, you don't always have too many options but to pay the prices.

That said, been looking at PHL for a night. Would normally stay at somewhere like the Hampton and they want £134ish for the night I want. I can stay at a La Quinta for nearly half that.
Suppose it depends on how bad the place are as some reviews I've read on various cheaper hotels put me off saving £40 here and there.

I'll slum it in the airport terminal if it comes down to it.
I've stayed in a plastic looking Motel 6 before on my way to LA and for $64, absolutely fine.
I've got a couple of hostel stays coming up as well. £30-£40 compared to £200 for a hotel and for an overnight stay, fine.
I stayed in the HI Santa Monica for a couple of nights last year for the LA Marathon - ok, no aircon so warm but a block or so from the road running along the beach / pier, parking across the street and a good £300-£400 cheaper than most hotels that were further away.

I've also used some points for the CP at LAX for a night and some Hilton points for various properties recently. There may be better value elsewhere, but they've saved me a few £100 during my forthcoming holiday.

I have been looking at hotels I wouldn't normally consider. Generally it's Hilton, IHG and Premier Inns for me, but there are quite a few out there that are far cheaper if you ignore loyalty as a few of us are doing with BA.

GentleGiant

Don't forget airbnb instead of a hotel, can be a lot cheaper and better quality.

Smid

Hasn't stopped falling yet. All this is on the threat of a chaotic brexit. Once an actual chaotic brexit happens, well, worms and hell breaking loose.

On a side note, a barrel of oil cost £31 in May, and its £41 now ($44 @ £1.40 vs $51 @ £1.20). So that 30% rise will reflect in petrol and air fuel prices, and general inflation in the near future. Extremely bad for currencies which seem to be seeking out massive deflation. I'll not bat an eyelid if it goes below parity by christmas.