I haven't used miles for air travel for a couple of years now. Has it changed? When I went in to find a flight I wanted, it looked like it was 60,000 to fly to Paris. And I think that was just one way. Do I need to call AA and go through a reservationist. Can't I do it myself any more? Any input? Thanks.

You can still book online. If you go through their reservations line, it costs an extra $20.

The number of miles you need depends on the type of award you are redeeming--off-peak, peak or anytime--and the class--economy, business or first class. For example, a round-trip, economy class, off-peak ticket from North America to Europe is only 40,000 miles. (Good luck snagging that!)

When you input your dates of travel, it will tell you what types of awards (seats) are currently available for that particular itinerary.

http://www.aa.com/reservation/awardRedeemMilesAccess.do

www.aa.com

always do online no probem FF miles needed

vary based on category...

Call if you cannot figure it out for a price

they will help you.

"For example, a round-trip, economy class, off-peak ticket from North America to Europe is only 40,000 miles. (Good luck snagging that!)"

I have snagged that 3 times for each of the past 3 years with nary a problem- open jaw Paris/Amsterdam- late April and May, open jaw Milan/Rome- January and most recently London- early May.

basingstoke, were you able to do that on-line?

I didn't try. I find that when I call, the customer service folk more than earn the $20 working out the best routes and schedules and have had excellent suggestions - I call late at night when they are not as busy. I find though that it works the best for me if I drive up to JFK rather than leave from the DC area where I live since American does not have good direct service to Europe from here. We were burned on the Milan/Rome trip when the the flight from BWI was so late, it did not make the 3 hour window connection to Milan. However, I got on the phone when it became obvious that the connecting flight was going to leave too late to make it and American's customer service put us on a later flight that although routing us through London rather than direct, got us there only 7 hours late. They had me re-routed while others on that flight were carrying on with the personnel at the terminal. Not too bad at all considering the circumstances.

You can book simple trips, like U.S. to Europe (and back) online. If your trip involves a partner airline - e.g. you fly to London on A.A. and connect to a B.A. flight - you may need to call. If you want one of the Round the World type awards you definitely need to call.