# Hawaii ff tickets



## Ricci (Jun 14, 2013)

I'm so excited.....booked four ff tickets from PIT to HNL on AA first class one way for next May.  Now I just have to decide how long I want to stay so I can book economy coming back.
The requests are in for the Marriotts I would like to stay at.  The last time we went to Hawaii, while at the airport, a nice tugger literally booked a week for me with an AC he wasn't using.  I know the AC's probably won't pull Hawaii anymore..... so wish me luck!!


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## Mike&Edie (Jun 14, 2013)

Ricci, I'm sorry to be so ignorant but is ff frequent flyer? Also, what is AC?  Thanks.


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## Ricci (Jun 14, 2013)

ff=frequent flyer
Ac = accommodation certificate (bonus week issued thru II)


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## Mike&Edie (Jun 14, 2013)

Thanks.  Learning more every day.  Love it.


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## lizap (Jun 15, 2013)

We don't fly AA domestic first anymore (although I might consider Hawaii if I could get awards for a reasonable amount of miles/points), except for upgrades, as the product has deteriorated so much over the years.  Have flown F to Hawaii before and not impressed at all (perhaps it has changed, but I doubt it).  So you book award seats before the exchange went through?  We are also planning a trip to Hawaii next May, but I'm afraid to book the award seats until we get the desired week, as the cancellation penalities with AA are rough.  We are in the process of switching to Southwest's FF program, because of the devaluation of awards/service with AA.


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## MOXJO7282 (Jun 15, 2013)

The real trick is getting in the 763s with AA that have the flat sleepers in first. We did that 4 times in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012 but as time went on it got harder and harder because AA restricted seats and it was next to impossible to get 4 in 1st. We also got the first 3 sets at savers rates even in prime time. 

In 2012 it took an act of God to do it. Now that AA is not associated with Marriott I've switched to United and need to see soon what they will do for me. 


Now they restrict the flat sleeper 1st FFs and force you to pay for a few seats up front or take the 1st FF in the 757s which are much less enjoyable IMHO than the 763s and are only a tad better than coach.


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## lizap (Jun 15, 2013)

I have been an elite with AA almost since the beginning of their AAdvantage program.  Thought I would always fly AA and certainly thought I would never give my business to Southwest.  It has gotten very difficult to get award seats on AA for a reasonable amount of miles.  There is no sense in trying to accumulate miles if there is no reasonable way to use them. Recently checked into Southwest's new program and was amazed at how good it is.   If a seat is available, you can get it as an award seat , and usually using a smaller number of points/miles.  The downside is nothing international and no first class.  Domestic FC has gotten to be a joke anyway so that is not a big concern.  

QUOTE=MOXJO7282;1482460]The real trick is getting in the 763s with AA that have the flat sleepers in first. We did that 4 times in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012 but as time went on it got harder and harder because AA restricted seats and it was next to impossible to get 4 in 1st. We also got the first 3 sets at savers rates even in prime time. 

In 2012 it took an act of God to do it. Now that AA is not associated with Marriott I've switched to United and need to see soon what they will do for me. 


Now they restrict the flat sleeper 1st FFs and force you to pay for a few seats up front or take the 1st FF in the 757s which are much less enjoyable IMHO than the 763s and are only a tad better than coach.[/QUOTE]


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## Luanne (Jun 16, 2013)

lizap said:


> We are in the process of switching to Southwest's FF program, because of the devaluation of awards/service with AA.



Love Southwest.  Unfortunately they don't fly to Hawaii...  at least not yet.


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## Ricci (Jun 16, 2013)

MOXJO7282 said:


> The real trick is getting in the 763s with AA that have the flat sleepers in first. We did that 4 times in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012 but as time went on it got harder and harder because AA restricted seats and it was next to impossible to get 4 in 1st. We also got the first 3 sets at savers rates even in prime time.
> 
> In 2012 it took an act of God to do it. Now that AA is not associated with Marriott I've switched to United and need to see soon what they will do for me.
> 
> ...



 I got two first class seats on May 9 and two on May 10 for my grown children.  PIT to DFW on S80's and DFW to HNL on 763's.
You are right....you can't get four seats in First, but flying two separate days actually works better for us with work schedules and all.


