Booking with air miles

[Globaliser]

28 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I don’t see premium economy to business listed here. 

 

It's these two lines, isn't it? You go up to "the next cabin of service".

 

• Discount Premium Economy with published fares booked in P
• Full-Fare Premium Economy with published fares booked in W

[taxatty]

We've personally upgraded to Business on an AA transpacific flight from relatively cheap one-way paid PE tickets (also bought with the hope of upgrading), so it's definitely possible.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:14 PM, taxatty said:

We've personally upgraded to Business on an AA transpacific flight from relatively cheap one-way paid PE tickets (also bought with the hope of upgrading), so it's definitely possible.

With miles?  

[taxatty]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

With miles?  

25,000 AA miles + $350 per person, as shown on the AA "upgrade with miles" chart. A great deal for a very long flight.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 minute ago, taxatty said:

25,000 AA miles + $350 per person, as shown on the AA "upgrade with miles" chart. A great deal for a very long flight.

How do you go about doing that?  I see a way to buy tickets with miles, but not how to upgrade.

[taxatty]

Just now, NCteacherlovescruising said:

How do you go about doing that?  I see a way to buy tickets with miles, but not how to upgrade.

Call AA to find out if upgrade space is available or to get put on a waitlist. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

Just now, taxatty said:

Call AA to find out if upgrade space is available or to get put on a waitlist. 

So if we book when flights first open we would have a good chance?

[taxatty]

No way of knowing without calling, but that's never worked for me for getting upgrades. You can sometimes get good AA points award redemptions when flights open, or a few days thereafter, but that isn't automatic--you must keep checking aa.com and pounce when a good deal shows up.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:18 PM, SelectSys said:

AA permits booking up to 331 days in advance.  While it is still too early for you to book, flights at the limit of the booking time window are 40k and $109.00 in premium economy right to Barcelona.   The return from FCO is 49k and $56.00 per ticket.

 

Personally I think you can find yourself a deal if you are a bit flexible on routing and dates. Since AA also permits you to cancel reward reservation at anytime without penalty, I might consider locking something in early and then see if you can beat your deal over time.

 

As an example, below is a screen print of the "search by calendar" function for reward ticket availability for your proposed outbound leg by for schedulable dates in May.

 

Good luck booking your tickets!

 

Thanks!  I just checked myself and it looks like we will have enough to buy both legs with miles in economy or one leg with miles and one with cash, for each of us using our individual cards.  Our friends are planning on using miles and flying economy, said it's not a big deal.  I can't imagine sitting in those little seats that long.  She said they book the exit row and get both get isle seats, get up and walk around a little and they also sleep several hours.  Is this too far to travel economy?  I know many people do, but how uncomfortable is it?  Also, if we were to buy economy tickets with miles, is it an option to pay cash for an upgrade to PE?  Is Premium Economy that much more comfortable than economy?  

[CruiserBruce]

People fly that distance in economy every day. They fly even longer distances in economy every day. The ratio of economy to other classes of service on a plane is 4 or 5 economy seats for every seat with more leg room or lay flat ability. So, no its not too far to fly in economy. 

 

It's better in premium economy compared to economy.  And it's better in business than in premium economy. How much better is a value judgment only you can make. 

 

Tell you a very recent ironic story. We are strong believers in the "get as much sleep as possible on the plane, stay up as close to new local bedtime as possible upon arrival" theory of jet lag cure. This method has worked very well for us. We are in Europe now. I slept so well in business class flying over, I was unable to get to sleep the first 2 nights at normal bed time. Fortunately didn't affect my planned events the first two days, but that has never happened before. 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Is this too far to travel economy?

 

Most people not only fly in economy, but do so without the benefit of an exit row. And you're only flying trans-Atlantic - it's really only a few hours.

 

We all like being more comfortable than that. But if that's what you want, then you'll simply have to pay for it, one way or another.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

34 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

People fly that distance in economy every day. They fly even longer distances in economy every day. The ratio of economy to other classes of service on a plane is 4 or 5 economy seats for every seat with more leg room or lay flat ability. So, no its not too far to fly in economy. 

 

It's better in premium economy compared to economy.  And it's better in business than in premium economy. How much better is a value judgment only you can make. 

