Redeeming FF Miles

[omegaet]

.......just in case you missed this recent New York Times article about thetravel era we are experiencing in the US:



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/business/24road.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=rssn yt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1215356536-ebM2I/KpuW8p/STOMu2vpg

[shygirl724]

There is some good news for using FF miles with American Airlines. They are now going to allow
1) FF miles for 1 way tickets, using 1/2 the amount of miles needed for a round trip.
2) Use FF miles to upgrade to first class for only part of your trip. No longer have to do the entire trip.
3) Can now book your multi-stop FF trip online w/o having to call the airline (and incure the $20 fee).
4) Will be changing the AA site to allow FF miles bookings in Spanish. Other languages to follow.

Article about the announcement at:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,519821,00.html

[bonniejoy03]

The updates are now reflected on AA's website. Finding ff options on AA has improved. I think they are really doing a great customer service job. I actually sent an email to the company praising them for helping me use my small amount of ff points to go to Chile and fly LAN in Chile. They were extremely patient and offered great options. Big change compared to USAir!

[CMDAVILACLI]

thanks for the heads up on American... At this point, I have switched my cc to earn $$ rather than airline points since it has been so impossible to use them up. I'm glad to hear American is starting to think about their loyal customers.
cmdavilacli

[omegaet]

CMDAVILACLI....I would concur with bonniejoy03 regarding AA's apparent increased assistance in booking upgraded FF seats.....case in point, I was about 20K miles short of enough to upgrade to Business for an upcoming trip to Chile. The agent suggested I sign up for the AA Citibank Master Card (no fee 1st year)...spend a modest $750 and receive a bonus of 25K FF miles. I followed her advice and "Bingo" we secured the Business Class seats (much easier to make the overnight flight in the flat bed seat).

This is a rough time filling capacity for many airlines, but it is also is opening up award seats that were almost impossible to get six or eight months back.

[jsattapr2]

bonniejoy03 and omegaet, I am approaching a FF mile awards level with AA and I have been making a couple of phone calls to AA res agents. I am finding them to be extremely helpful and even offering some ideas for securing some seats. This is certainly a change in direction from I have experienced just a year or so ago when using some award miles. I guess this is the right time to take advantage of these changes.

[bonniejoy03]

Hi J. I had the same wonderful experience. I was booking my trip to Chile and completely relying on the web site...WRONG! When I called them, they coordinated Lan Chile with AA (their code share partner). Boy, it saved me sooo much time! They were extremely accommodating. I even sent a thank you note to AA.

[TRAVELLIGHTLY]

i am so pleased to read about ff miles and aa and those seats!



going to costa rica soon if able to get a comfortable free flight. also had more success with understanding and success in planning a flight using ff miles at aa.com than usair.

[LL_Travelfan]

Hi,

American Airlines allowing one way bookings with FF miles is a wonderful improvement. I hope other airlines will follow suite. It allows you to save on FF miles when you travel internationally and fall into high and low season. Traditionally, when we travelled to Europe leaving the US in the off season but returned back to the US in high season, we were charged 60,000 FF miles. Now you can book an international one-way ticket to Europe in low season for 20,000 FF miles and another one-way ticket for returning in high season for 30,000 FF miles for a total or 50,000 FF miles instead of the usual 60,000 FF miles. As bonniejoy mentioned, the AA frequent site has greatly improved and I had absolutely no problems while changing a return ticket to the US recently. Unfortunately, changing international tickets on line can not yet be done and one needs to call AA Advantage desk for international travel to ticket the change for a fee (the $20 fee shygirl724 mentioned in her post).