TravelPhotographer

late June 2022 econ class 2 people
flexible Jun 25 return 12 to 14 days later
(using 2 Marriott 35K free night certificates expire June 30)
42,066 AAdvantage me
125,232 AAdvantage -wife
142,110 BA Avios me
32,501 BA Avios wife
asking advice from anyone having this knowledge in their head already
fewest point usage how?
will I pay extra if phone rep helps reserve seats?
via AA or BA or OneWorld or combos or?
appreciate anyone pointing me in right direction !!
thanks in advance

dvs7310

As of now, there's no such thing as OneWorld miles, each member has their own program and sounds like you only have AA and BA miles to utilize. In the US to South America space, it's only AA for OneWorld, AS is a new member but doesn't fly that far south. They go to Costa Rica but that's their only destination south of Mexico. JetBlue is also an AA partner and goes to BOG from FLL, but I wouldn't use miles on that flight, it's less than $500 a person for cash.

Whether you pay for phone service depends on your status. I certainly don't have to pay it for AA, but I would have to for BA. Having said that BA's fees are pretty reasonable compared to US carriers.

https://www.travelcodex.com/award-maximizer/ is a great website to use to check on mileage requirements for any given route. It doesn't cover every frequent flyer program but definitely does cover AA and BA. For that route BA is better, but you'll pay fuel surcharges while with AA miles you won't. Just have to see how much it is and if it's palatable for you for the reduced miles. Also, on that route the difference between Economy and Business class is very negligible, miles are always best value for premium cabins and this is a perfect route for that and I'd highly recommend going for that instead of economy since you'll be on AA and frankly regular economy sucks pretty bad. (there is no other OneWorld option between the US and Colombia)

Doesn't look like there is business class availability with BA miles for any dates around June 25th, economy does have a couple of days near there with availability. Plenty of availability with AA miles and not even a huge surcharge over the "base" rate. Coming back you'll definitely need AA miles. An unfortunate part of AA and every other US based airline is the dynamic award pricing that has become commonplace, finding availability from partners is EXTREMELY challenging since the base rate needs to be available.

TravelPhotographer

thanks for response!
do I understand correctly if we have no status
with AA & have 1 checked bag between us &
(2) carry-ons that total luggage fee will be $45
each way? having not flown since Jan 2019,
does AA still allow 1 carry-on PLUS small
backpack per econ passenger no fee?
thanks in advance.

guv1976

No, your understanding is incorrect. On all but "Basic Economy" cash tickets, AA allows one free checked bag per passenger to Colombia:



As noted, because AA now has "Web Special" awards which might cost more or fewer miles than MileSAAver awards, the only way to know the cost in miles of a particular trip is to look on aa.com, or on the AA app. You can select seats for free online. In fact, you can even use miles to pay for an MCE (extra-leg-room) Coach seat on your own reservation. (Not sure if you can use your miles to pay for MCE seats for a travel companion.)

When award space is available to AA partners, the AA MIA-BOG nonstop would cost exactly 11,000 BA Avios each way -- never more, never less. If you book with AAdvantage miles, you should monitor the trip cost periodically: all awards booked with AAdvantage miles are now fully refundable, regardless of status. If there is a price drop, you can cancel the existing award, and rebook, with AA miles or BA Avios if the flight is then available with Avios.

AA permits one full-size carry-on, and one small, "personal" item that can fit underneath the seat in front of you. You can find the dimensional limitations of each on aa.com.

guv1976

On June 24, AA's evening MIA-BOG nonstop is showing availability at the MileSAAver redemption rate of 20,000 AAdvantage miles per person in Economy. The same flight is showing availability at ba.com for 11,000 Avios per person.

Mwenenzi

AA awards are a zone based..BA awards are distance based. That can be good/no so good depending on routes. But check the ffp t&c's

1 AA ff miles does not equal 1 BA avios. While many credit cards transfer at the same rate earning & burning from flying can be very different.

Having not flown since Jan 2019, check the expiry of both AA & BA. In general AA ff miles expire after 18 months of no activity. and BA ff avois expire after 36 months of no activity. In the pandemic have you been earning/burning ff miles/avois to keep the accounts alive?

What is the cash fare? Flight time ~3:45 hrs
But ff miles/avios are earned to be used.
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=MIA-BOG-MIA&MS=wls&DU=mi

TravelPhotographer

thank for further responses;
BA seemed to have only Jun 24 outbound mentioned above, no inbound within flexible 10-14 day stay range;
strong preference to depart-land daylight hours lead to this 109K+$146 AA choice but will search further for closer to minimum 80K+$146:

Main Cabin Round trip (per person)

54,500 miles + $73.17

MIA to BOG 25,000 miles

BOG to MIA 29,500 miles

Total (all passengers) 109,000 miles + $146.34 Includes taxes and carrier-imposed fees

Price and tax information Web Special rules and restrictions

This trip includes a Web Special award and cannot be changed once ticketed. You can cancel your trip and reinstate miles at no charge if your plans change.

Bag and optional fees , Opens in a new window.

DEPART

Miami, FL to Bogota, Colombia Friday, June 24, 2022 10:45 AM 1:35 PM 3h 50m Nonstop Main Cabin AA913319-Airbus A319

Onboard amenities High-speed Wi-FiWi-FiAC power Personal device streamingLive TV

RETURN

Bogota, Colombia to Miami, FL Wednesday, July 6, 2022 2:35 PM 7:35 PM 4h 0m Nonstop Main Cabin AA916319-Airbus A319

guv1976

Suggest that you book the AA itinerary as two separate one-ways. Will make it easier to cancel/rebook in one direction if cheaper flights should eventually open up.
​​​​​​

dvs7310

And for that matter, if you book it separately, you can book the 24th with BA miles, and use AA miles for the return. Surprisingly taxes on that route are very low even with BA miles, not the usual price gouge you'd get with them.

guv1976

Not a surprise at all: The BA "price gouge" is based on carrier surcharges, not taxes. There are no carrier surcharges on AA fares for travel wholly within the Americas (North and South):




But in this case, it's a moot point, as the OP wants to travel on daylight flights, and -- at the moment -- those are not available with Avios.

You're right, though, about the possibility of booking one way with AAdvantage miles, and the other way with BA Avios -- if and when the flights the OP wants should become available with Avios.

TravelPhotographer

Did it!
Found MIA-BOG on AA913 2x21K = 42K total !
(neatly brings my AA freq flyer mile account to near 0)
Paid 2x$37 extra for seats 10A, 10C alleged extra room, drinks, early board;
otherwise would be back over wing; (being pro photog, wing out of way has some value)
is there consensus on $37 extra being of value...?
thanks in advance

TravelPhotographer

best BOG-MIA AA916 inbound offer currently 30K ea for all flexible dates;
am going to grab it now, if lower AA916 inbound appears can I also grab it first & then
cancel 30K ea AA916 reservation with full restore miles + fees?
any advice on catching lower offer, e.g., time of day, #days pre-flight, etc.?
is there days-pre-flight by which one cannot be refunded in full?
thanks in advance