A couple of questions from an AAdvantage newbie

[madrooster]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

AA and QF use different booking systems so once it's ticketed you'll need to phone AA to get the QF reference.

I've had no issues putting the AA Sabre PNR into MMB on the QF site which then spat out the QF Amadeus PNR.

 

[k3nnis]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Sorry to be OT, do QF awards also release 330 days out for pax using CX miles?

thanks,
k.

Yes that is correct re the points required.

AA only releases awards 331 (or is it 330) days out even on Qantas flights so you don't have as good a chance at picking up the award.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Do miles flown on award flights count towards tier/status ?

 

[drron]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Do miles flown on award flights count towards tier/status ?

Not with AA

 

[QF029]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Sorry to be OT, do QF awards also release 330 days out for pax using CX miles?

thanks,
k.

From what I have seen, CX award seats are visible through a QF search earlier than the QF seats. It may just be a day or two, I'm not sure.

 

[Hvr]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Lol really ?
I didn't realise QF94 gets routed through HNL ?
Or don't tell me they fly AA to HNL and then J* lol

I've seen routings using AA to HNL and then Hawaiian Airlines to Australia.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

I've seen routings using AA to HNL and then Hawaiian Airlines to Australia.

Really ?
I would kill myself lol :shock:
Surely you can clearly see this when booking ?

 

[Hvr]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Really ?
I would kill myself lol :shock:
Surely you can clearly see this when booking ?

You certainly can, but as I mentioned always worth checking carefully. It would be horrendous to end up in a HA first class seat when you're expecting the QF A380 suite.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

I still cannot believe that you can fly in J to Europe return for 120k AA miles on QF metal whilst on QFF it is 256k points basically in the same aircraft.

So it seems the sweet spot is to be QF WP, purchase miles from AA when they have a promotion, then redeem flights on AA, which will then appear on your QF My Bookings allowing premium seat selection, then F lounge before departure wow what a life haha. If only I knew this a few years ago lol.

Does anyknow how much the cash component (taxes/fees/surcharges is) for a AA award redemption say MEL-LHR return ?

 

[legroom]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

...... So it seems the sweet spot is to be QF WP, purchase miles from AA when they have a promotion, then redeem flights on AA, which will then appear on your QF My Bookings allowing premium seat selection, then F lounge before departure wow what a life haha. If only I knew this a few years ago lol.....

Ain't the truth simple (and sweet) ?

 

[dalereardon]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

I don't know the fees and taxes for Mel to LHR but I did HBA to CDG Paris via KUL with Malaysian in business class and the total fees and taxes were US$75 each way per person. It is a bargain indeed.

And I nearly forgot - Mel to KUL was business but I did first class from KUL to CDG and it was really fantastic - way way better than BA first class - I hope to get a trip report done.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

I don't know the fees and taxes for Mel to LHR but I did HBA to CDG Paris via KUL with Malaysian in business class and the total fees and taxes were US$75 each way per person. It is a bargain indeed.

And I nearly forgot - Mel to KUL was business but I did first class from KUL to CDG and it was really fantastic - way way better than BA first class - I hope to get a trip report done.

Wow that is a huge call look forward to your trip report.
How did you manage to redeem AA miles for MH flights ?
I know MH is part of OW but whenever I look up flights from MEL to LHR/CDG/GVA/FCO, etc all I get is either QF all the way (if to LHR), or a mixture of QF/BA and some AY options.

Is there a way of opening up flights on MH, CX, etc ?
Or it just won't let you go via HKG unless you book it as a multi ?

I also heard that AA have some sort of partnership with EY ? Can you use AA Miles to redeem flights on EY ?

Thanks

 

[dalereardon]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Malaysian doesn't show up on the AA search engine. You need to use Book Flights, Hotels, Holidays, Car Rental with British Airways - BA.com or www.awardnexus.com to search for the awards and then ring up AA. Both those sites will also show Cathay search results.

It was 80K from Hobart to CDG Paris in first even though the first leg only had business.

BA is no doubt going to improve their first class on the A380 but we flew BA 747 and the crew told us the seats are identical on the 777 and they were no better than business class and worse than some business class. The service was nowhere as good as Malaysian either.

We also flew first on Emirates 777 from Singapore to Melbourne and that was fantastic. It was slightly better than Malaysian but not a huge amount at all. Malaysian had the bigger seat and more storage space. Both crews were great too. If Malaysian would bring the A380 all the way to Australia then we would have a great product with great availability.

 

[drron]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Yes you can.details found via here-
https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/earnMiles/travel/airlines/main.jsp

Don't have to worry about HA when booking an F award to or from Australia as they don't have an F cabin.
Plus the booking engine is pretty clear on what you get as well.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Yes you can.details found via here-
https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/earnMiles/travel/airlines/main.jsp

Don't have to worry about HA when booking an F award to or from Australia as they don't have an F cabin.
Plus the booking engine is pretty clear on what you get as well.

Looks like EY is only bookable by calling them. https://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/earnMiles/travel/airlines/etihad.jsp

I'm keen to try the EY product have heard great things about their F class.

Do AA call centers charge a booking/phone assist fee ?
Can this be waived for itineries/routes/airlines that are not bookable online ?

 

[dalereardon]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

The US call centre which is open 24/7 charges a US$25 booking fee which is pretty reasonable I think. With the low cost of VOIP calls I always use that centre.

There is an Australian centre that charges much higher fee.

 

[TheEmu]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

The US call centre which is open 24/7 charges a US$25 booking fee which is pretty reasonable I think. With the low cost of VOIP calls I always use that centre.

There is an Australian centre that charges much higher fee.

The US number is available 24 hours, however you may end up talking to people elsewhere on the globe depending on the time of day - I've been routed to Fijian operators a couple of times as well as US operators well out of US business hours.
As with any attempt at booking award flights, my best advice is to thoroughly research what you want and availability first, then call. One Fijian operator tried to take me through Singapore via an overnight in Hong Kong for a relatively straightforward NKG-HKG-BNE-TSV J award, charging three awards instead of one Asia2-South Pacific (120k miles vs 70k miles return). Be prepared to be persistent and guide them to what you want (always polite and friendly, of course). One particular call (Fiji) dropped out three times, only to get the same operator each time I called back. I hope he learned something - I certainly learnt heaps!
I get the impression they really can't see CX award seats - can anyone shed some light on this (and where to see them)? These (CX) seem to be the most elusive to my inexperienced fingers.
I've also been charged a $75 booking fee apparently because the departure date was less than 21 days hence. (I've not checked the validity of that though…?)

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

Is there anyway you can get a AA credit card if not a US resident ?
Is it just the US address that you need (got a cousin that's about to move there) or are they likely to verify that the applicant lives at the stated address ?
Can somebody shed some light on this please ?

Thanks

 

[dalereardon]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

If you want to check CX award space the best way is www.asiamiles.com account - its free. I have booked Cathay Space with AA but you're right - I had to be friendly but persistent to get them to find it.

To get a US credit card you need a US social security number and a US credit record so not easily done. All we can do is nag AA to do a deal with an Australian bank as their miles are so much more valuable than QFF.

 

[Nizar]

Re: Couple of AAdvantage questions from a newbie to it

To get a US credit card you need a US social security number and a US credit record so not easily done. All we can do is nag AA to do a deal with an Australian bank as their miles are so much more valuable than QFF.

Yeh exactly that's probably why AA would never do that. QF wouldn't like it very much.