chichichicago

I have just spent 3 hours trying to book internal flights using the Aerolineas program which offers discounted fares IF you visit Argentina from a foreign country. There is virtually nothing on the internet that explains how to do this ...and I hope to save others some of the headache I have lived through.

1. You will need your ticket number off of your international ticket in order to book the internal flights.

2. I do not believe you can do this online if you are from the US. The booking agent I talked to confirmed this...however she and I could both be wrong. You need to call them at 800-333-0276. You will be charge $20 per ticket because you are using a phone agent.

3. When you call them be prepared to have the call dropped or cut off. I was calling from a landline..and lost the call (or was hung up on) five times. They do not have the capacity to call you back. If you can get as far as getting a confirmation code...then you can reference this when you call back. Please know that sometimes when you dial the number you will get a recording that says it is out of service. Just keep calling.

4. I would suggest you know the flight numbers and dates you want to travel. You can figure that much out on the internet.

5. They will email you your itinerary...make sure all of the details are correct including the spelling of your hame. (mine wasn't and this required a supervisor to fix it ..and a dropped call in the interim)

6. The flights we booked were BA-IGR-BA-BRC-BA-MDZ-BA. 6 flights and the total was $950 per person.

7. Contrary to what I have read on this forum and elsewhere - only one of the internal flights was out of AEP airport...the other 5 were in and out of EZE.

8. Contrary to what I have read...there is a different (better) luggage allowance when you use this pass. You can check one bag of 50 pounds and carry on one bag of 8kg (17 pounds) according to the agent I spoke with.

9. According to the agent the ticket is refundable with a $50 fee up until one day before the first leg of the journey. After that it is not refundable. Changes to the itinerary can be made with a fee of $90 per person subject to availability. (I assume this means after you have started your journey but I am not sure)

10.They will give you seat assignments but you need to ask.

10. Once you give them your credit card number they will email you a form that you need to fill out and either fax or email back. You will need to include copies of your cc front an back, drivers license and passport. The numbers and signature must be visible on the credit card. I can save you some time if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The card is navy blue and the numbers won't show up...so you will have to call back and change your method of payment to a cc that is legible when it is copied/scanned. Amex worked for me. Also..be careful what resolution you use when you scan. I did a high resolution because I wanted to make sure it was clear and legible. The email bounced back because the file was too big.

I am writing this at the stage that I have sent off my credit card info. I will update if I learn anything else.

dwdvagamundo

Thanks Chichi. I looked into this before my trip last year and dropped the idea, because the internet site wouldn't accept US credit cards and, after talking with the rep in Miami, I decided I wouldn't save all that much.

Your total for three round trip flights doesn't seem to me to be that much of saving, and it precludes flexibility. I was able to book a one-way on-line flight on LATAM to Puerto Iguazu and booked the rest (one way Salta to BA and round trip BA to Trelew) at travel agents in Argentina.

Good luck with this and let me know how it turns out.

crellston

Thanks for posting chichichicago, v.useful. I gave up on trying to buy that pass via the AA site and went with Expedia and individual flights. I did however call the AA call centre from the UK and they were very helpful.
A word of warning though. I would counsel against emailing card details in unencrypted form, scanned or text. One of the more common reasons for internet cc fraud. Far better to fax ( if possible)

chichichicago

Yeah I am guessing I didn't save that much... after the fact my husband looked at the flights and figured they would have been 1050 if booked separately. Given the hassle I would have done that. But take note ...he did the research AFTER I had booked.

crellston

"he did the research AFTER I had booked" happens to me all the time!