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## Mauiwmn (Jun 16, 2013)

Ricci said:


> I got two first class seats on May 9 and two on May 10 for my grown children.  PIT to DFW on S80's and DFW to HNL on 763's.
> You are right....you can't get four seats in First, but flying two separate days actually works better for us with work schedules and all.



We have done the exact same thing the last 2 years to get to Maui.  We break up our family of 4 and go 2 at a time.  It's the only way we can get 4 First class seats using saver awards on American.  I am lifetime Platinum on AA and they will not make allowances or open up additional first class seats.

We used to have direct service to Maui from Chicago and now we have to go thru DFW or LAX.   It is difficult to get seats thru DFW to Maui on the 763.  At peak travel times, they offer none or only 1 saver first class seat.  

It gets harder and harder to use miles to fly First Class on AA, especially to Hawaii.  I agree that the 757 & M80 first class are not true first class.  They are just barely better than coach.  Miles become worth less and less.

I wish AA would return to offering nonstop flights to HNL & Maui from Chicago using the 763 planes.  We were spoiled for 15+ years with direct service.


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## LisaRex (Jun 17, 2013)

Congratulations!  We usually do the opposite and book economy on the way there and first class on the red eye.


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## MOXJO7282 (Jun 18, 2013)

Mauiwmn said:


> We have done the exact same thing the last 2 years to get to Maui.  We break up our family of 4 and go 2 at a time.  It's the only way we can get 4 First class seats using saver awards on American.  I am lifetime Platinum on AA and they will not make allowances or open up additional first class seats.
> 
> We used to have direct service to Maui from Chicago and now we have to go thru DFW or LAX.   It is difficult to get seats thru DFW to Maui on the 763.  At peak travel times, they offer none or only 1 saver first class seat.
> 
> ...



Yes we did the Chi - Maui on a 763 once and it was great and then they discontinued the service through Chi. We were ok going through Dallas because it was the same distance and we could still get the savers in the 763s and then they had to change it to squeeze more money out of the consumers.

Now with the break from Marriott I went away from AA to United but have yet to use them and am just in the accumulation mode with them but I doubt it will ever be like the old days where you could get multiple 1st saver seats if you were diligent.


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## lizap (Jun 18, 2013)

No, those days are over.  Hence, my move to Southwest... 




MOXJO7282 said:


> Yes we did the Chi - Maui on a 763 once and it was great and then they discontinued the service through Chi. We were ok going through Dallas because it was the same distance and we could still get the savers in the 763s and then they had to change it to squeeze more money out of the consumers.
> 
> Now with the break from Marriott I went away from AA to United but have yet to use them and am just in the accumulation mode with them but I doubt it will ever be like the old days where you could get multiple 1st saver seats if you were diligent.


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## Luanne (Jun 18, 2013)

lizap said:


> No, those days are over.  Hence, my move to Southwest...



As I said, if they'd just fly to Hawaii.


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## lizap (Jun 18, 2013)

I am reading in more and more places that's it's going to happen.  :whoopie:




Luanne said:


> As I said, if they'd just fly to Hawaii.


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## Luanne (Jun 18, 2013)

lizap said:


> I am reading in more and more places that's it's going to happen.  :whoopie:



But when?  And I wonder how many points it will take.


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## MichaelColey (Jun 19, 2013)

LisaRex said:


> Congratulations!  We usually do the opposite and book economy on the way there and first class on the red eye.


We book whichever we can get at Saver rates.  On our next Hawaii trip, we'll be flying there (from DFW) in Coach, then flying to Orlando (a much longer flight) in First, combing two trips into one.


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## Ricci (Jun 19, 2013)

Our preference is to fly First going...... we're excited, in a good mood, and happy to drink our way to Hawaii.
Going home..... we fly economy.  Most of the flight is thru the night, and we are depressed and just want to sleep the flight away.  :zzz:


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## Tamaradarann (Jun 19, 2013)

*Southwest or Hawaiian*



Luanne said:


> Love Southwest.  Unfortunately they don't fly to Hawaii...  at least not yet.



I contacted both Southwest and Chase, the bank I have my Southwest Credit Card with, to discuss Southwest flying to Hawaii soon.  Southwest gave me the same non-comittal answer that they have been giving for the last 2 years. 