 

Tell you a very recent ironic story. We are strong believers in the "get as much sleep as possible on the plane, stay up as close to new local bedtime as possible upon arrival" theory of jet lag cure. This method has worked very well for us. We are in Europe now. I slept so well in business class flying over, I was unable to get to sleep the first 2 nights at normal bed time. Fortunately didn't affect my planned events the first two days, but that has never happened before. 

I think I could sleep well in business class as well, but that’s not in the cards. Lol We were set on PE but our friends had us reconsidering. I just can’t imagine sleeping sitting up for any amount of time.  At least AA PE seats recline a bit which would be helpful. I still think we would be much more comfortable in PE than economy. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 minute ago, Globaliser said:

 

Most people not only fly in economy, but do so without the benefit of an exit row. And you're only flying trans-Atlantic - it's really only a few hours.

 

We all like being more comfortable than that. But if that's what you want, then you'll simply have to pay for it, one way or another.

9 hours is a long time!  

[CruiserBruce]

9 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

9 hours is a long time!  

The longest commercial flights are around 18 hours. And the same economy to business class ratios. 

[Globaliser]

 

2 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

12 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

9 hours is a long time!  

 

The longest commercial flights are around 18 hours. And the same economy to business class ratios. 

 

And western Europe to Sydney or Auckland is something like 20 to 22 hours, split between two flights.

[6rugrats]

On 6/18/2023 at 11:22 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

So if we book when flights first open we would have a good chance?

No one can say.  I would imagine you would have less of a chance for an immediate upgrade, because of course, the airline wants to sell those tickets, not give passengers a cheap upgrade.  

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The longest commercial flights are around 18 hours. And the same economy to business class ratios. 

That’s too long!  

2 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

And western Europe to Sydney or Auckland is something like 20 to 22 hours, split between two flights.

And this is way too long!  Lol

1 hour ago, 6rugrats said:

No one can say.  I would imagine you would have less of a chance for an immediate upgrade, because of course, the airline wants to sell those tickets, not give passengers a cheap upgrade.  

I guess I’ll find out soon enough. 

[FlyerTalker]

21 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

That’s too long!  

And this is way too long!  Lol

 

Guess that means you won't be traveling to much of the world.

 

But, to each their own.

 

 

[Globaliser]

21 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

That’s too long!  

And this is way too long!  Lol

 

I'm still here to tell the tale. 😉

[Gardyloo]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

That’s too long!  

And this is way too long!  Lol

I guess I’ll find out soon enough. 

Let me suggest something in the meantime.  

 

Frequent flyers regard miles and points as a form of currency, just like cash but less useful.  But they still have value, right?

 

So try this:  multiply the number of miles needed for an upgrade by 2c each, or 1.5c if you want to be conservative and add the total to the cost of the basic ticket that you'd need to purchase in order to qualify for the upgrade.  

 

Then find the cost of purchasing a premium economy or business class ticket (whichever you're going for) in the first place.  Then figure out how many FF miles/points you'd earn with that ticket, multiply those miles by the same 1.5c or 2c and subtract them from the purchase price.  

 

How do the numbers compare?  

 

Now it's likely that the purchase option is higher than the upgrade one, all in, but what you're getting with the purchase option is a guarantee that you'll fly in the cabin you want, vs. playing the odds that you'll score an upgrade seat.  Make no mistake, getting upgrades in mid-summer on popular transatlantic flights is no easy task.  The airlines would much prefer to sell those seats for big bucks rather than allocate them for award redemption.  It happens, but often only one seat comes up, and it might not be on a day that works for you.  Cruisers have a hard time being flexible on dates if it means missing the boat.

 

It may also seem counterintuitive, but midsummer is also often when business class fares to Europe from North America are at their cheapest.  The reason is in the name - business class.  Actual business-related purchases fall off sharply in the summer (lots of vacation time on the parts of European workers) so the airlines release cheaper business class buckets in the summer when their real bread and butter travelers are hanging out on a beach somewhere.  It's worth checking out.

 

Go look at the "premium fare deals" board on Flyertalk. Brush up on your airport and airline codes before you do.  Premium Fare Deals - FlyerTalk Forums

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Gardyloo

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Guess that means you won't be traveling to much of the world.

 

But, to each their own.

 

 

You are correct.  Neither of us are world travelers. We enjoy the Caribbean and visiting the mountains.  This trip is a special occasion for us. 
 

