Betsy

Would like to use AA miles from SFO to HNL in early November 2011. Will sail from Honolulu to Sydney. Return SYD to SFO (AA codeshare with Qantas) in early December 2011. Any tips from you pros about how to do this using the fewest miles? Will it be booked as two entirely separate trips, a multi-city trip, or some permutation that I'm not aware of? According to the AA website, I need to phone AA to make the reservation because the SYD to SFO flight originates outside the US. Any questions should I ask the AA Advantage rep about booking this itinerary? Thanks a bunch.

JaneB

Very easy. Just telephone them and tell them your dates and destinations. I have always found that the AA reservation people provide excellent service.

Gardyloo

All AA "all-partners" redemptions (the kind you'd be using) are now issued on a one-way basis, which makes trips like yours very easy compared to other airline FFPs. Thus SFO-HNL would require 17,500 miles in economy or 30,000 in first class, and SYD-SFO would require 37,500 miles in economy, 62,500 in business class, or 72,500 in first class. You could, depending on availability, go out in coach and back in business, etc.

You have to book the SYD-SFO trip on the phone, but you can book the SFO-HNL trip online at aa.com, thereby saving the phone booking fee.

Note you can also use Hawaiian Airlines for the HNL trip, or Air Pacific on the SYD return, thereby expanding your options. Also be aware that December is the peak travel period for Aussies, so space on Qantas can be hard to snag. You might consider signing up for the Qantas FF program - https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyns/joinff - which will give you access to Qantas' online award data base. Go to the Qantas award site and you can see what days there's availability for redemption seats. You then use that as your crib sheet when you phone AA to redeem the miles. I've never encountered a case where a flight shown as available to Qantas FFers <i>wasn't</i> available for AA mileage redemption.

JaneB

I was only charged one $20 booking fee for booking three "legs" recently--home to Kathmandu; Kathmandu to Singapore; and Fiji to home.

JoanneH

Re Qantas FF program it is not free runs around $80.00 just FYI.