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AA FF ticket for family of 6?

jules54

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I did a search and I did check flyertalk, but can not find information I need without shifting though years of posts.
Flight dates are Feb. 21 depart and Feb. 28 return
Feb. 21 opens up March 27 so I am trying to do the research for them

My baby brother who is military and his wife and their 4 children are wanting to use their FF miles on AA for a flight to Cancun. He has never been able to use his miles as he always tries too late after the dates 331 days prior open to book. Because he is military it has been hard to make a plan that far out. This year they decided that they wanted to take the kids to Playa Del Carmen in Feb. 2015 and want to set it in stone.
I will be providing the timeshare resort and other family and friends will also be there at the same time. We have traveled to the same resort for many years. The location or resort is not in question this is totally a miles question/issue.

He has an AA account and so does his wife and I am also willing to contribute 35,000 miles to the family vaca.

What is the best way to approach?
I think with the 3 accounts we have enough miles for 6 one-ways if we get the 17,500 saver seats. Then they will purchase return airfare.
Should we call AA or try to book online? If we book online what time is best.
Thanks everyone for any useful tips or advice.
 

dioxide45

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Wouldn't you be just as well to buy three round trips and then pay for the other three round trips with cash? Award availability is always tightening more and more and finding 6 seats open during peak travel time to Cancun would be hard. Getting three might be easier?
 

sjsharkie

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What is the best way to approach?
I think with the 3 accounts we have enough miles for 6 one-ways if we get the 17,500 saver seats. Then they will purchase return airfare.
Should we call AA or try to book online? If we book online what time is best.
Thanks everyone for any useful tips or advice.

Book online. If you call, you will be charged extra. They both have access to the same inventory. The only reason to call is if you have some convoluted routing you're trying to access or other special circumstance.

I am a Lifetime Plat, so I can tell you that there is no specific time I am aware of. You can check Flyertalk for more specifics, but revenue management handles loading of award seats -- there was anecdotal evidence that this was done during off peak hours around 4AM to 5AM Eastern Time. There is no published time, and no guarantee that any award seats will be loaded. AA has sharply decreased the number of sAAver awards available (and even completely eliminated them on certain routes during the holidays).

If you are going to try, I recommend being online at 4AM and searching for the next 90 minutes. Alternatively, you can subscribe to a service like Expertflyer that will do the search for you and trigger an alert once it is available.

Good luck.

-ryan
 

SMHarman

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Likely better to book 3 round trips with miles. And 3 round trips with $
One way is usually more $
Remember to book 1ad and 2ch with mlies and the same cash so both have a lead adult and no unaccompanied minor booking.

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SMHarman

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Likely the cash bookings will be cheaper closer in than 330 days out. About 120-90 days is often the sweet spot.

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DebBrown

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Wouldn't you be just as well to buy three round trips and then pay for the other three round trips with cash? Award availability is always tightening more and more and finding 6 seats open during peak travel time to Cancun would be hard. Getting three might be easier?

With AA you can book each way separately for the same number of miles as a round trip. Because you can no longer hold seats for 7 days, you need to book the outbound flight and then try for the return. You cannot combine miles from different accounts without a big fee so make sure that you have miles in groups of 17,500 for this.

It will be MUCH cheaper to buy 3 round trip tickets than 6 one way tickets.

Deb
 

MichaelColey

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Totally agree with the 3 FF RT and 3 cash RT suggestion. Not only will FF availability be considerably easier for 3, but cash round trips may be cheaper than one ways.

If you're booking multiple tickets on one route through multiple accounts, search for ALL together first to make sure there is enough inventory. Otherwise you may book two and then find that the third takes an anytime award.

We are 5, and sometimes we have had to split up (3 on one flight and 2 on another) to get anytime awards. We don't mind if the flights are relatively close in time. Once we did run into delays and cancellations that were complicated due to the separate tickets.
 
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jules54

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Thanks everyone for your help. I agree with the booking for 3 roundtrips with miles and then paying for 3. Only dislike having to wait for the second date to open up once we book the departure.
Already decided would have to break up the family with brother and SIL each flying with 2 kids.
Only issue I want to add information for others on is the purchase of one-ways have changed a lot though the last few years. It seems in my area of the country which is the Midwest you can find one-ways for the same cost as 1/2 roundtrips with better flight times you just have to be vigilent in your searches that also gives you an option of returning to a different airport then you departed from.
Please keep the suggestions coming. We have until March 27 to figure out our plan.

