Feb 19, 2016, 1:49 pm
Last edit by: SpammersAreScum
AA Vacations / aavacations.com Flight and Ground Packages
Trust American Airlines to offer you the perfect package at the best price, guaranteed! When you choose to bundle your travel components into one package price we can offer you an unbeatable value by combining our unpublished low rates on flights with specially negotiated rates on hotels, activities and transportation. So, whether you're looking for a quick flight plus hotel weekend getaway or an all-inclusive package complete with flight, hotel, ground transportation and tickets to local attractions, you can rest easy knowing the entire trip is covered by our Lowest Price Guarantee.
FAQ
Q. Do these earn AA EQM and Award Miles (RDM)? Will they earn EQD (EQ Dollars) in 2017?
These generally book into discount paid fare buckets, so "Yes" at this time. There are a few promotional offers that do not earn EQM; these will clearly say so, so read thoroughly. See:
Special fares: Earning Award Miles and Elite Qualifying Credits on aa.com
and
Earning AA Elite Qualifying Miles / EQM on AA, oneworld, partners 2016
and this for the changes affecting Award Miles coming in the latter part of 2016.
Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners later 2016
Q. Can I upgrade these with AA upgrade instruments (e500 "stickers", miles and copay, SWU)?
Currently, yes. These would follow the standard AA upgrade rules.
Q. Can I use AAdvantage Award Miles to "pay" for a vacation?
Yes. You can "pay" with money (cards, etc.), AAdvantage miles or a combination of both.
Q. So, what kinds of fares are ineligible for earning AA miles?
Exceptions (aa.com)
Q. What about EQM and Award ("Redeemable") Miles earning later in 2016?
AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes AA Vacations:
Note that the Special Fares page also says, "AAdvantage elite member bonuses will be applied in addition to the percentages shown for award miles."
Q. What fare classes do First and Business packages book into?
Typically A for international First, A or P domestic F, and I or D international Business.
Q. What if I'm flying on a flight on a partner airline?
AA Vacations most often books into AA "code shares" / AA marketed flights. In that case, you'll earn miles as if flying on American. If it doesn't, you'll earn per the agreement AA has with the partner airline. Start here to look them up.
Q. What advance purchase restrictions are imposed?
Most advance purchase, minimum stay, etc. normally imposed by the airline don't apply; the restrictions are those imposed by AA Vacations. (Detailed Fare Rules for your fare generally do apply, however.)
Q. Are the trips or fares refundable?
Generally not fully refundable. Hotels and ground activities are generally not at all, and air will depend on the fare bucket and detailed rules. AA vacations does offer protection, but hotels etc. may not be included.
"There are two types of protection available: We offer the Cancellation and Change Waiver (Pre-Departure Protection) which allows you to cancel and/or change either the land or air portion of their package without penalty. Trip Protector (Post-Departure protection) from Allianz Global Assistance can provide protection for your trip expenses, your health and your belongings."
A waiver is usually $129.
Q. What is the shortest time I can book an air-hotel package for?
It appears three nights is the shortest period allowed by aavacations.
Q. Can I book a ten day package with only three days of prepaid hotel?
Sure. You'll have to call to do so, however.
Q. Is only one hotel offered?
No. A variety of properties is generally offered, but this will of course affect pricing.
Q. Does the hotel have to be in the destination city?
No. You can book a property in another city if it's offered by AA Vacations.
Q. What happens if I don't use the ground part (hotel, car, etc.)? Will they cancel my return flights?
Nothing. You can use it or forget it. No flight cancellations ensue. See AA Vacations - not checking in at Hotel Some purposely book the cheapest pricing for their trip knowing they're choosing a "throwaway hotel" they won't use.
Though one AA Vacations agent actually said "always book with us and just book the cheapest hotel for 3 days and throw it away", don't you say it's your intent.
Q. Will AA Vacations cause problems for me?
If you disclose your intent to AA Vacations to "throw away" (not stay at) the hotel, they can not sell you the package. So, don't.
Q. Will the hotel cause problems for me?
Not likely; they're paid for a prepaid stay whether you stay or not, as they get to keep the money and have "your" room to sell.
