355F1

Just booked an awesome MR for Jan 2019.

PHX-LAX-HKG-SIN-HKG-LAX-PHX for $1,079 that is all Y except HKG-LAX is in PE. They only wanted $250 additional dollars to upgrade the HKG-LAX leg to PE--WORTH IT!!!!

Both long-hauls are on AA metal, and I cleared into J (expiring SWU) on LAX-HKG at booking and will be riding in PE on the return home (Unless I get upgraded due to oversell, which we all know DOES happen when you book PE.)

Looks like 22,328 EQMs and only $938 EQDs, but I get most of my AA EQDs from flying BA PE every few months.

Staying one night in SIN as I have never been there.

It's available in all Y for only $753 connecting through Tokyo but I like the LAX-HKG flights as I have always cleared into J on them, and the HKG lounges are the BEST for OWE's!!!!!

I haven't seen many AA MRs posted as of late so I hope this helps someone with either this year or next year's status!!!

skunker

You overpaid. You could have either paid less for Y or a couple hundred more to do the whole thing in PE on CX.

355F1

1. I CAN'T USE EXPIRING SWUS ON CX.

2. CX Economy earns ZERO AA miles.

thanks though.

skunker

1. On AA
2. CX PE

You're welcome.

brewdog11

Thank you for posting. I was not aware that there were such good Y fares to SIN in January. What did you book this on?

I can't find the all-PE CX fare that's near this.

flyingeph12

It sounds like OP booked on AA PHX-LAX-HKG, and CX HKG-SIN, with the LAX-HKG booked in PE instead of Y.

I've seen all-PE on CX be as low as $1100-1200 at the right time, if memory serves. Right now, I know that SFO-BKK/CGK is around $1450 (although be careful with BKK because not all HKG-BKK flights have PE).

$750 for Y is ok but not great. Good if you need those few extra thousand miles to SIN/CGK for EQD or EQM purposes. But HKG or PVG can be under $500 from various west coast cities, and when booked via a special fare is, imo, one of the best ways to accumulate EQM and EQD at a good value.

rbAA

Actually, $750 RT Y to SIN for AA is pretty good, as it's the LAX-HKG RT's that are usually at $500. And SWU's usually UPG immediately, though I'm always booking out a number of months and can fly midweek. Of course UA oiften has it lower ex-EWR/SFO/LAX. I always check the fare difference BKK-HKG-LAX RT vs. HKG-LAX RT to see if I can save by buying a separate ticket. Sometimes it works better as one ticket, often better as two. My Aug/Sept trip back to the US was apx $800 BKK-HKG-LAX RT, so went with that as it eliminates a potential issue with multiple tickets, plus I need to check some bags on that trip and that's the only sure way to avoid having to clear at HKG and go airside to recheck.

And, CX PE is usually around $1400+ RT. The last sale of $1100 was only JFK-HKG-JFK. Good EQD earning on those.

flyingeph12

rbAA

Of course, but MR's on AA are deader than disco. Only premium cabin deals on OW partners make any sense if even then. Of course, I did the MH Z fare deals BKK-KUL-PEK last year and a couple CX PE JFK-HKG RT's plus a BA OSL-LAX in PE this year. But, no AA MR's since 2016 (MAD-DFW-SCL in business and some LAX-JFK-PTY RT's.) Since I'm sneaking up on 5MM and those 4 SWU's, probably won't bother with any of that nonsense next year.

flyingeph12

rbAA

Of course, it depends on what you like. And what your goals are. Most MR's used to be about the RDM's, as well as EQM's. With EQD's it is better to target the max multiplier of EQD's, i.e a BA PE OSL-LHR-LAX RT for US$688 generates 17,092 EQM's, 2330 EQD's as well s 25,602 RDM's. 12,412 BIS which is shorter than the AA LAX-HKG RT of 14,520 and which only generated 14,520 EQM's, 402 EQD's, and 4422 RDM'S for $506 all in. At 3.4x, it takes only $3,500 total spend to reach the 12,000 EQD's. That's apx 5 of the BA PE trips, and that also generates 85,460 EQM's and 128k RDM's, so just about EXP and a free RT in CX J to just about anywhere. The same amount spent on AA would get you apx 7 LAX-HKG RT's but falls well short of the required EQD's (2,814) for EXP and only apx 32k RDM's. So, unless you can find decent special fares on AA and can get immedite UPG's (the only way I'll book an AA international flight any more,) I'd stick to partner premium fares as they are so low and many of the carriers being better all around than AA (not BA obviously though the EU compensation can be the kicker.) Last year I used the QR $1500 BKK-DOH-LAX fare for one of my trips back to the US, the long way, and loved it.

flyingeph12

For example, I found two great deals on AA Vacations packages last year: SFO-HAM, where the flights were ~$475; and SFO-PVG, where the flights were ~$432. The EQDs on both were excellent (I think the PVG one ended up being greater than 3EQD/$1). Of course, there's the added cost of a hotel, but both ended up being great weekend trips.

This year, I took advantage of the AA HKG-GRU F fare from the end of last year, coupled with an AY business NA-HKG ticket (booked in a mix of I and D), to more than requalify for EXP in one trip. [I decided to splurge and make a whole vacation out of it.]

For 2019, I am thinking that a AY r/t in D (which can net a whopping 9200 EQD in one go for ~$3700, but only ~34000 EQM)—coupled with super cheap flights on AA that are solely for EQM—might be the way I go. We'll have to see what my travel needs look like next year.

So bottom line, at least for me: MR's on AA are not totally dead. But I don't disagree that generally premium tickets on partner airlines is a good way to get a good balance of EQDs and EQMs.

A651346

355F1

Hey guys, sorry about the delay!

I booked on AA.com and all on AA metal, found on Google Flights. I'm not sure if the fare is still available.

I had 1 SWU that wasn't going to get used before Jan 2019.

I was originally going to book all in Y on AA but they popped up with PE on the return for only $250. I can't pass that up for not only the comfort but the .5 extra EQMs. The long-flight LAX-HKG cleared my SWU into J immediately.

I didn't pay too much. I think I got a decent fare for a b2b turn in SIN.

I do many MRs per year and understand the ins and outs having maintained top tier status with both AA and DL the past few years.

Usually I do all my travel on BA (I think only 18k EQMs of my 110k last year came from AA metal), crediting to AA.

But since I needed to burn an SWU I figured I'd look out for MRs on AA.

I've done the LAX-HKG more than once on AA and DL for less than $500 RT, including one this year on DL.

I was going to use the extra SWU and some of 2019's on our trip to Thailand later this year but 2 First Class Suites Awards opened up on Singapore Airlines LAX-BKK so I had to jump on that and booked the return flight home on CX J using AA miles.

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