Flights to Costa Rica
 

We're hoping to use AA frequent flyer points for a trip to Costa Rica next May - how soon in advance do we need to try booking to use FF points? If we can't use the points, what is the recommended way to fly there from Florida (Tampa area); which airlines, best departure city, etc?

Book as soon as you can. A couple of years back I booked three tickets to Paris using AA miles...this was in July for a March trip...the ticket agent told me that I got the last three FF seats for that flight (8 months in advance!)

AA will take you thru MIA enroute to SJO, CR from Tampa. I recommend you book now as you have two segments to search for availability. It seems that using FF miles just keeps getting more difficult (for us anyway!) If you don't use points, there are no direct flights to SJO from TPA. Delta will route you thru Atlanta. US Airways will route you thru Charlotte, Continental will route you thru?? (New Jersey or TX I believe) Orlando (MCO) has a direct flight on MartinAir which is very good and nicely priced; the downside of course is you need to get to Orlando. Customs/immigration is a real nightmare in Miami and of all these suggestions, using AA is probably my least favored b/c of their Miami connection. However, if they allow you to use the points, maybe that will ease the pain. We were originally based in the Tampa area prior to moving to CR and understand the frustration of using Delta or USAirways to get to CR ... flying north just to go south was maddening! If you are closer to Sarasota (SRQ) than Tampa, we've found some very comparable fares out of SRQ (surprising) and the airport is just so nice to travel in/out. Hope this helps!Lisa in Manuel Antonio

Award tickets are getting harder and harder to come by and many flight have a very limited number of seats available. Award seats first become available 330 days prior to date of departure and many people are on the phone with the booking agent at 12:01 AM on that day. Moral - the sooner you try booking your flight the better chance you'll have of getting an Award Seat. If you can't get an award seat, consider purchasing your ticket and using your miles for an upgrade to Business or First Class.

Lisa - thanks for the insight. We're not at all opposed to flying out of Orlando(have family there) or Sarasota - just a hop,skip and a jump away. Will keep both those airports in mind when booking.