Q. Will I earn points at the hotel? Will they recognize my status?
Many chains don't recognize third party bookings for points or stay credit, but will usually recognize your status. Properties will treat as prepaid booking.
Q. Are there ever deals or promos?
Indeed. There are often sales and promotions; look for them on the site.
Q. What if I want to book open jaw or customize?
Calling can do that. There's a $39 call fee, unless it's not able to be booked online. Others have said you can generally calculate the price of an open jaw itinerary by adding half the price of pricing for vacations to the arrival and departure cities and adding those.
Q. Can I put these on "hold" while I think about it since these include air fare?
No. But: Refund of Air Ticket Portion Within 24 Hours of Purchase
Within 24 hours of booking, you are allowed to cancel your refundable or non-refundable air ticket for a full refund (and no change fees and/or difference in fare) subject to the following rules:
Q. My AAdvantage credit card earns double Award ("Redeemable") Miles on AA purchases. Will AA Vacations purchases earn 2x miles?
No. What transactions are eligible to earn double AAdvantage® miles?
Eligible American Airlines purchases are items billed by American Airlines as the merchant of record booked through American Airlines channels (aa.com, American Airlines Reservations, American Airlines airport, in-flight and city ticket counters). American Airlines tickets purchased through other channels or that are a component of any other cruise or tour package do not earn the additional mile purchase bonuses. Products or services that do not qualify for the additional bonus miles include car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines Vacations packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, duty free purchases and or AA Cargo℠
Q. Do these earn AA EQM and Award Miles (RDM)? Will they earn EQD (EQ Dollars) in 2017?
These generally book into discount paid fare buckets, so "Yes" at this time. There are a few promotional offers that do not earn EQM; these will clearly say so, so read thoroughly. See:
Special fares: Earning Award Miles and Elite Qualifying Credits on aa.com
and
Earning AA Elite Qualifying Miles / EQM on AA, oneworld, partners 2016
and this for the changes affecting Award Miles coming in the latter part of 2016.
Earning AA Award / Redeemable Miles / RDM on AA, partners later 2016
Q. Can I upgrade these with AA upgrade instruments (e500 "stickers", miles and copay, SWU)?
Currently, yes. These would follow the standard AA upgrade rules.
Q. Can I use AAdvantage Award Miles to "pay" for a vacation?
Yes. You can "pay" with money (cards, etc.), AAdvantage miles or a combination of both.
Q. So, what kinds of fares are ineligible for earning AA miles?
Certain airline tickets are not eligible for earning mileage credit. These include, without limitation, the following: all tickets issued as AAdvantage awards or other free ticket promotions including free or reduced rate tickets; companion tickets; charter flight tickets; travel agency/industry reduced rate tickets; infant tickets; items occupying a purchased seat; unpublished fare tickets, including consolidator fares, tickets issued as a result of a fare published inadvertently or by mistake and tickets issued subject to special provisions.
Link to AAdvantage Terms and Conditions
Link to AAdvantage Terms and Conditions
There are certain airline ticket types that are not eligible for mileage accrual regardless of the booking class. These include, without limitation, the following:
Q Are there any types of tickets that won’t earn award miles?
Yes, tickets that currently do not earn award miles, elite-qualifying miles or elite-qualifying segments will not earn award miles in the future. This includes:
Q Are there any types of tickets that won’t earn award miles?
Yes, tickets that currently do not earn award miles, elite-qualifying miles or elite-qualifying segments will not earn award miles in the future. This includes:
- All tickets issued as AAdvantage awards
- Other free ticket promotions including free or reduced rate tickets
- Companion tickets
- Charter flight tickets
- Travel agency/industry reduced rate tickets
- Infant tickets
- Extra seats or items occupying a purchased seat
- Unpublished fare tickets, including consolidator fares
- Tickets issued subject to special provisions
AA has specified a set of "Special Fares", which includes AA Vacations:
Some fares (such as bulk or consolidator fares) earn award miles and Elite Qualifying Dollars (EQDs) at a modified rate based on a percentage of the distance flown as determined by the booking code.
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
Special fares are often purchased through a specialized agent, third party or as part of a package including air transportation and lodging.