Chase was interested enough to make a recorded message to management in which I stated that I was keeping the Southwest Credit Card, (for the $95 annual membership from which I get 6000 bonus points annually which is worth about $100) but not using it anymore.  I was opening up a Bank of America Card which had a promotion which includes a 50% companion ticket with Hawaiian Airlines and 35,000 miles.  Hawaiian Airlines now flys non-stop from Kennedy Airlport in NYC to Honolulu.  I am booked on January 4th.


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## LisaRex (Jun 20, 2013)

Ricci said:


> Our preference is to fly First going...... we're excited, in a good mood, and happy to drink our way to Hawaii.
> Going home..... we fly economy.  Most of the flight is thru the night, and we are depressed and just want to sleep the flight away.  :zzz:



I'm so jealous that you can sleep comfortably in coach.  I'm 5'5" and the pitch of my seat and headrest thrusting my head forward make it very difficult for me to sleep -- and let me tell you, I can sleep just about anywhere! 

That's why we fly coach there and first on the way back.  On the way to Hawaii, when we're following the sun, we're fully awake and reading/watching tv because we're starting our great vacation.  So having to keep my seat up doesn't matter to me. 

However, on the red eye back home, being able to recline those seats make a world of difference in being able to actually sleep.  

Of course, we're still depressed to be leaving paradise, but at least we can sleep.


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## tfalk (Jun 20, 2013)

If you have a FF reservation on United, keep an eye on it... we booked 6 FF seats to HNL last August for our trip in a couple of weeks and they've changed the flights 4 times already...   They also 'lost' that we had paid to upgrade the free seats to economy plus until I sent them a copy of the confirmation, they at least upgraded us to slightly more expensive bulkhead seats as compensation for the mixup.  There is still an issue with our connecting flight on Hawaiian, the code never showed up in Hawaiian's system but they found another number for the same name and time and gave it to me.  If you have a connecting flight on Hawaiian, you can call them and get seat assignments since we couldn't set them up on United's web site for some reason.


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## ajlm33 (Jun 20, 2013)

MOXJO7282 said:


> Now with the break from Marriott I went away from AA to United but have yet to use them and am just in the accumulation mode with them but I doubt it will ever be like the old days where you could get multiple 1st saver seats if you were diligent.



It was my understanding the Marriott and AA have a new agreement in place to start over with their points/miles relationship. The marriott.com site shows AA under the package deals again. Did I miss something?


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## Luanne (Jun 20, 2013)

tfalk said:


> If you have a FF reservation on United, keep an eye on it... we booked 6 FF seats to HNL last August for our trip in a couple of weeks and they've changed the flights 4 times already...   They also 'lost' that we had paid to upgrade the free seats to economy plus until I sent them a copy of the confirmation, they at least upgraded us to slightly more expensive bulkhead seats as compensation for the mixup.



Same thing has happened to us.  Through some of the flight changes we also lost our Economy Plus seats we had purchased.  But I had no problems in getting them back just by calling.  I didn't have to send anything to United.


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## dive-in (Jun 25, 2013)

It's been a few years since we went to Hawaii and AA has been into (and out of?) bankruptcy since then.  I understand FC seats are hard to come by what about economy going and coming?  How easy will it be to get the MilesAAver Peak tickets to Hawaii for June of next year?  I'll need four tickets and I've already talked to my wife about splitting up and each taking one kid and routing to HNL via DFW and ORD.  Does the 331 days out thing still work? 

I'm about to search the forum for the "best time to buy tickets" posts to see when to buy my tickets if I can't get the FF tickets.


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## post-it (Jun 25, 2013)

dive-in said:


> It's been a few years since we went to Hawaii and AA has been into (and out of?) bankruptcy since then.  I understand FC seats are hard to come by what about economy going and coming?  How easy will it be to get the MilesAAver Peak tickets to Hawaii for June of next year?  I'll need four tickets and I've already talked to my wife about splitting up and each taking one kid and routing to HNL via DFW and ORD.  Does the 331 days out thing still work?
> 
> I'm about to search the forum for the "best time to buy tickets" posts to see when to buy my tickets if I can't get the FF tickets.



I always book my FF at 331 days for each segment.  You can also use your AA FF for Hawaiin air tickets which we have done in the past.  What I have learned from Tuggers is AA releases FF seats early morning and I have gotten out of bed at 2am West Coast time to book our tickets as well.  So far this has worked for us.  Keep in mind AA MilesSaver tickets take more miles during this time of year so you're most likely looking at 45K for each round trip ticket.


