Not sure if I shoud use FF miles for this
 

We used 60, 000 miles for rt to Paris. Have to fly rt Boston to San diego for 2 of us. (seniors). We have about 91,000 miles available. Does it pay to use the mileage this way?

Thanks for your help.

Depends on your airline program. Generally we try to use our FF miles for maximum bang for the buck, so Europe business class upgrades or straight award tickets are usually our preference. But BOS-SAN is a long way, so if it was me I'd buy the cheapest RTs I could find that would allow a mileage upgrade, and use some of your miles for that. That way you'll still get mileage credit for the flights, so the "net" cost in FF miles will be lessened by the miles you've earned on the paid trip.

Figure each FF mile is worth roughly a penny and a half, and do the math on cost/benefit.

Have you checked the fares for BOS-SAN. How much are they?

We like non-stop...about $500 each.

I believe the only BOS-SAN non-stop is on AA. If the best price you can find is around $500, then it's worth it to spend 25,000 miles on such ticket. That is, if you can get that FF award.

BTW, when are you trying to go? Tues and Weds till June is about $300. Other days are higher, but still only up to about $400. Still I think it's probably worth spending 25K miles.

Or you could be the mid-week less expensive fare and use miles for an upgrade. (Make sure one is available at time of booking tickets)

The AA BOS-SAN service is on a 757, regarded by many (me included) as AA's least comfortable plane in coach; although now that they're adding more seats into coach in other planes and reducing legroom throughout the fleet, that distinction may be short-lived.

You can upgrade a cheap fare for 15,000 miles each for each leg, or 30K each for a RT (but gain back around 5000 miles for the paid ticket, so 25K net to move up into first class) or you can get free FC tickets for 45,000 miles each, but of course no mileage credit for the "free" flights. I would choose the former myself.

Thanks for the help.

Ooops. Too long on the computer..Non stop tickets $400 each.....does that change anything?.I am trying hard to understand all this.

Maybe we're making this too complicated.

In fact, it's pretty simple. You can:

1) Spend $400 and end up with about 5,100 more AA miles than when you started.

2) Spend 25,000 miles and a little bit on taxes.

In general, it's a better deal to spend the miles than spend the money. But do you have other plans for the miles? Perhaps that extra 5,100 will be valuable for you to go somewhere else?

There are two of us so it would be 50,000 miles...!

Sorry I am so dumb.

I am really confused now. I thought I use 25,000 miles each on the 2 tickets (husband and I) and I get an upgrade.

I went on the site...don't know what they mean about purchasing upgrades. Is this a new thing? Or am I so old...?

Forget about "purchase upgrades". It cost $25 per 500 miles, and since it sounds like you're not an Elite AAdvantage member, you can only use them on full-fare economy (Y or B). You end up paying the same as buying a First Class ticket outright. Alternatively, you can also buy the full-fare ticket and then upgrade with miles (5,000 miles each way, per person).

Now, your choices to fly first class are:

1. Buy the ticket. I am seeing fares from around $1,200. There may be something cheaper, I don't know.

2. Use miles outright. As Gardyloo says, it's 45,000 roundtrip, per person.

3. Buy a cheap economy ticket and upgrade with miles. Again, as Gardyloo says, it's 15,000 each way, per person. So, it can be have for $400 + 30,000 roundtrip.

When talking about miles and money, it's easier to just talk about cost <b>per person</b>. It's confusing when you talk about per couple and others may be talking about family of 4, etc...

The 15,000 per person upgrade sounds good. I will see if they are avaialble. I want to ask though why can't I see this info on the aa website. Nothing about upgrades ...or am I missing it?

Many thanks.

Go to aa.com, click on the link to AAdvantage, then the link to &quot;Using Your Miles&quot;, then &quot;Upgrade Using Mileage&quot;. You'll see the chart.

Bigger question..now that I have you...I would like to toss the reeturn section of this ff ticket. I guess that is not allowed?..if so if doesn't make sense to use ff now does it?

Who are you?..It is so nice to meet an expert.

Sure you can toss the return ticket. And in general, you can book the FF award ticket as open-jaw, if you're planning to go back to Boston from somewhere else. For example, you can do BOS-SAN, then LAX-BOS, for the same miles.

BTW, one-way first class on AA's non-stop is only $600. Not much more than buying a $400 economy roundtrip and throw the return away.

Or if you want cheap, you can fly Southwest from Providence, RI or Manchester, NH. One-way to San Diego (via Baltimore or Chicago-Midway) can be as low as about $150 one-way.

loisco, if I recall correctly you wanted to go to Paris from San Diego and wanted to stop in Boston on the way. What I think I am understanding now is that you got FF tickets between Boston and Paris and are now figuring out how to get between San Diego and Boston. Is that right?

The 91,000 miles are they in your account or your spouse's. If both, then how are the miles distributed between the two accounts?

I am sorry to confuse everyone. I have 2 ff tickets to paris in Sept. We go through Boston..but those tickets are fine all the way back to San Diego.

We are going back East in May..visiting family..several cities, ending in Boston. Want to return home to San Diego June 28. .and that is it!! Possibly could use the second half of the ticket next Spring..but that might be too late.