Examples:
- Bulk fares
- Cruise fares
- Consolidator fares
- Discounted or inclusive tour packages
- Vacation packages, including American Airlines Vacations® (AAV) packages
- Other tickets where the fare isn't disclosed, excluding bookings made through priceline.com or hotwire.com where the carrier isn't disclosed before buying
Q. What fare classes do First and Business packages book into?
Typically A for international First, A or P domestic F, and I or D international Business.
Q. What if I'm flying on a flight on a partner airline?
AA Vacations most often books into AA "code shares" / AA marketed flights. In that case, you'll earn miles as if flying on American. If it doesn't, you'll earn per the agreement AA has with the partner airline. Start here to look them up.
Q. What advance purchase restrictions are imposed?
Most advance purchase, minimum stay, etc. normally imposed by the airline don't apply; the restrictions are those imposed by AA Vacations. (Detailed Fare Rules for your fare generally do apply, however.)
Q. Are the trips or fares refundable?
Generally not fully refundable. Hotels and ground activities are generally not at all, and air will depend on the fare bucket and detailed rules. AA vacations does offer protection, but hotels etc. may not be included.
"There are two types of protection available: We offer the Cancellation and Change Waiver (Pre-Departure Protection) which allows you to cancel and/or change either the land or air portion of their package without penalty. Trip Protector (Post-Departure protection) from Allianz Global Assistance can provide protection for your trip expenses, your health and your belongings."
A waiver is usually $129.
Q. What is the shortest time I can book an air-hotel package for?
It appears three nights is the shortest period allowed by aavacations.
Q. Can I book a ten day package with only three days of prepaid hotel?
Sure. You'll have to call to do so, however.
Q. Is only one hotel offered?
No. A variety of properties is generally offered, but this will of course affect pricing.
Q. Does the hotel have to be in the destination city?
No. You can book a property in another city if it's offered by AA Vacations.
Q. What happens if I don't use the ground part (hotel, car, etc.)? Will they cancel my return flights?
Nothing. You can use it or forget it. No flight cancellations ensue. See AA Vacations - not checking in at Hotel Some purposely book the cheapest pricing for their trip knowing they're choosing a "throwaway hotel" they won't use.
Though one AA Vacations agent actually said "always book with us and just book the cheapest hotel for 3 days and throw it away", don't you say it's your intent.
Q. Will AA Vacations cause problems for me?
If you disclose your intent to AA Vacations to "throw away" (not stay at) the hotel, they can not sell you the package. So, don't.
Q. Will the hotel cause problems for me?
Not likely; they're paid for a prepaid stay whether you stay or not, as they get to keep the money and have "your" room to sell.
Q. Will I earn points at the hotel? Will they recognize my status?
Many chains don't recognize third party bookings for points or stay credit, but will usually recognize your status. Properties will treat as prepaid booking.
Q. Are there ever deals or promos?
Indeed. There are often sales and promotions; look for them on the site.
Q. What if I want to book open jaw or customize?
Calling can do that. There's a $39 call fee, unless it's not able to be booked online. Others have said you can generally calculate the price of an open jaw itinerary by adding half the price of pricing for vacations to the arrival and departure cities and adding those.
Q. Can I put these on "hold" while I think about it since these include air fare?
No. But: Refund of Air Ticket Portion Within 24 Hours of Purchase
Within 24 hours of booking, you are allowed to cancel your refundable or non-refundable air ticket for a full refund (and no change fees and/or difference in fare) subject to the following rules:
- You must call 800-321-2121 within 24 hours of purchase to cancel the air ticket reservation and request a refund of the air ticket.
- The reservation must have been booked at least 7 days before scheduled departure.
- This policy does not apply to hotel or other non-air portions of the package. Standard cancellation policies will apply to all non-air components of the package.
- Refunds are only issued for tickets booked on aavacations.com or with American Airlines Vacations Reservations.
Q. My AAdvantage credit card earns double Award ("Redeemable") Miles on AA purchases. Will AA Vacations purchases earn 2x miles?
No. What transactions are eligible to earn double AAdvantage® miles?
