ksanders

Hello,

I really need some help on what I need to do to redeem miles for 4 tickets to Hawaii. Family of 4, we will be traveling from ORD to HNL September 2006. I have enough miles for all 4 tickets.

When I called AA they said that I need to call 330 days prior to my departure date. Is that correct? I asked how many seats on these flights are typically reserved for miles rewards and they didn't know. She said that that info varies from flight to flight. Sorry I am so clueless, we just hardly ever have used miles for tickets and now I really need to be sure I know what I am doing.

Basically, I just want to know the best way for me to go about using my miles to get 4 tickets to HNL. Do you think I am dreaming or is it really possible. I always here the stories of how there are never any "seats" available when people want to redeem their miles.
Your help is always appreciated!
Thanks!

Waldo

I think you must have misinterpreted the reply for your AA frequent flier miles. They can book for 330 days prior to your flight. If you want to leave in September 2006, you have to wait until 330 days before your flight request. I guess sometime in early November would be fine. Unlike many statements on these boards, I have NEVER had any problem whatsoever in obtaining seats using FF miles. Of course, a little common sense is required. You cannot get the flight of you choice if you wait a week or a month before your flight. Give a reasonable amount of lead time, and you will have no problem.

bonniebroad

I agree with Waldo, ksanders. Just for the heck of it, I was checking last week to see how soon I could use some of my AA FF miles to fly to Hawaii. I checked a date this November, flying both ways on Thursdays, and could immediately have the dates and even flight times that I was asking for! I'd heard so many horror stories about how hard it is to use your miles that I was expecting at least a six-month wait, but no. The agent told me that I should have no problem as long as I call 21 days ahead, and am flexible on exact days & flight-times, except for the very busiest times like Christmas and the beginning of summer season. So I'm very relieved to find that it's not so bad as I'd heard. (Of course, we are retired, and can travel any day of the week so that makes it easier!)

mrkindallas

I agree. We traveled DFW to HNL this January completely on AAdvantage miles and didn't actually decide to do that until October last year. So, with only 3 months notice, we were able to get the exact flights that we wanted. I don't think that you should have much problem at all getting flights that work for you in September.

I found it easiest to book through AA.com because you can see what your flight options are. Since you are planning far enough ahead, I think you should be able to get the MileSAAver fare of 35,000 points per person like we did.

Honestly though, if I had it to do all over again, I think I would have saved my miles for something else. If I had known that Hawaiian Airlines has such cheap flights out of Los Angeles, I would have paid for a flight from DFW to LAX and flown from there. I don't feel that I got the most benefit out of my miles by using them for Hawaii, but that's just me...could be completely different for you.

Have a great time and be sure to read through all the other Hawaii posts on this board while planning your trip.

Underhill

You might want to post your question in the Airlines forum as well as here--AAfrequentflyer is a mine of information.

mikemo

DAL is now not nearly so accomodating, lol.
M

gr8yt

I just returned from a trip to Kauai that I used my AA Milage to fly. I actually booked my flight on Hawaiian thru AA. No problems at all. I called first thing in the morning on the 330th day to book my flight to and then 14 days later (the length of my stay) I booked my return flight. Good Luck, Harry

ksanders

Thank you so much!

It is encouraging to hear that not everyone has had disappointment with the ff miles. I will cross my fingers and hope for the best. It would be great if we can use miles, to cut the cost of our trip. More money to spend on hotel, fun and food is always a plus! I am already so excited for our trip, this time with the kids! I think they are just going to love it.
And, yes, I have been reading all of the great info on the Hawaii forum. I always get great feedback and good info from Fodor's site.

Thank you again, you guys are great.

Dorothy01

Since November 2004 (Thanksgiving)the two of us have travelled from DFW to Hawaii (three times to Maui and one time to Kauai)on AA using 35,000 mile awards. We were only able to fly non-stop one time from DFW to Maui but all of ouroreturn flights were non-stop from Maui to DFW. We had to do some creative routings: DFW to ORD to OGG and DFW to SFO to OGG but we were able to get seats even when the planes were quite full.

I helped friends book trips from DFW to Kauai in April and they had lots of flights to choose from. Other friends (a family of 5) had no problem booking seats from DFW to OGG and then to Kauai and back to DFW.

Some seats are released 330 days or so before and others are released just a few days before.

You can always change your dates with no penalty but you cannot change your destination without penalty.

Good luck.

CajunStorm

I just wanted to add my experiences with using AA miles to fly to Hawaii. In most cases I was able to get my first choice flights (mostly in earlier years). But lately I find that I have to change up my dates if I book within a couple of months of my desired dates of travel. BUT keep in mind that most of my miles were for UPGRADES and not just coach seats. SOOOOOO I think you are definitely safe and the earlier you can make your reservations the more likely you are to get your preferred dates. PLUS keep in mind that AA may change the awards for travel at any time so it might be good to use your miles while the lower awards still apply. For even more info I find a wealth of info at www.flyertalk.com in the american airlines forum. Good luck!

Jenn

Two weeks ago I was able to reserve 3
flights for June '06 using my AA miles. I did the whole thing on line and it was not that difficult. We did end up flying to Oahu instead of our original plan for Maui. The flights to Maui were the same amount of miles - but I could not get a flight out and a return within 7-9 days of one another for Maui. Also - AA makes you stop over in LA or Oahu for Maui flights. I really prefer flighing directly to the island I want. Good luck with your reservation.

vinolover

Add me to the list of people who have always been able to use AA FF miles to go to Hawaii on the flights we wanted (and to Europe as well). Don't usually book more than a few months in advance and always book the award level using the least miles. We do travel in less touristy months (Sept, Oct, Mar, Apr). We fly out of DFW.

I booked two FF tickets in August for our October trip with no problems. Using AA website is only good if you fly round trip in and out of the same airport. We are flying into Honolulu and out of Kauai so I did have to pay the extra $10 fee to call them for the reservations.

girlonthego

I do not regularly fly AA, but on Delta, I call 330 days out and get my 4 seats. I called last spring and have my seats for Hawaii. Call early. This way you don't have to worry. I don't think they have too many on each flight. Since you are going in Sept., you should not have any problems. We are always going on the Easter Break and must book 330 days out. Good luck!

tigerhawk

I would agree with the recommendation to do this online at AA.com - you will pay a $10 per ticket "tax" but if you do it on the phone I think it is $15.

I have never done Hawaii on FF miles but just booked Fort Lauderdale yesterday {9/2 for a Nov 4 departure and had no problems even booking premium seats with my miles. I would guess with Hawaii you want to do this as soon as the 330 day window opens.

cruisin_tigger

I've also used ff miles from ORD to Hawaii. I did end up having to change my itinerary though. We originally wanted to do ORD to Kauai, and then fly home from Maui. Couldn't make that work, but by flip flopping our itinerary, ORD to Maui, and home from Kauai, I was able to get those seats. Even got nonstop from ORD to Maui which was great, although had to connect in LAX going home.