37 minutes ago, Gardyloo said:

Let me suggest something in the meantime.  

 

Frequent flyers regard miles and points as a form of currency, just like cash but less useful.  But they still have value, right?

 

So try this:  multiply the number of miles needed for an upgrade by 2c each, or 1.5c if you want to be conservative and add the total to the cost of the basic ticket that you'd need to purchase in order to qualify for the upgrade.  

 

Then find the cost of purchasing a premium economy or business class ticket (whichever you're going for) in the first place.  Then figure out how many FF miles/points you'd earn with that ticket, multiply those miles by the same 1.5c or 2c and subtract them from the purchase price.  

 

How do the numbers compare?  

 

Now it's likely that the purchase option is higher than the upgrade one, all in, but what you're getting with the purchase option is a guarantee that you'll fly in the cabin you want, vs. playing the odds that you'll score an upgrade seat.  Make no mistake, getting upgrades in mid-summer on popular transatlantic flights is no easy task.  The airlines would much prefer to sell those seats for big bucks rather than allocate them for award redemption.  It happens, but often only one seat comes up, and it might not be on a day that works for you.  Cruisers have a hard time being flexible on dates if it means missing the boat.

 

It may also seem counterintuitive, but midsummer is also often when business class fares to Europe from North America are at their cheapest.  The reason is in the name - business class.  Actual business-related purchases fall off sharply in the summer (lots of vacation time on the parts of European workers) so the airlines release cheaper business class buckets in the summer when their real bread and butter travelers are hanging out on a beach somewhere.  It's worth checking out.

 

Go look at the "premium fare deals" board on Flyertalk. Brush up on your airport and airline codes before you do.  Premium Fare Deals - FlyerTalk Forums

 

Are you saying to multiply by $0.02?  
 

Wouldn’t I have to book directly with AA to use my AA miles? I’d 

[6rugrats]

45 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:
 

Wouldn’t I have to book directly with AA to use my AA miles? I’d 

Yes.

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

You are correct.  Neither of us are world travelers. We enjoy the Caribbean and visiting the mountains.  This trip is a special occasion for us. 
 

Are you saying to multiply by $0.02?  
 

Wouldn’t I have to book directly with AA to use my AA miles? I’d 

 

We use only Amex Rewards and AA awards miles/points, mostly using AA.  However, we have never actually flown on AA with those AA awards.  There are much nicer seats/beds on their better international partner airlines, in either J or occasionally even F (nice!).

 

The call may need to go to an AA group who work with partner reservations, but you certainly do not need to *fly* on American equipment!  We hope we never do; those international partners are soooo nice!  And in many cases, *fewer* points are needed to travel in the same class (e.g., J or F) with that nicer partner than if we had flown on AA flights.  Win/Win to use the partners!

 

GC

[NCteacherlovescruising]

41 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

We use only Amex Rewards and AA awards miles/points, mostly using AA.  However, we have never actually flown on AA with those AA awards.  There are much nicer seats/beds on their better international partner airlines, in either J or occasionally even F (nice!).

 

The call may need to go to an AA group who work with partner reservations, but you certainly do not need to *fly* on American equipment!  We hope we never do; those international partners are soooo nice!  And in many cases, *fewer* points are needed to travel in the same class (e.g., J or F) with that nicer partner than if we had flown on AA flights.  Win/Win to use the partners!

 

GC

What international partners?  What’s better about them?  I don’t know what J or F is. The furthest we’ve ever flown before is Aruba. 

[GeezerCouple]

28 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

What international partners?  What’s better about them?  I don’t know what J or F is. The furthest we’ve ever flown before is Aruba. 

F is First Class and J is often used for Business class when discussing awards.

If you browse through the AA online information, you should find it.

I usually search for something like:  "American International Partner Airlines".

 

Ah, here is a place to start:

 

https://www.aa.com/i18n/aadvantage-program/miles/redeem/award-travel/oneworld-and-other-airline-partner-award-chart.jsp

 

Just wander around on the website and browse for a while.  It can get pretty complicated, but it can lead to some amazing travel!

 

As for "what's better about the international airlines", well, that depends in part on *which* international airlines and *which* US airlines one is comparing.  And one person may have different preferences than some others, in part depending upon which class of service they tend to fly.

 

GC