Jules
 

GrayFal

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I also agree with 3 R/Ts and three cash especially for out of US flights.

I am booking my Cayman Airways flights for next year - my outbound flight to cayman is $113.50, the return flight is closer to $200 (looking for January time period.)

I have noticed the same with AA - NYC to St Thomas - they do not divide the taxes equally…outbound cheaper by a lot, return more $$$.

Why use your FF for the cheaper outbound portion?
But to risk paying cash for 6 outbound and 'hope' to get FF on the way back is a gamble I would not take.
 

DebBrown

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I just checked AA flying out of Chicago in February and the two one-way tickets are priced approximately the same as a round trip ticket. Also the cost each way is similar so no advantage to booking either way.

Are you planning to buy the other tickets right away or wait for better prices? Have you priced it from your brother's originating airport? Maybe it is worth it to check this out before making a decision. You may have more flexibility. You could take whatever tickets you can find for the outbound flight and then try to get the returns a week later.

Deb
 

dioxide45

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I also agree with 3 R/Ts and three cash especially for out of US flights.

I am booking my Cayman Airways flights for next year - my outbound flight to cayman is $113.50, the return flight is closer to $200 (looking for January time period.)

I have noticed the same with AA - NYC to St Thomas - they do not divide the taxes equally…outbound cheaper by a lot, return more $$$.

Why use your FF for the cheaper outbound portion?
But to risk paying cash for 6 outbound and 'hope' to get FF on the way back is a gamble I would not take.

This may be common. It seems that the taxes as well as departure taxes in places like Mexico and the Caribbean are pretty high. That is likely why the return is higher in price. Though don't you pay those taxes anyway when you book an award ticket. So what matters is the base fare which is now hidden somewhat by the new way the airlines must show prices.
 

urban5

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This may be common. It seems that the taxes as well as departure taxes in places like Mexico and the Caribbean are pretty high. That is likely why the return is higher in price. Though don't you pay those taxes anyway when you book an award ticket. So what matters is the base fare which is now hidden somewhat by the new way the airlines must show prices.

Go to itasoftware.com an airfare listing site. Select your travel dates then click on the fare button on the left for the desired flight and it will give a breakdown of the fare and each tax for each leg of the flight.
 

sjsharkie

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I also agree with 3 R/Ts and three cash especially for out of US flights.

I am booking my Cayman Airways flights for next year - my outbound flight to cayman is $113.50, the return flight is closer to $200 (looking for January time period.)

I have noticed the same with AA - NYC to St Thomas - they do not divide the taxes equally…outbound cheaper by a lot, return more $$$.

Why use your FF for the cheaper outbound portion?
But to risk paying cash for 6 outbound and 'hope' to get FF on the way back is a gamble I would not take.

You generally need to pay the taxes on the flight even when using miles. When I booked BA a couple of years ago using miles, my taxes were a few hundred dollars.

The OP is in a tough spot if it is a high demand route. If you wait until the return can be booked, the FF seats for the outbound might be taken. If you book right away, you may still not get the return seats when they become available and are forced to book a OW -- on AA this is not 50% of the cost of a RT (excl. taxes) like it is on some discount carriers.

Assuming this is a high demand route with limited award seats that go quickly, I would book the outbound when the window opens and hope for the best when the return window opens. Of course, this assumes the OP has already researched that using miles for this route is economical versus paying for the flight in cash. Worse comes to worse, you can always book AAnytime on the return although that is not ideal and you need to have the necessary mileage in your account.

I don't fly the Carribean routes too often so I can't comment on the economics of using miles for this particular trip.

-ryan
 

jules54

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Deb and Ryan..Thank you for more feedback on my specific questions. I have done the research on about everything you both wondered about. Including airports within 200 miles of brother's hometown that might have direct flight for return or outbound. All tickets that would need to be purchased would be bought a much later date. Only the portions of the tickets that we are using miles for must be decided on by March 27.
One parent for each 2 children traveling will be the plan with the youngest child being 13.
Thanks again tuggers are the best.

Jules
 

jules54

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update on miles

I wanted to update everyone brother and family tried and tried and could not get ff miles to Cancun. Finally changed plan completely and are now flying into Miami and spending time in both Miami, Keys, Ft. Lauderdale and going this summer when kids are out of school. Thanks again everyone.
 

DebBrown

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I'm sorry the Cancun trip didn't work out but glad they have an alternative vacation planned. Sometimes you just have to go with whatever works.

Deb
 
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