Eligible American Airlines purchases are items billed by American Airlines as the merchant of record booked through American Airlines channels (aa.com, American Airlines Reservations, American Airlines airport, in-flight and city ticket counters). American Airlines tickets purchased through other channels or that are a component of any other cruise or tour package do not earn the additional mile purchase bonuses. Products or services that do not qualify for the additional bonus miles include car rentals, hotel reservations, American Airlines Vacations packages, purchases of American Airlines AAdvantage miles, duty free purchases and or AA Cargo℠
(lower right wiki corner)Updated 20 Aug 2016 by SpammersAreScum
AA: Reduced J Prices to Europe when purchasing via AA Vacations
Dec 29, 2017, 9:14 pm
#601
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
While not J fare, but I have noticed getting the asterisk next to the fare for premium economy to Asia is very difficult while in regular economy its very easy to get... I wonder if that is because premium economy is still very new and they haven't built in special fares for those yet (i.e. only quoting actual fares at this point)?
Mar 13, 2018, 4:40 pm
#602
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
I have to go to EZE next month and my corporate fares are coming up fairly high, effectively a discount on J fare that books into D bucket for YVR-EZE and then a slightly discounted I bucket fare SEA-EZE. Both are in the $5,200 range. AAVacations is showing an I fare on YVR-EZE for $3900 and a D fare for $4200 on YVR-EZE. No love on SEA-EZE, AAVacations I fare is exactly what my discounted corp I fare is. These are mostly fare and not a ton of taxes, so regardless of how they credit they should do well, probably better for it to credit as fare as opposed to distance.
May 15, 2018, 4:48 pm
#604
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
Assuming business class... The cheapest I tend to find are YVR-BRU. Watch out, that time of year they dont allow the $129 waiver to be applied.
Jun 13, 2019, 4:23 am
#605
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 522
Hotel dates different than flight dates can be booked online
Just priced LAX-FCO roundtrip in business for mid to late October and see fares for about $3,330. And a change from the last time I looked into this - you can now book online different dates for your hotel stay whereas before you had to call to do this (maybe you all knew this, but it was news to me). The price seems like a good deal for the time of year, definitely better than what I'm seeing on other booking engines.
If anyone's interested here are the details of what I found, and I'll attach screenshots below:
I priced flights with outbound on October 14, return on October 25. And for the hotel I input October 15 to October 18 (a 3 night minimum is still required). Lots of choices for flights on AA and BA and Iberia, I chose all AA: LAX-DFW-FCO and FCO-DFW-LAX. And I picked the cheapest hotel since it's a throwaway.
Note "Advance Search" allows you to enter "Hotel dates different than flight dates":
And here's a screenshot of the cost:
If anyone's interested here are the details of what I found, and I'll attach screenshots below:
I priced flights with outbound on October 14, return on October 25. And for the hotel I input October 15 to October 18 (a 3 night minimum is still required). Lots of choices for flights on AA and BA and Iberia, I chose all AA: LAX-DFW-FCO and FCO-DFW-LAX. And I picked the cheapest hotel since it's a throwaway.
Note "Advance Search" allows you to enter "Hotel dates different than flight dates":
And here's a screenshot of the cost:
Jun 14, 2019, 10:40 pm
#608
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
Just got a great deal using AAVacations to Europe for Oktoberfest and Amsterdam trip this year, I had initially booked an BA ticket from SEA-LHR with miles + $628 in fees ( I was happy to find J award but also the fees..ugh :/) and was looking to find a flight back when I remembered to check AAVacations and found RT SEA-AMS in J for $2800 (throwaway hotel) - the AMS-MUC-AMS legs are about $100 each way so figured that even if I found award tickets back they'd be likely BA (AA doesn't really have U space ex-LHR IME) so for not much more than double the YQ I got a paid ticket, earn vs spend miles, plus get EQM/Ds. Checking Google Flights it would have been about $4276 so a nice savings!
Jun 15, 2019, 11:13 am
#609
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,231
Nice to see there are some good savings back this way, for a while they were minuscule.
My best deal was a long weekend NYC-TXL 3-4 yrs ago for ~$2500 incl hotel, when flights alone on any airline were running $6k+.
My best deal was a long weekend NYC-TXL 3-4 yrs ago for ~$2500 incl hotel, when flights alone on any airline were running $6k+.