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## dive-in (Jun 25, 2013)

Anyone been able to use AA FF for Hawaiian out of JFK?  That would be the best option, but expecting that to be a hard one to get.  

Getting up early in the morning 331 days in advance has been my strategy in the past as well.  We have year-round schools so we've been able to go during off-peak time for FF tickets in the past.  Both kids in high school now which is traditional calendar so got to go peak time.  I've got just enough for the four of us at peak time.


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## MichaelColey (Jun 25, 2013)

It's probably a little easier for me here in DFW, but I've had very good success getting FF tickets to Hawaii (both Coach and First) 9-11 months out.  And there are 5 of us.

On our last trip, we split up (I took the older two, my wife took the youngest) and flew on separate flights (2 hours apart).  Coming home, my flights were cancelled (due to strikes...err...maintenance) and my wife's were delayed.  That's the big downside, but it was a risk we were willing to take.

On our next trip, we got saver awards for all 5 of us (coach one way, first the other) together.


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## Mauiwmn (Jun 25, 2013)

dive-in said:


> It's been a few years since we went to Hawaii and AA has been into (and out of?) bankruptcy since then.  I understand FC seats are hard to come by what about economy going and coming?  How easy will it be to get the MilesAAver Peak tickets to Hawaii for June of next year?  I'll need four tickets and I've already talked to my wife about splitting up and each taking one kid and routing to HNL via DFW and ORD.  Does the 331 days out thing still work?
> 
> I'm about to search the forum for the "best time to buy tickets" posts to see when to buy my tickets if I can't get the FF tickets.



I've had my best luck with FF Tickets in First & Coach at the 331 day mark around 2-4am CST.  They seem to release 2 coach seats at a time on most non holiday flights at this time.

I'd hold 2 seats on 2 different flights and then go back to see if additional seats are available on either flight.  Easier to add seats.

There was a recent article in USA Today that said, at 7 months prior to travel date is best time to purchase a ticket.  Best fares.  I recently tried this on a flight I'd been watching and it was true for mine.

Traveling mid week is easier on FF also.  Tuesday- Thursday has better availability.  Fares are also a bit cheaper most of the time these days as well.

I'd also recommend checking back with AA after you book FF to see if anything else opens up.  We recently were able to switch dates as another FF seat opened up at the 7 month mark.  No cost to change dates using FF as long as start and end points are the same.

Good luck!


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## lizap (Jun 25, 2013)

I have been a member of AA AAdvantage almost since its inception and an elite for many years.  My family and I have taken many great trips using miles, mainly in F and J (many of which were international).  In the last year or two, it has gotten increasingly difficult to get tickets and when they are available, they are at a higher mileage level.  It used to be that if you booked at 331 days out, you could pretty much get what you wanted, but not anymore.  The folks over at FlyerTalk  seem to think that the merger with US Air will result in even fewer redemption opportunities.  I will be cutting back or eliminating travel on AA and cancelling our Citibank cards.  There are other airlines where awards are much easier to get (e.g. United, Southwest).





dive-in said:


> Anyone been able to use AA FF for Hawaiian out of JFK?  That would be the best option, but expecting that to be a hard one to get.
> 
> Getting up early in the morning 331 days in advance has been my strategy in the past as well.  We have year-round schools so we've been able to go during off-peak time for FF tickets in the past.  Both kids in high school now which is traditional calendar so got to go peak time.  I've got just enough for the four of us at peak time.


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## heathpack (Jun 25, 2013)

lizap said:


> I have been a member of AA AAdvantage almost since its inception and an elite for many years.  My family and I have taken many great trips using miles, mainly in F and J (many of which were international).  In the last year or two, it has gotten increasingly difficult to get tickets and when they are available, they are at a higher mileage level.  It used to be that if you booked at 331 days out, you could pretty much get what you wanted, but not anymore.  The folks over at FlyerTalk  seem to think that the merger with US Air will result in even fewer redemption opportunities.  I will be cutting back or eliminating travel on AA and cancelling our Citibank cards.  There are other airlines where awards are much easier to get (e.g. United, Southwest).



