loisco

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.

Gardyloo

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.

rkkwan

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

loisco

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

rkkwan

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.

rkkwan

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.

gail

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)

Gardyloo

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.

loisco

Thanks for the help.

loisco

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

rkkwan

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?

loisco

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

Sorry I am so dumb.

loisco

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...?

rkkwan

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...

loisco

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.

rkkwan

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.

loisco

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.

rkkwan

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.

rkkwan

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.

mrwunrfl

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?