What will you do with MR points?

[NM]

Hi NM,

"How to get 2 F seats to LHR?" will become the title of a thread after all the points have been transferred and I will be relying on all the groups knowledge to get me and mrs ejb to London (i'm sure there will be some interesting routing)

ejb

Starting point is to assume you won't be flying on Qantas aircraft. Best chance is with BA or CX. I have not seen two F award seats on any QF flight for a long time. Note that CX bookings will require agent assistance and hence cost an additional 2500 points per ticket. Also note that CX will only have F out of MEL with all SYD flights becoming 2-class.

Second thing is to book as close to 353 days before travel as you can.

Third is to be facing west, standing on one leg with your left elbow stuck in your right ear while searching for availability.

 

[creeno]

So....if I transfer my points to AA via SPG, I am considering sending my mother on the following trip:

* Route: SYD-BKK-LHR-BKK-SYD (ie. stopovers in BKK)
* Approx total mileage - 21000

Does this mean I would be required to book an AA oneworld Zone 7 award (ie. Y = 120K, J = 150K, F = 230K)?

Of course, if she was booked on through flights without stopovers (ie. SYD-LHR-SYD, with transits in BKK) then this would see us using the AA Partner Award, wouldn't it (Y = 90K, J = 120K, F = 160K)?

Sorry for what are probably simple questions....but just want to make sure I understand it correctly!

 

[futaris]

For most AA questions, the Flyertalk Forum is a much better resource, unless it's specific to Australia.

See this thread for details about stopovers, etc on All Partner Awards.

And this thread for Oneworld.

 

[futaris]

Are there other ways to get AA points other than via SPG? A 0.6 conversion rate is significantly more than a 0.33 rate.

Live Search Club - points for playing games and boosting Microsoft's Live Search ranking.

 

[Zippy7]

Live Search Club - points for playing games and boosting Microsoft's Live Search ranking.

The T&C mention it is only for Americans?
Has any Aussie got points out of this???

 

[NM]

So....if I transfer my points to AA via SPG, I am considering sending my mother on the following trip:

* Route: SYD-BKK-LHR-BKK-SYD (ie. stopovers in BKK)
* Approx total mileage - 21000

Does this mean I would be required to book an AA oneworld Zone 7 award (ie. Y = 120K, J = 150K, F = 230K)?

The AA OneWorld award does not permit more than one stopover in the same city. So cannot use a OneWorld award for this itinerary. You could do it with a transit only in one direction, or choose a different Asia point for the stopover in the other direction (e.g. SIN, HKG, NRT, BOM).

The only way to stopover in BKK is to use two separate Partner Awards, one being SYD-BKK-SYD and another nested as BKK-LHR-BKK.

 

[creeno]

The AA OneWorld award does not permit more than one stopover in the same city. So cannot use a OneWorld award for this itinerary. You could do it with a transit only in one direction, or choose a different Asia point for the stopover in the other direction (e.g. SIN, HKG, NRT, BOM).

The only way to stopover in BKK is to use two separate Partner Awards, one being SYD-BKK-SYD and another nested as BKK-LHR-BKK.

Thanks NM. Certainly no issue to travel via another port one way, and then BKK the other. That being the case, am I on the right track in terms of interpreting the AA zone/points requirements?

 

[ejb]

...Third is to be facing west, standing on one leg with your left elbow stuck in your right ear while searching for availability.

I knew it would be hard, but this is just plain cruel

ejb

p.s. thanks for the info, what would be the better option for comfort BA or CX.

 

[NM]

p.s. thanks for the info, what would be the better option for comfort BA or CX.

If you are wanting F, then the best one is the one that has availability on the day you want to travel. I guess you have a chance of the new CX F suite if booking that far out. But either is great.

 

[NM]

Thanks NM. Certainly no issue to travel via another port one way, and then BKK the other. That being the case, am I on the right track in terms of interpreting the AA zone/points requirements?

yes, its Zone 7, costing 120K in Y, 150K in J and 230K in F.

 

[gibspmuh]

Until the end of September I know my points will be getting transferred through to SPG to cover accommodation for a forthcoming trip to Indonesia - every five transactions is another free night's accommodation at a Cat1 or Cat2 Starwood Hotel (and they've got plenty of them there ).

 

[NM]

I just joined AA online - seems that you can only book award tickets out of Australia by calling them. Is there any additional charge to booking award flights by phone?

If booking for flights in more than 21 days time, its US$5 if issued on-line via aa.com (only for AA flights of course) or US$20 for tickets issued through the AA Reservations Dept. This is waived for Plat and Exec Plat status members.

If booking between 7 and 20 days ahead, there is an expedite fee of US$50, and if between 6 days and 2 hours the expedite fee is US$100. I am not sure if these expedite fees are waived for Plat and/or Exec Plat status members.

See here for details.

 

[futaris]

The T&C mention it is only for Americans?
Has any Aussie got points out of this???

Yes. There are several Aussies on AFF and Flyertalk who have used it to top up their accounts.

 

[JohnK]

I have close to 300,000 QFF points and no plans or time to use these points in the forseeable future.

I have 120,000 Amex MR points saved away for a rainy day and hopefully this balance will increase with the current bonus promotion. These MR points will definitely not be moved across to QF. I was thinking of sending mum or dad to ATH in business class with TG or SQ next time one of them wants to travel.

The T&C mention it is only for Americans?
Has any Aussie got points out of this???

Yes.

 

[Mal]

... never mind

I'm sure I'll find a nice home for them somewhere!

 

[Soundguy]

If booking for flights in more than 21 days time, its US$5 if issued on-line via aa.com (only for AA flights of course) or US$20 for tickets issued through the AA Reservations Dept. This is waived for Plat and Exec Plat status members.

If booking between 7 and 20 days ahead, there is an expedite fee of US$50, and if between 6 days and 2 hours the expedite fee is US$100.

Not meaning to drift this off topic but do AA have other fees for award flights or are the above the sum total plus the points? Also I'm assuming these fees are per person? The QF award fees have gotten ridiculous.... debases their program.

 

[simongr]

AA dont charge fuel surcharges for flights on other carriers so you only pay the taxes.

 

[Soundguy]

AA dont charge fuel surcharges for flights on other carriers so you only pay the taxes.

Thanks simongr, just saw this on the AA website:

Award tickets are subject to applicable taxes and security fees

​

So I guess I'll have to find out what this costs, interested in cattle class flights for the family between Oz and the US for 75k points.

 

[simongr]

For a completely unrelated comparison I booked the following award and paid $250 per person:

syd-hkg-jfk-lhr-lca-lhr-hkg

 

[Tiki]

The AA OneWorld award does not permit more than one stopover in the same city. So cannot use a OneWorld award for this itinerary. You could do it with a transit only in one direction, or choose a different Asia point for the stopover in the other direction (e.g. SIN, HKG, NRT, BOM).

The only way to stopover in BKK is to use two separate Partner Awards, one being SYD-BKK-SYD and another nested as BKK-LHR-BKK.

I rang AA last week and they told me it was 75,000 for RT BNE-Brazil via the USA and you can only stop in an international gateway, so LAX or maybe SFO.

I need to find out where I could stopover on an award to North Africa-Casablanca to be precise. Maybe Madrid on Iberia?