Liklihood of AA availability with QF FF points

[Springthing]

Hi guys,

I'm a lowly bronze QF FF member, and for the past 3-4 months I've been trying to secure a classic award booking on AA for a specific date/route on AA within the US, and I am now wondering if theres a remote likelihood of any seats ever coming up or should I just take the plunge and purchase seats before the price spirals up?

My itinerary is MIA-LAS 11 March, 2 pax in economy.

Ideally I'm after AA1470 which is direct, but would consider any of the multiple cities routes, but would prefer earlier departure out of MIA, rather than something that gets in late evening.

I realise this is very specific, and the date is only a couple of months away. Even when I run availability tests on months later in the year for this route, there really isnt many options for award seats.

Any thought would be appreciated.

Mike

 

[kreuky]

good luck, AA are now just as stingy as QF when it comes to award space, especially domestically, and anecdotally it seems AA/QF are becoming more stingy with each other (mostly long haul) (ie QF flights don't appear in AA, and vice versa).
AA releases awards in slabs, so they might do a big release before your date. Best bet is to use expertflyer (costs money after free trial) , or check religiously.

For US domestic, I find purchasing seats around 30 days out seems to still be decent, price wise, so there's no rush yet. I haven't checked the prices, but personally, I'd say you wouldn't get decent value for this economy redemption since QF redemption rates are a rip off. At least with AA there are only real taxes of US$6 or so.

 

[Mattg]

Finding award availability on AA domestic can be surprisingly difficult. AA are getting pretty stingy with this.

I had a quick look and couldn't find any seats either. In my opinion they are unlikely to release availability on the flight you want so you might as well just pay for tickets.

 

[Springthing]

Finding award availability on AA domestic can be surprisingly difficult. AA are getting pretty stingy with this.

I had a quick look and couldn't find any seats either. In my opinion they are unlikely to release availability on the flight you want so you might as well just pay for tickets.

Thanks for the quick reply guys...

I guess I'll keep holding out a little longer in case they do release some, which I realise is not very likely.

I've also had a few Google Flight alerts set for sometime now, to keep an eye on paid fares for this route, and they havent budged much in the past few months..

 

[Princess Fiona]

You do sometimes get T class available within days of the flight on AA. Probably best to have a back up plan though.

 

[serfty]

What Cabin?

 

[serfty]

Assuming Economy.

USD299 per PAX is what that ~9am departing flight is going for. You can get USD171 with an 11pm departure the night before.

I do not think an award flight will show up on AA for AA1470.

 

[serfty]

@Springthing , A quick multi city search with a DFW connection using Google Flights comes up with a USD179 per pax (AUD228) departing 9:05am and arriving 1:50pm. Connection time at DFW is a short 80 minutes.

Thats better than the AU$380 per PAX of your target flight. There are a couple of cheaper options (AU$217 ea) later in the day as well.

Miami (MIA) to Las Vegas (LAS) — Sun, Mar 11

Miami (MIA) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — Sun, Mar 11
American 2706
Dep: 9:05 am
Arr: 11:30 am
3h 25m
Boeing 757
Economy (S)


Layover in DFW

1h 20m

Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Las Vegas (LAS) — Sun, Mar 11
American 683
Dep: 12:50 pm
Arr: 1:50 pm
3h 0m
Airbus A321
Economy (G)

 

[Stevo.1702]

I am having a similar issue trying to book a reward, any cabin, from Orlando to LAX. I'm probably going to make some time and book it in two legs and enjoy a night or two in a new city between the east and west.

Incredibly difficult finding awards on some legs. Even 11 months in advance.

 

[Mattg]

I am having a similar issue trying to book a reward, any cabin, from Orlando to LAX. I'm probably going to make some time and book it in two legs and enjoy a night or two in a new city between the east and west.

Incredibly difficult finding awards on some legs. Even 11 months in advance.

What date are you looking for?

 

[Stevo.1702]

What date are you looking for?

Between the 5th and 9th of November.

Maybe if they release in batches I'll see more become available in time?

Thanks for the help

 

[Mattg]

Between the 5th and 9th of November.

Maybe if they release in batches I'll see more become available in time?

Thanks for the help

I'm seeing plenty of availability from MCO to LAX around these dates. E.g. 5 November:

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The Qantas award calendar doesn't display all AA flights, with particular lack of availability on itineraries that may involve connections. (Finding single flights has got better recently, in the middle of the year it was showing almost nothing.)

Search for flights direct on AA. No membership is required, just ticket the 'redeem miles' box on the main booking page. If you find sAAver award space, you can call QF to book.

That being said, AA award space is getting hard to find. And it seems fairly rare for new inventory to be opened up. But YMMV.

(No flights MIA-LAS on 11 March BTW)

 

[Stevo.1702]

Thanks for the info. Certainly don't recall seeing as much availability a month ago but perhaps I was a bit early.

I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Mattg]

Thanks for the info. Certainly don't recall seeing as much availability a month ago but perhaps I was a bit early.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Bear in mind, AA seats are only released 330 days out. So if you were looking a month ago then you were indeed too early.

 

[Springthing]

Thanks for all the extra thoughts and comments guys....

@serfty that price for the flights via DFW is better than what I've seen, and the times are what I'm after. I'll try and find that combo of flights. Given it's unlikely of any classic award seats appearing now (and I've now checked the QF and AA sites, and broken down the sectors to try and find seats on connecting flights separately), paid seats are the likely outcome. Frontier Airline also have some decent fares I see. Of course no FF points or SC to earn on them though.

 

[Springthing]

@serfty I have searched both AA and Google Flights and I cant find anything near as cheap as what you came up with.The date was 11th March yeah?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

@serfty I have searched both AA and Google Flights and I cant find anything near as cheap as what you came up with.The date was 11th March yeah?

The fare might have gone now. I can't replicate it on either googleflights, AA(.com) or AA(.com.au)

Wait a day (or two) and see if it comes back down.

 

[serfty]

Prices fluctuate ... They were there yesterday at that price.

To buy today it would cost AU$292 each.

 

[Springthing]

The fare might have gone now. I can't replicate it on either googleflights, AA(.com) or AA(.com.au)

Wait a day (or two) and see if it comes back down.

Dont worry I check pricing couple of times everyday