Nov 9, 2019, 8:38 am
#610
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: ORD
Programs: aadvantage, mileage plus, millemiglia
Posts: 100
I just booked a 5 day trip to BLQ (from ORD) during Thanksgiving week; business flights and a somewhat decent looking hotel for about $2300. Flights are BA operated. There wasn't anything close to this price, especially if looking to fly on OW, on aa.com or google flights. I paid an extra $129 for the ability to cancel the flight portion at any time up to departure (or perhaps I read this wrong and wasted $129).
Also, when you do the search, you pick the hotels first. The prices shown, however, aren't always the lowest ones. Once you pick the hotel and go to the flight page, there may well be cheaper flights. My hotel choice was showing $2690, but after I picked the room, a couple of flight options at $2300 appeared.
Hope this helps someone.
Also, when you do the search, you pick the hotels first. The prices shown, however, aren't always the lowest ones. Once you pick the hotel and go to the flight page, there may well be cheaper flights. My hotel choice was showing $2690, but after I picked the room, a couple of flight options at $2300 appeared.
Hope this helps someone.
Nov 9, 2019, 9:11 am
#611
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Portland, OR.
Programs: AA PPro
Posts: 606
$2300 is a great price. I have used AA vacations several times and even thrown away the hotel (found a place for $30/night in dublin but it was way out). their search engine is clunky so you are best to do your Homework on g/flights to narrow your options down before using AAvacations.
Nov 9, 2019, 9:36 am
#612
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,533
I just booked a 5 day trip to BLQ (from ORD) during Thanksgiving week; business flights and a somewhat decent looking hotel for about $2300. Flights are BA operated. There wasn't anything close to this price, especially if looking to fly on OW, on aa.com or google flights. I paid an extra $129 for the ability to cancel the flight portion at any time up to departure (or perhaps I read this wrong and wasted $129).
Also, when you do the search, you pick the hotels first. The prices shown, however, aren't always the lowest ones. Once you pick the hotel and go to the flight page, there may well be cheaper flights. My hotel choice was showing $2690, but after I picked the room, a couple of flight options at $2300 appeared.
Hope this helps someone.
Also, when you do the search, you pick the hotels first. The prices shown, however, aren't always the lowest ones. Once you pick the hotel and go to the flight page, there may well be cheaper flights. My hotel choice was showing $2690, but after I picked the room, a couple of flight options at $2300 appeared.
Hope this helps someone.
With that said, I know that the domestic PDP is $69 but the flight change fee is only $50 outside of 14 days. However PDP allows multiple changes while the $50 is per change. Not sure of the price difference for international.
Finally, note that PDP can be paid with mikes if one chooses.
Cheers.
Nov 14, 2019, 9:25 am
#613
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: ORD
Programs: aadvantage, mileage plus, millemiglia
Posts: 100
I called AAvacations today to see if I could use the PDP to change the time of my return flight. As I had suspected, they then reprice the entire package using the current price of the flight. To move the inbound flight up by 5 hours would triple the price of the package; needless to say, I didn't do it. After spending about 30 min with his help desk, the agent told me that if I went to the airport for the earlier flight it would be up to the gate agent's discretion if I could be accommodated for a same day change without repricing the flight. The flight is on BA. Has anyone ever heard of this working on BA with an AA ticket?
Nov 14, 2019, 10:35 am
#614
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,122
After spending about 30 min with his help desk, the agent told me that if I went to the airport for the earlier flight it would be up to the gate agent's discretion if I could be accommodated for a same day change without repricing the flight. The flight is on BA. Has anyone ever heard of this working on BA with an AA ticket?
Nov 14, 2019, 12:16 pm
#615
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Programs: BMI Diamond Club Gold forever
Posts: 6,367
I called AAvacations today to see if I could use the PDP to change the time of my return flight. As I had suspected, they then reprice the entire package using the current price of the flight. To move the inbound flight up by 5 hours would triple the price of the package; needless to say, I didn't do it. After spending about 30 min with his help desk, the agent told me that if I went to the airport for the earlier flight it would be up to the gate agent's discretion if I could be accommodated for a same day change without repricing the flight. The flight is on BA. Has anyone ever heard of this working on BA with an AA ticket?