breakbeats1

Pretty open through most of 2019; most flights come in around ~$1050, but there are some a bit cheaper. Mostly nonstop. Great for AA EQM, ...... for EQD. (long time lurker, i think this is my first deal posted)

NYC Flyer

Nice first deal post! There are similarly attractive private fares and possibly AA Vacation packages that will earn a nice chunk of EQDs on top of the EQMs as well.

flyingeph12

Beware, most of the PE AAVacation packages to Asia that I've seen are not actually special fares. You need to double check to make sure there's an (*) next to the fare code. I'm not sure about "private fares," but I would be careful nonetheless.

NYC Flyer

True with respect to AA vacations--many are using published fares, but I'm always on the lookout for the *. Private fares (really consolidator fares) post as bulk/special fares, as the consolidator sets the passenger's ticket price, not the airline (giving rise to the complication in calculating qualifying dollars).

Whodunit68

the challenge is in finding and identifying which will be private fares. It requires a lot of reading.
I did a search on AAV in response to another poster's request for EoY MR and first hit was AAV * in combined PE and Y (K, the domestic leg). It turned out to be *approximately* 2 EQDs to 1 USD which, AFAIK, is a pretty good find along with the 1.5 EQMs. I found something very similar to Europe on BA metal for about the same return on AAV (combined PE/Y). I understand Europe is more common but maybe there's a coming-back of PE * fares?

flyingislove

This is a nice bonus gem!
https://www.aavacations.com/specials...P-ALL-ASI-ALL#

NYC Flyer

It can be a real waste of time. AAV likely contracts with AA for bulk fares on some destinations, some of the time, and they likely sell out and revert to published fares often (or published fares may be lower than the bulk fare--even if by a few dollars, the booking engine is designed you get you the best price, not deliver you a specific fare type). The consolidator booking channel does not exist primarily to service mileage runners either, but it just so happens that consolidator fares generally fall into the category of "special fares", "exception fares", etc, depending on the airline. There are possibly still some consolidator fares out there that prohibit mileage accrual altogether, although my sense is that these tend to be associated with foreign airlines and the cheapest economy booking buckets.

I've checked some consolidator fares to Europe for various airlines in Q12019. What I found does not compare price-wise with published fares like I've seen to Asia, but for a nominal increase in fare, they may be attractive for some flyers. I'll also note that some of the consolidators offer one-way tickets in markets where the lowest published fares require a round-trip purchase. This can be helpful if you have to get to a specific airport overseas to start another trip.

fanger

It does sometimes happen that a trip I'm looking at stops offering * flights, sometimes for a long time, but they usually come back. Only once have I had to give up on getting a * flight. However, I did notice that they become more scarce for close in booking.

Gig103

Was this a sale that might have ended? I am on Google Flights now and have tried 4-7 day trips and can't find anything less than $1300, more in the summer, and sometimes not even the nonstop for that flight (using JAL instead).

flyingeph12

I'm still seeing availability for under $1000.
https://www.google.com/flights/#flt=...73*2.USD.99473

You can even route via DFW in one direction for more miles.
https://www.google.com/flights/#flt=...23*2.USD.99923

rbAA

PVG: https://www.google.com/flights#flt=P...;sc:p;sd:1;t:f

Also, PEK: https://www.google.com/flights#flt=P...66*2.USD.81966

Both look good until the summer and then again in Sept.

It really doesn't make sense to route these thru DFW for "more miles" unless you really need the EQM's. However, as AS MVP75K, these earn 225% of BIS in RDM's and 100% EQM's, so I would do that instead thru DFW.

Gig103

Thanks for your help, I was failing miserably!

flyingeph12

My presumption is that if people are utilizing this fare as a mileage run, it's for EQM, not for EQD—in which case, LAX-DFW-HKG will earn 13,420 EQMs as opposed to 10,890 for a simple LAX-HKG (you should take a look over at the mileage run thread and see how much it will cost someone who's 1000 EQM short to get that before the end of the year). Also, personally, I like the late afternoon arrival of the DFW flight more than the early morning arrival of the LAX flight. So that's another reason I would prefer that routing if taking advantage of this fare.

flyingeph12

No problem!

In my opinion, the whole Google Flights interface has really become more complicated (and less user friendly) over the last year or so. I understand the folks at Google wanting to add additional bells and whistles (as well as probably better monetizing it), but I've found the changes to be quite annoying.

rbAA

Unfortunately, it requires a redeye LAX-DFW so two nights sleeping on a plane, or overnight at DFW, and makes it difficult with the late afternoon arrival and frequent late departures from DFW, to connect to other flights out of HKG, whereas, the early arriving LAX can have a myriad of other flight options. 24,927 EQM's flying LAX-DFW-HKG-LAX vs 21,780 for the LAX-HKG-LAX RT. As well as more expensive from the dates I checked.
Aren't MR's deader than disco?