best way to do miles to argentina

[soso]

HI,

I am not a savvy mileage flyer.  i need to go down to argentina next month and was wondering if anyone knows what the best option for me is.

I have american advantage miles and american express reward points.  We will be traveling 2 (or 3) of us.  Anyone have  the scoop on what will get us there using the least mileage for the best seats?

thanks

[eliteflyer]

I think that the best place for you to start is by telling us:
1) How many AA miles do you have? How many AMEX rewards points do you have?
2) What are your potential dates of travel? Are you flexible with dates and duration of the trip?

[aussiebochur]

Starting March 1, AA has off-peak rates for Economy to South America. 20,000 miles (instead of 30,000) one-way. Business is always 50,000 one-way.

British Airways (Amex points transfer instantly) charges 20k/40k for Economy/Business year round. That's only for "one partner award", so you'll need to fly AA to Miami/Dallas-Fort Worth/JFK and then onto EZE. Alternatively, if you can leave from Miami, you can fly LAN.
BA doesn't charge an extra fuel surcharge for LAN flights and may not for AA flights if booked online (I'm not sure about AA, anyone with recent experience?)

If there are enough seats together on the same flight/s you will be able to use a mix of AA and Amex (transferred to BA) if needed.

But, as above, good to mention how many miles/points you have.

[gozalim]

BA doesn't charge an extra fuel surcharge for LAN flights and may not for AA flights if booked online (I'm not sure about AA, anyone with recent experience?)

recently booked AA to south america (direct from NY) using BA miles. didn't work online. on the phone they saw the fuel charge and said "that's a mistake" and gave me the ticket without fuel surcharge

[Dan]

recently booked AA to south america (direct from NY) using BA miles. didn't work online. on the phone they saw the fuel charge and said "that's a mistake" and gave me the ticket without fuel surcharge

Nice!
Definitely YMMV though.

[gozalim]

Nice!
Definitely YMMV though.

did it twice in one week on the same flight
didn't even have to ask
seems they know that it's a mistake

[Dan]

did it twice in one week on the same flight
didn't even have to ask
seems they know that it's a mistake

I seem to recall another poster here that spoke to managers and couldn't get the fuel surcharge taken off.

[aussiebochur]

I seem to recall another poster here that spoke to managers and couldn't get the fuel surcharge taken off.

http://www.dansdeals.com/forums/index.php?topic=3655.30
Starting from Reply 36.

[soso]

i have 88,000 aa miles (enough for 2 tickets i think) and over 200,000 amex  flying from west coast end of march

[Dan]

i have 88,000 aa miles (enough for 2 tickets i think) and over 200,000 amex  flying from west coast end of march

aa.com

[aussiebochur]

Seems like BA.com is bringing up LAX-xxx-EZE just fine. Taxes/fees are $66.50, same as AA.

[gozalim]

Seems like BA.com is bringing up LAX-xxx-EZE just fine. Taxes/fees are $66.50, same as AA.

at checkout you'll likely get an error, at which point you might need to call website support, who should book it over the phone for the same price
(maybe that's why i wasn't charged fuel surcharge; i spoke to the website support, not the booking line)

[Dan]

(maybe that's why i wasn't charged fuel surcharge; i spoke to the website support, not the booking line)

+1

[gozalim]

+1

so that would be our new BA solution?

[aussiebochur]

so that would be our new BA solution?

But you can't always get the flights to show up online...