Schweden

Lots of dates, $842 CAD. Looks like minimum 36 hour stay in Sao Paulo. Can choose connection in JFK, DFW, or MIA. Booked as Y for economy segment between Canada-US and P for premium economy segment.

hogo74

Nice fare. It seems it can be booked via aavacations as Y*/P* for those interested in getting more EQD when crediting to AA.

ArthurSFO11

Thanks for posting, this is very helpful because I need to fly to GRU next month.

I'm seeing flights out of MIA for US$876 on some dates on Google Flights, though it's pricing out closer to US$700 on some OTAs. LATAM has even cheaper fares.

I just need to figure out if it makes more sense for me to position to YYZ or to MIA.

onobond

Never made reservations with AA Vacations before. Where to spot the asterisk, for higher EQD? Tried a mock booking, saw no asterisk, when reaching flights. Wrong dates or other things to try?

TIA

hogo74

If it's a special fare, the asterisk shows up when reaching the flight selection screen and looking at the details. There isn't any other way of checking that I know of except trial and error.

Schweden

Looks like you can also book YUL-GRU in premium economy for as low as $786 CAD although the layovers in the US are much longer.

NYC Flyer

AA Vacations will often quote vacation prices using bulk air contracts they have with AA. These flights show up in the air itineraries with an asterisk next to the the booking class (i.e., P=published fare booked in P-class; P*=bulk fare booked in P class).

You can also purchase bulk fares through consolidators (booking through a travel agent) without having to deal with a potentially unwanted hotel booking. The consolidators have contracts with AA just like AA Vacations does.

ArthurSFO11

Does missing the AA Vacations hotel check-in have any bearing on the return flights?

mosfet

After years and years of booking flights online, I'm interested in finding a travel agent with access to those fares.

Do you have any recommendations?

Thank you!

onobond

Thanks to @hogo74 and @NYC Flyer for your answers. No time for planning those excursions right now, but will try later

Medved

Could you post a link?

Schweden

Looks like YYZ-GRU has now gone up across the board to at least $954 CAD and it's now hard to find a connection in JFK.

https://flights.app.goo.gl/gYa7X

This means that, on some dates, Delta PE is cheaper at $912 CAD.

YUL-GRU has gone up a bit less to $818/$820 CAD.

https://flights.app.goo.gl/PgCzn

Shareholder

Just returned from a weekend doing this in Y for U$460, booked a few months ago when PE wasn't available at this low fare. Wasn't too bad in MCE, though if you don't like bulkhead seats (which I don't) the MCE "cabin" is several rows in the 2nd Y cabin at the very back of the bus. Best seats would be the two side banks of 2, either bulkhead (though there really is nothing in front of you but the emergency exit door) or the 2nd row. Otherwise there are just three rows in the centre bank of seats. PE looked a little less crowded though not sure I'd pay twice as much for that seat if you qualify for MCE seats.

For bargain travellers:
1. By late June the visa requirement will be over and Canadians, Americans and Australians so you can get in visa free (and $ free).. Before that you can apply for a $40 tourist visa online.
2. There is now a commuter rail link into the city. Signage at GRU is a bit confusing though, but you take any inter-terminal shuttle bus which will also go to the RR station. Fare at the ststion is either R$4.30 for the Jade line (#13) train that requires a transfer to the Sapphire line (#12) at Eng Goulart suburban station to get to Bras where you can connect (free transfers) to various Metro lines to get elsewhere in the city. On weekdays there is a connector train that runs from Platform 8 at Bras station. This Jade route runs every half hour, but there are two banks of Express trains running from Luz for R$8.60. Only the 4p or 5p Express service from Luz works well for the AA departures and the morning runs from GRU are not really convenient for the AA arrivals.

ralphs

There's an entire thread dedicated to this, complete with pictures. There are some pairs of two further up in MCE. AA 777-300ER / 77W Best Main Cabin Extra / MCE, Economy / Main Cabin seat

I recommend @NYC Flyer - started using him a few months ago and I really appreciate that he speaks our language. I had always self-booked, but he was able to pull up interesting fares and provide expert-level guidance.