louie

Let's see. 60k miles would have cost US$1,247.85 in their sale which ended yesterday, I think (47k miles + 13k bonus miles at 10% price discount), say A$1,750. I recently booked (for two people) Etihad F LHR - MEL and F SYD - AUH/bus AUH - LHR, using AAdvantage miles. Taxes etc cost A$835 + A$168. So assuming bus taxes are the same as that, you would have been looking at approx $2,750.

I've also booked BA in club recently, again for two people. In August I booked LHR - SYD, which cost £833 and in July I booked SYD - LHR, which cost £461 in taxes and fuel surcharges. Say $2,720. Both were booked within a minute of release otherwise the seats would have gone, using Avios. AFAIK you would be charged the same £ by AA.

So for maybe $30 extra you would have got a product which is far, far better and more importantly, where seats are available for more than 2 minutes after they released and are still available. And they fly to several other airports around the UK, which may be of value to you if don't live near Heathrow.

Shame AA's most recent miles sale has just finished, but if I were you I would looking at Etihad.

louie

And as if by magic along comes a better one, although I now realise that my previous calculation overlooked the 7.5% purchase tax and $30 fee. Under the new offer 62,500 miles would be US$1,298.50, so slightly more than the $1,247.85 I used, although you would have 2,500 miles left for next time and more to the point you would stand a very good chance of actually getting flights.

TakenThePlunge

Thank you - I think I'll do just that...
actually now that I'm searching all my usual sources I never see Etihad listed, where do I search for Etihad availability?

Thanks

bcworld

.

TakenThePlunge

Last question, I promise...

Seeing as AA only allow booking 11 months out, should I book the out flights now, and then the return flights later?

Also is there a phone number to call, as I presume I'll have to do this over the phone.

louie

I personally would book now to secure the outbound flights. You need to ring 02 9101 1948. It's easiest just to give them dates and flight numbers; I've found the AA agents to be very good.

foreveryoung1

I have to thank you guys for reactivating the thread over the last couple of days.
I had been struggling to find my return flights UK to PER next year but I just followed your advice and now have 2 business seats with Etihad booked.

I have been quietly flying back & forth with Qatar, PER / LHR or MAN or EDI,using up the miles I stashed during the high bonus years with US. I came back a couple of months ago EDI / DOH / PER & thought it can't get any better than this.I then booked B PER / DOH / F LHR for 80,000 ( there's no F on the PER sector) then it all fell apart! Qatar announced new Australian destinations, initially putting both of them available freely for mileage use, then took PER out completely as job done?

Hopefully Etihad will be as good as Qatar?

I would mention that the first agent I tried on the old AA Skype number could only find coach but as Louie stated the agents on 02 9101 1948 are very good.

Thanks again folks

foreveryoung1

I'm considering buying again having just received the latest AA offer.

It looks as though you get 75,000 bonus miles if you buy 125,000 miles for us$ 3687. Checking the t&c's, 2nd sentence, it looks however as though the bonus miles can only be used for gift miles transactions? This is unlike the old US offers, do you think I'm misreading it or are they trying to get a secondary transaction from the purchase?
Any thoughts?, I'd be grateful

louie

The way I read it is that they are clarifying that IF you gift miles, the recipient not the donor is the one who gets the bonus miles. I don't think that sentence is relevant to purchased miles' bonuses.

foreveryoung1

Thanks Louie, It looks like the best offer yet from AA

bcworld

Horrible new AA award chart comes into effect next year! Spend your miles before 22/03/16!

bcworld

Details here:

oneworld and other airline award chart

Highlights:

South Pacific to Europe goes from 60k to 85k in business. +42%
South Pacific to Middle East (those Etihad awards) goes from 45k to 80k in business. +78%

louie

Ouch :-(

foreveryoung1

bcworld, and you used to be the bearer of such good news.
Oh well, all good things.....and I was thinking I had enough for a few more years, it was quite a stash.

Overall though, thanks a lot, I've enjoyed some fantastic routeings which I wouldn't have dreamt of, the best being the final leg of PER - BKK - FRA - DUS - NQY, with Lufthansa, all the way, return, in business using miles bought for less than au $3000.

You can't beat that?

bcworld

LifeMiles has a new promo with up to 125% bonus miles...they are very generous these days!