Thats very interesting.  We are new to the AA system, just signed up for some credit cards 2 years ago and got a boatload of AA miles.  So I have no past knowledge of the program, but I've been pulling my hair out trying to get the FF tix that I want.  I even purposely book trips at times that I think it should be easier to get award seats, but its still really hard.  Party of the problem is that I have a phobia about flying coach after a recent miserable experience.  First (or business) class award seats further complicate things.

For our Maui trip, we have to fly LAX to Sacramento to Maui in order to get first class seats (convoluted but better than coach IMO).  For the return, I managed to snag one direct Maui to LAX first class award seat on AA using British Airways miles.  All of these flights popped up on the first day the schedule was released.  The remaining seat eludes me and I am pretty resigned to spending 75,000 miles to get that last ticket.

I've also been driven a little crazy trying to book RT first class LAX to Athens, Greece next May.  Nothing was available when the schedule opened.  Today, I finally resorted to booking first class LAX to Heathrow via Raleigh NC on American.  Then we will stay a few days in London and fly coach on British Airways award seats to Athens.  The schedule for the return does not open for another week, so who knows what I'll wind up doing to get home.

We have been trying to figure out what airline to go with next.  We really like Alaska Airlines, award seats seem pretty available.  We are going to Puerto Vallarta and Seattle on two trips in the next 18 mo, so can make good use of Alaska miles.

Southwest is pretty much out for us because of the lack of first class seats. 

We were thinking United might be the next place to try to accumulate miles.  Based on your post, maybe we'll give it a whirl.

H


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## lizap (Jun 25, 2013)

I recently saw an article which outlined the liklihood of getting award seats on the various airlines.  Southwest was at the top (100% of the time), but United wasn't too far behind at 80%.  American and Delta were toward the bottom of the list. We don't mind flying Southwest domestically as most of our flights now are nonstop out of New Orleans plus Southwest's aircraft have some of most legroom out there.  As I mentioned, we have flown internationally a lot; as we grow older, I just don't have as much desire to do this alot anymore.  We will keep our Starwood AMEX card, and can convert these points into miles at most airlines.  I do feel that airlines like American and Delta (which has been our secondary airline) are making a huge mistake by severely restricting award availablity as they derive a large source of revenue from their credit cards. People are going to 'wise up' and stop using their branded credit cards if they have little to no value.




heathpack said:


> Thats very interesting.  We are new to the AA system, just signed up for some credit cards 2 years ago and got a boatload of AA miles.  So I have no past knowledge of the program, but I've been pulling my hair out trying to get the FF tix that I want.  I even purposely book trips at times that I think it should be easier to get award seats, but its still really hard.  Party of the problem is that I have a phobia about flying coach after a recent miserable experience.  First (or business) class award seats further complicate things.
> 
> For our Maui trip, we have to fly LAX to Sacramento to Maui in order to get first class seats (convoluted but better than coach IMO).  For the return, I managed to snag one direct Maui to LAX first class award seat on AA using British Airways miles.  All of these flights popped up on the first day the schedule was released.  The remaining seat eludes me and I am pretty resigned to spending 75,000 miles to get that last ticket.
> 
> ...


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## heathpack (Jun 26, 2013)

lizap said:


> I recently saw an article which outlined the liklihood of getting award seats on the various airlines.  Southwest was at the top (100% of the time), but United wasn't too far behind at 80%.  American and Delta were toward the bottom of the list. We don't mind flying Southwest domestically as most of our flights now are nonstop out of New Orleans plus Southwest's aircraft have some of most legroom out there.  As I mentioned, we have flown internationally a lot; as we grow older, I just don't have as much desire to do this alot anymore.  We will keep our Starwood AMEX card, and can convert these points into miles at most airlines.  I do feel that airlines like American and Delta (which has been our secondary airline) are making a huge mistake by severely restricting award availablity as they derive a large source of revenue from their credit cards. People are going to 'wise up' and stop using their branded credit cards if they have little to no value.



Other than Los Angeles or Burbank to relatively local places like Vegas or Sacramento, SWA seems to always want to offer me three stop itineraries.  I might actually have a good time doing that on a first class fare.  But on Southwest?  No thanks.  I agree it is a pretty decent option for flying coach.  But I draw the line at 3 stops!