I just checked..I have 180,000 miles in my FF account. My husband has a smaller amount..much smaller.

Whew. I really have messed this up haven't I?

Thanks for bearing with me and trying to help.

Waiting to hear from you.

I went on the American site. They say they upgrade you one class...does that mean we would be only in business class????..they certainly don't make it easy.

So, who are you getting from San Diego to Boston? Still confused.

On the domestic AA flight between San Diego and Boston, there's only two classes. Coach and First. No business class. And on American's 757, the First Class cabin is the &quot;domestic&quot; type, which is 39&quot; pitch, 21&quot; width.

It is more comfortable than coach, for sure, but it's nothing like International Business Class (60&quot; pitch), let alone International First Class (sometimes 92&quot; pitch suite).

To make this clear, in terms of comfort and room:

International 1st Class &gt; International Business &gt; Domestic 1st &gt; Coach

Sorry, I mean &quot;how&quot; are you getting from SAN to BOS?

I neglected to give details..

We flying jetblue to DC. Then taking a train to NJ and a train to Boston. (I love trains) and we have relatives in a lot of places to see.

It sounds like it's not worth using ff miles if the upgrade to first is like business class. So I may just use the ff mileage as is...or forget and pay for the flights. I got an email from American about a sale so I have to look at that too.

Thanks and any more info is welcome. You know so much ...I am impressed.

Just found out another cheap way to go BOS-SAN. You can book on ATA (it was recently &quot;rescued&quot; by Southwest), one-way BOS-SAN for $196 tax included. BOS-MDW (Chicago Midway) is on ATA and MDW-SAN is on Southwest.

This way, you don't need to fly out of Manchester or Providence. Only problem is the BOS-MDW flight leaves at 6am.

BTW, the roundtrip coach fares on the AA non-stop has dropped on certain days to just over $300. A hundred bucks less than when this thread started 2 days ago.

Since you don't need the return, I would just buy a one way from BOS to SAN. If you don't mind one stop, fares are around or less than $200pp on several carriers. Or take the train back to DC or New York and fly JetBlue to SAN for $130ish. I don't know if you've flown JetBlue before but they aren't bad in economy. Save your miles for something else like premium class international travel which would cost much more if you had to pay.

Thanks for all the help. We are in our 70s so the less dragging luggage and driving places, the better. We like non-stop as it's less exhausting.

When we were younger, we would think nothing of getting to another airport, or driving to a different place ..but now it's not easy to do.

I will check the aa site right away..! Thanks for all your help.

Yes great rt prices $300 on aa BUT we are needing it end of June..and they only go till beginning of June.

I checked one-ways on June 28 yesterday. It was over $500 on American's nonstop. On USAir (or United codeshare) it was $191.

The USAir fare was for a 1-stop.

OK. I went in itasofware and found many flights non stop boston to san diego ,,

What does this mean?
Alaska Airlines Flight AS1278 on a Boeing 737 (jet) in coach class
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(operated by American Airlines as Flight AA226)
This flight is $362...the same one almost on American with no mention of Alaska is $400.

I don't understand. Is Alaska ok?Thanks

It's the same plane, an American Airlines plane. It's just that Alaskan Airlines is selling seats for it.

AS1277 = AA225 BOS-SAN
AS1278 = AA226 SAN-BOS

Same plane, same flight, by American Airlines. You check in at the same counter, sit in the same seat, absolutely no difference.

If you can buy the AS ticket cheaper, than go ahead. You can even earn the same AAdvantage miles.

This flight is sometimes operated with a 737-800, sometimes with a 757-200. Still single-aisle narrow body with 3-3 seating. Same audio/video system with monitors in the ceiling, 12-channel audio, and $5 headphones (or bring your own).

Gosh you are so smart about these things. Let me ask you then..if Alaska Airlines is selling it, whose mechanics are they using?..

I am a fearful flyer ... I remember Alaska airlines had an accident and it was due to faulty maintenance..

I will do what you say but need reassurance.

Thanks

PS Why do they this?

Why codeshare? It's been a common practice for years. Airlines can buy seats on certain flights on their partner airlines and put their flight number on it. This way, each airline can boost the number of flights and cities they serve. It also helps with internet booking of flights on airline's own website.

And back to your question about this specific flight. Again, it's a AA flight. Alaska has absolutely nothing to do with the plane or the flight, except their flight number and that they sell tickets on it. Just like AA has nothing to with Cathay Pacific's flights to Hong Kong.

BTW, Alaska Airlines is a very well ran, safe airline. A crash doesn't mean much. In fact, I will bet that its safety record is better than AA's.

[Finally, nothing to do with this discussion, but AS and AA have had very long-term relationship. Before the word &quot;codeshare&quot; was invented. Back in the late 80's. Alaska flies a 727 to DFW, and AA will use that plane for a DFW-IAH roundtrip. I have been on both flights a few times. It has AS livery, AS interior, AS flight magazine, etc... But flight number, crew and service are all AA's on this flight. Those are the only time I've &quot;flown&quot; AS.]

I am very grateful you are on here. Thank you.