Amex IAP -- $13k discount on published fare??
 

Looking at an open jaw JFK-PPT then SCL-JFK in J way towards the end of the calendar, about 11 months out. The official fare on DL is crazy, about $10,300 pp for 2 travelers. However, booking through amextravel.com via the IAP yields the exact same itinerary at about $3,900 pp, for a total discount of almost $13,000 (!!)

Now don't get me wrong, I know this is sort of a pseudo discount since no one is paying cash for that ticket at that price. My question is -- does booking through the IAP now essentially bypass the "too far in advance surcharge" reserved for inflexible oil barons and get to what the fare is going to be a few months from now? Is there reason to believe the IAP fare will be the general fare in, say, January or February?

Start by looking carefully at the fare code and fare rules. My guess is that the $3900 is a Z fare and $10,300 probably C (maybe D, but probably too cheap to be FULL J). Also, are you searching for *two* people in both cases, as there could be one ticket remaining at $3900 with the second passenger on the same PNR pushing the price up to $10,300 for each person.

Are you calling AmEx or using their website? I would assume/hope that they use real time inventory for DL, but that could also be an explanation. Maybe the cheaper fare won't actually ticket.

IME IAP offers discounts on fares that are normally available from DL (same fare code, just a designator), but I've seen Z fares that AmEx doesn't see and can't ticket under the IAP.

Searching for 2 people in both cases. The DL fare books into C, but I'm unable to ascertain what the IAP fare is booking into, using amextravel.com. Assuming it is Z, does that mean IAP can access fare classes that DL can't? That wouldn't make much sense, unless they were put aside specifically for Amex.

There are regional limitations to combining discount J fares in an open-jaw construction and you are almost certainly not meeting those, so the $10,300 C fares are likely all you will ever get from Delta. There are roundtrip Z fares available to PPT and SCL from JFK in the $4000 - $4500 region. They just can't be combined together in an open jaw because of the regional restrictions. The C fares only require that the jaw distance be shorter than the two other legs for an open jaw combination.

This would mean that the AmEx fare is invalid and shouldn't ticket. YMMV of course, but it's unlikely that a Z fare would work for this combination of flights.

Also, I'm not sure that the IAP covers open jaw tickets rather than just RTs. Check the T&C to be sure.

So.. what if it does ticket? Am I at risk of Delta not honoring the tickets at the last minute?

You can book the AMEX and see if it tickets. If so they will stand behind it. EVen if it does and you do not want it- you have 24 hours to cancel. If you are sure of the dates and ready to pull the trigger you hav enothing to lose (except cash flow).

Did you get to the page where you can actually click to purchase, or the page before where it shows the prices (return flight)? I've found some great IAP fares "disappear" when you get to actually trying to purchase. I think it only then really tries to price it or something.

At a more general level, would someone please describe for me the advantages of using AmEx Travel to book Delta flights? I've seen misc. references here at FlyerTalk, and have an AmEx plat card, but have never booked that way before.

Primarily to get a) discounted first/business fares for international flights (the "IAP"), and b) to get 5x Amex points per dollar spent.

You get 5x if you book at delta.dumb too. I prefer to book directly with the airline whenever possible, it makes handling changes much easier.

That's only for the personal AmEx platinum - business platinum requires you to book through AmEx Travel to get 5x.

bingo.

AmEx is the last of the OTAs (that I know of) that still allow you to "build" an itinerary one leg at a time. That feature doesn't add much to simple RT itineraries, but if you are attempting to book something more complex (open jaws, multi-city, etc) it is a fantastic tool.

Some FT threads if you want to follow up further on what others have said:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...it-2017-a.html

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...ay-2019-a.html

Also I think if you have the business version of the AMEX Plat there's a 35% rebate if you pay with points.