H


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## MichaelColey (Jun 26, 2013)

lizap said:


> I recently saw an article which outlined the liklihood of getting award seats on the various airlines.  Southwest was at the top (100% of the time), but United wasn't too far behind at 80%.  American and Delta were toward the bottom of the list.


I've seen similar articles over the years, but I've personally seen HUGE differences between saver award seats on Delta vs. American.  On Delta, for routes and classes of service I want (usually Europe or Hawaii in Business), I have almost NEVER been able to find enough tickets at the lower award level, even with extensive flexibility on dates.  For American, with a bit of date flexibility, I can very regularly find saver award availability.

Primarily for that reason, I stopped flying Delta and earning miles on Delta, and eventually used up my 500k mile stockpile.  I've earned over 2 million miles on American over the past few years, and have redeemed well over half of those (mostly at saver rates), and continue to fly and earn miles on American.


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## SueDonJ (Jun 26, 2013)

ajlm33 said:


> It was my understanding the Marriott and AA have a new agreement in place to start over with their points/miles relationship. The marriott.com site shows AA under the package deals again. Did I miss something?



Right, effective 6/17/13, Marriott and AA have renewed their partnership.  (See this thread in the Marriott forum.)  But like Joe, during the interim many of us accumulated miles with other airline programs.


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## Ricci (Jun 26, 2013)

I'm the OP, and since my original post, I was able to get saver ff economy seats for my son and daughter on United for Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.  (Maui to PIT and Maui to BWI)
Now to try for LIH to PIT for the next weekend for hubby and me.


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## lizap (Jun 27, 2013)

You're correct.  DL is much harder to get the cheapest mileage level ticket.  Since AA changed to the tiered award levels, it has also gotten more difficult to get the lowest level award ticket.  As I said in an earlier post, previously, if you booked 330 days out, you could pretty much get what you wanted.  Now it's difficult to predict 'when' or 'if' they will add some award availability.  Well, I'm not playing that game anymore.  I will be flying Southwest domestically - if there's an empty seat, I can get it.




MichaelColey said:


> I've seen similar articles over the years, but I've personally seen HUGE differences between saver award seats on Delta vs. American.  On Delta, for routes and classes of service I want (usually Europe or Hawaii in Business), I have almost NEVER been able to find enough tickets at the lower award level, even with extensive flexibility on dates.  For American, with a bit of date flexibility, I can very regularly find saver award availability.
> 
> Primarily for that reason, I stopped flying Delta and earning miles on Delta, and eventually used up my 500k mile stockpile.  I've earned over 2 million miles on American over the past few years, and have redeemed well over half of those (mostly at saver rates), and continue to fly and earn miles on American.


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## MichaelColey (Jun 28, 2013)

Southwest is fine if you fly to cities that are served and don't mind lots of connections, but they're not convenient for me here.  None of the cities they fly directly to are places I regularly go, so I'm at a minimum of two flights to get anywhere.  And since they price based on each flight, it's rarely the cheapest option for me.


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## lizap (Jun 28, 2013)

We're lucky in the MSY area in that regard.  Southwest has more nonstops than any other airline, by far (nonstops to approx. 18 cities all around the U.S.)  Almost all AA flights connect through DFW, MIA or ORD and DL through ATL. 




MichaelColey said:


> Southwest is fine if you fly to cities that are served and don't mind lots of connections, but they're not convenient for me here.  None of the cities they fly directly to are places I regularly go, so I'm at a minimum of two flights to get anywhere.  And since they price based on each flight, it's rarely the cheapest option for me.


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## dive-in (Jul 23, 2013)

*No luck*

I stayed up late (or early depending on perspective :zzz two nights in a row last week trying to get AA tickets to LIH or HNL from RDU to no avail.  Not only did I try RDU, I tried Greensboro, Charlotte, Richmond, DC (both IAD and DCA), and Atlanta.  Quite frustrating to say the least.  I was looking at either June 14 or 15.  The best I could do was 45K miles each way vs. the 22.5K miles.  Debating at this point whether or not to use what I have to get 1/2 the family there and pay for the other two or just buy them out right.  This summer travel thing really sucks.  Both kids are out of year-round school where we had Jan-Feb breaks.  Much easier to get FF tickets then.

