I wasn't sure where to post this question, in AAdvantage forum or OW forum. Moderators, please feel free to move it to AAdvantage if you feel so.

Now, my question - does anyone know if AAdvantage miles can be used to redeem for a RTW ticket? If yes, how do I do it?

Yes.

Call AA

See this page for details of awards. Phone number is towards the bottom of the page.

Thanks, that is exactly the information I wanted. ^

Before you get too excited you need to know that many of the key long haul routes are difficult to get award space on.

Y is easier.

Is there anyway I can check the availability, routing, segments, etc. online before I call them up? I would like to do the homework before making the call.

You can do a search in FT on this subject.

There is a KVS tool (but does not have info on CX):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...d+availability

There is some general availability info on CX at: http://www.asiamiles.com/en/redeem/f...117515,00.html

I think I saw discussions on that you can check on OW availability on QF website. You probably have to search for the link.

Thanks, I will try these.

Can someone with experience using the CX site to see award availability help me?

I log on, and supposedly see availability, yet when I call AA to try to book, they say they don't see any space at all.

I want to fly Hong Kong into PEK or PVG in early August 2008 in first, business or coach.

If I search HKG-PEK for Aug 6 in First (for example) it finds no flights, and bringing up the availability calendar confirms there is nothing either side as well.

If I search HKG-PVG for Aug 6 in First it returns 16 flights, with availability on 9 or so. Yet AA reservations say their are no reward seats available in any class. And as an interesting aside, if I click on the availability calendar link, it seems to contradict the prior screen and confirm AA's story by showing all dates as X's (no seats).

Is this some sort of bug in the CX system, or am I missing something?

Perhaps a lot of people willing to pay for tickets to PEK for the Olympics, which start on August 8?

Edited to add... and the motto for the Beijing Olympics is "One World One Dream." Man, are those marketing guys in Vancouver good or what?

Olympics is a reason. The other is whether AA reservation was searching KA or CX. Flights to PVG/PEK are mainly KA, which is a subsidiary of CX, and CA/MU. It is better to search for KA alone, as CA/MU are not OW.

Also, there are only a few KA aircrafts with F cabins.

The fact that their may be no availability between Hong Kong and China doesn't surprise me especially - it is just prior to the start of the Olympics afterall.

What surprised me is that searching for a first class award seat between HKG and PVG seemed to show plenty of availability on Dragon Air (as reported by CX's own award search form), even though the award seats aren't there, and in fact, first class may not even exist on many/most of these flights.

There can be two reasons:
1. The Asia Miles availability has not been known to be accurate. There have been complaints that awards could not be issued even if it showed availability.
2. The bucket for AA is different.

My feeling is that the first one is probably reason. I am surprised by that much availability too.