cynstalker

We have lots of miles available, and want to go "somewhere" over the holidays...don't really care where as long as it's warmer than New England. I keep thinking up places, then go through the process of checking availability on AA.com, only to find no seats available at reasonable mileage costs and dates. I wish there was a website that would say: These are all the places you can go using your miles around these dates.

Cyn

Gardyloo

No. The AA website can show you availability only on AA-operated flights, not those of any partner (which would be needed for trips to places not served by AA themselves.) For those you need to phone AA. A couple of partner airlines (notably Qantas) have such web functionality for their frequent flyers, but not AA.

Award seats to warm places over the holidays (presumably December/January) are always hard to get; actually it's often easier if you book into first or business class. For best hunting, it's important to start looking as soon as possible - even at 11 months out (which is when seats become available initially.)

cynstalker

Thanks for the answer Gardyloo; you've confirmed what I already suspected. We would be flying first/business, and I do know how tough it can be to get seats - but saying that, since 2001 we've flown to Australia, China, Thailand, New Zealand, & Africa all on miles, all in business/first. It was sometimes a major challenge to get itineraries that made sense, but my determination has always paid off.

I guess I was just wishful-thinking for that website, because at this point I don't have a specific place that I am dying to see. We just want a quick little break from the winter over the holdiays, which gives me the flexibilty to go where ever there's seats. Guess I'll just keep coming up with different places, and go from there.

Cyn

Gardyloo

Sign up for Qantas' frequent flyer program at http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn...fier-region-us When you do, even though you'll have no miles in the plan, you can get access to their award booking engine ("make an award booking" at http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/...ngPoints/index. That will allow you to see availability on flights that Qantas members could use for award redemption. Note that Qantas and AA don't share all the same partners, but enough of them, and on enough routes, to see what might be open, then you can phone AA to make reservations.

Note too that the same award inventory might not be available to AA members that would be to QFF members (especially British Airways between the US and UK) but it's certainly better than nothing. I have planned numerous award trips on AA partners using the Qantas site as a guide, and seldom have I seen inventory that was available to QFF members that wasn't available to AA members.

In business or first, certain routes are notorious for never being available, or at least not available until a few days before the flight. Examples include Qantas transpacific, Cathay Pacific between NYC or LAX and Hong Kong, or BA between London and Joburg; and some others.

lynnejoel1015

where's AAFF when you need him?

does this help at all?

http://tinyurl.com/27a9bb

lynnejoel1015

PS- scroll down, it gives you a helpful chart.

Orlando_Vic

Gardyloo, do you, AAFF or anyone else happen to know how long of a time delay there is between the QF FF seat availability and AA's access to those available seats? 1 week? 2 weeks? Or?

I can "see" them on QF's FF web site but just need to know when to ask AA for them. Or...should I just use 330 days out?

NoFlyZone

Award seats which an airline makes available on its own website are not necessarily ever available through a partner. They are separate inventories and calculations.

Gardyloo

I seem to recall that QFF makes award inventory available to its own members at 365 days, v. 330 for AA. I honestly don't know if AA can access seats in that initial 35-day period, but I doubt it.

I haven't encountered any situations (in many uses) where AA flyers couldn't book "open" seats shown on the QF website, aside from the obvious (e.g. BA between US and UK.)

northie

I am a QF FF member and just looked at site and as 9th January the latest date for booking today is December 28th 2009