I know this question has been asked a million times on this board...I'll go search myself after I finish this post...but for peak summer travel what's the best I can expect from the east coast.  My return date isn't in the reservation systems yet, but just throwing in other return dates it's anywhere between $870-$1100.  Should I wait for the 7 month window I've read about...November-December...to pull the trigger and hope they go down?  I've got Kayak alerts set up, too. 

Thanks in advance,
Darrell


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## heathpack (Jul 23, 2013)

dive-in said:


> I stayed up late (or early depending on perspective :zzz two nights in a row last week trying to get AA tickets to LIH or HNL from RDU to no avail.  Not only did I try RDU, I tried Greensboro, Charlotte, Richmond, DC (both IAD and DCA), and Atlanta.  Quite frustrating to say the least.  I was looking at either June 14 or 15.  The best I could do was 45K miles each way vs. the 22.5K miles.  Debating at this point whether or not to use what I have to get 1/2 the family there and pay for the other two or just buy them out right.  This summer travel thing really sucks.  Both kids are out of year-round school where we had Jan-Feb breaks.  Much easier to get FF tickets then.
> 
> I know this question has been asked a million times on this board...I'll go search myself after I finish this post...but for peak summer travel what's the best I can expect from the east coast.  My return date isn't in the reservation systems yet, but just throwing in other return dates it's anywhere between $870-$1100.  Should I wait for the 7 month window I've read about...November-December...to pull the trigger and hope they go down?  I've got Kayak alerts set up, too.
> 
> ...




Just a general comment on booking AA awards- the award flights can be put on hold for up to 5 days without actually booking.  There is also no fee to change award flights.  My recent experience was that I could not get awards flights to Europe right at 330 days out.  But I kept checking obsessively over that first 5 days and eventually got what I needed.  I think maybe people snatch up those reservations and then cancel them or let them expire.  Not sure if that would have worked for you, but perhaps worth a try on the return?

H


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## artringwald (Jul 24, 2013)

LisaRex said:


> Congratulations!  We usually do the opposite and book economy on the way there and first class on the red eye.



Us too. The flight back is the tough one and first class is a little bit of consolation for having to leave Hawaii.


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## kwindham (Jul 24, 2013)

Ricci said:


> Our preference is to fly First going...... we're excited, in a good mood, and happy to drink our way to Hawaii.
> Going home..... we fly economy.  Most of the flight is thru the night, and we are depressed and just want to sleep the flight away.  :zzz:



This is exactly what we do!  Lol


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## lizap (Jul 24, 2013)

What I can tell you is that it has gotten increasingly more difficult recently to get award seats on AA.  Use to be if you booked 331 days out, you were pretty much assured of getting what you wanted.  Now there seems to not be a pattern of when they become available.  I don't have time for this silliness, so we have changed to Southwest, where if there is an empty seat, I can get an award ticket, and with much fewer miles/points.



dive-in said:


> It's been a few years since we went to Hawaii and AA has been into (and out of?) bankruptcy since then.  I understand FC seats are hard to come by what about economy going and coming?  How easy will it be to get the MilesAAver Peak tickets to Hawaii for June of next year?  I'll need four tickets and I've already talked to my wife about splitting up and each taking one kid and routing to HNL via DFW and ORD.  Does the 331 days out thing still work?
> 
> I'm about to search the forum for the "best time to buy tickets" posts to see when to buy my tickets if I can't get the FF tickets.


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## dive-in (Jul 24, 2013)

Checking today...there are four seats to HNL through LAX and the last leg is on Hawaiian.  How hard is it to change terminals at LAX?  AA is in Terminal 4 on the south row of terminals and HA is in terminal 2 on the north side.  Can we change inside security?


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## heathpack (Jul 24, 2013)

dive-in said:


> Checking today...there are four seats to HNL through LAX and the last leg is on Hawaiian.  How hard is it to change terminals at LAX?  AA is in Terminal 4 on the south row of terminals and HA is in terminal 2 on the north side.  Can we change inside security?



No you cannot change without going through security again.  But security at LAX is actually very efficient.  You can walk from one terminal to another- might be a long walk.  I will bet there is also a bus, but not 100% sure.  I'd take the flights unless you have someone elderly or disabled in your group.  Or if the connection is too tight.

Otherwise, go for it.  Remember there is no fee to change the reservation if you find something better.

H


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