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In general, search on AA.com for award availability.

BA
If you want to book a flight with Avios, it is known from Dan's Knowledgebase that BA.com doesn't show availability very well, but some flights definitely are searchable there. Nonetheless, it's easier to just search AA.com, and if you find a MileSAAver availability, check BA.com to see if it shows up there, too. If it does, book it there. If it doesn't, you can always call up BA and reference the flight you found. Note that there is usually a very long hold time before BA picks up, and they will charge a phone booking fee. If the flight was unsearchable on BA.com, try fighting that fee, but YMMV.

IB
IB availability will not show up on AA.com You can call AA to find IB availability, but it's hard without being able to browse dates and have to ask the rep to check flights over the phone. Searching on Qantas.com will show IB flights - supposedly if they appear there, they can then be booked by calling AA.

OneWorld Explorer [OWE] The OWE has officially been cancelled [4/8/14] as part of the latest AA no-warning changing to its award program. Here's what the OWE looked like:
This is an around-the-world [RTW] award that is calculated not by the mileage cost of specific flights, but rather by the actual distance travelled on your trip. It is especially valuable for flying business class, as the difference in miles needed between coach and business is not very great on longer trips. See this chart to see the different tiers of how many miles it costs to travel different distances. You can take up to 16 segments on a trip, but there are MANY rules to follow when booking such an award.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time when planning this trip. (Personally [@Yehuda], it took 2 months with a few weeks of break in the middle from frustration.) Availability changes everyday, so you need to constantly check back to see if flights you needed are now available. It will also likely require changing your itinerary/order of stops numerous times. An itinerary can be held for 5 days (and can be extended past that on Day 5, if they are willing to rebook each flight for you, getting you another 5 days), but itineraries with IB flights can usually only be held for 24 hours. You will find that you will have to use hub airports since you're limited to OW partners. You will not find a flight from CDG-FCO without either stopping off in LON or MAD - both of which are out of the way. It's unfortunate, as it adds unnecessary distance miles to your trip, but it can be done. Remember that BA flights have high YQ, IB/AB have semi-high YQ, US/AA have very little YQ. (Unsure about other airlines, as my trip was TLV-Europe-NYC, so those were the only airline I had to work with.) You should check flight availability, again, on AA.com but the ticket must be booked on the phone (and they will charge a $25 phone booking fee, but again, try to fight it since this ticket cannot be booked online - although, honestly, by the time you've ticketed, they will likely have helped you out with much more than $25 worth of time). Technically, you can book it with any OW partner, but the odds are you probably only have enough AA miles to book this trip. AA reps definitely know about this award, although most have never booked it before. You will find that after calling so many times, you'll know more about the rules than they do. Once you have your perfect itinerary, they will have to send it to their rate desk to price it out. This can take ~24 hours. Because it takes time, if you have IB flights on the itinerary, they will make sure IB allows the flights to be held for longer than 24 hours, but confirm this with the rep before you hang up. Once it's priced out, you can pay for it. You can use 2 or more AA accounts to pay for it, but they will require each account to have enough miles to pay for 1 ticket. (e.g. If it costs 80K pax and you have 2 pax, they won't ask you to have 1 account with 160K in it, but they will require 2 accounts with at least 80K in each.)

Feel free to contact @Yehuda with any questions regarding the OWE.

« Last edited by AJK on July 27, 2014, 04:45:43 PM »

Author Topic: One World Award Search Tips  (Read 589540 times)

Offline meshugener

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #120 on: February 25, 2014, 01:45:06 PM »
excuse me
what makes you so sure?  do you speak from experience?  Qantas shoes BA flights most days on the month in march for example.  BA avios does not have honor them.  AB award flights do not have to be released in the same capacity to BA and Qantas.
I don't understand you logic.
You come here ask questions from people more experienced than you. Comes a helpful knowledgeable DDFer and helps you. Now you don't trust him?
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Offline davidd75

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #121 on: February 25, 2014, 02:06:55 PM »
I don't understand you logic.
You come here ask questions from people more experienced than you. Comes a helpful knowledgeable DDFer and helps you. Now you don't trust him?

Maybe tell me where I am going wrong. 
 I am speaking from experience.    I have called BA multiple times and they see the flights but tell me they don't have to honor other programs award flights.  If I argued without a basis you have a point. 

Maybe all the agents are wrong; that has happened before but if you search AA or Qantas there are plenty of of AB flights that appear but they do not appear on BA.  Then I call BA and they said no award availability.  I dont understand why we are assuming BA has to honor all other program's AB award flights.  How can we make BA honor these flights? that sounds difficult.  Please let me know what I am missing
if you had a experience please let me know.

Offline ilherman

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #122 on: February 25, 2014, 02:08:52 PM »
I don't understand you logic.
You come here ask questions from people more experienced than you. Comes a helpful knowledgeable DDFer and helps you. Now you don't trust him?
Valid point..... But is it an unheard of thing that a Airline releases some award availability to one partner and not to another?
You can say what you think when you think what you say.

Offline ilherman

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #123 on: February 25, 2014, 02:41:39 PM »
Interesting... Check NYC-CUN for March 7, on AA there is NO sAAver availability, and on BA there is 1 business seat available!!!
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Offline AJK

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #124 on: February 25, 2014, 03:27:50 PM »


2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline ilherman

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #125 on: February 25, 2014, 03:35:13 PM »
Now we need a Lawyer to explain what's going on.......
You can say what you think when you think what you say.

Offline AJK

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #126 on: February 25, 2014, 03:39:15 PM »
Just checked again. I see nothing.

Can you book it?

Anyone else see this business class flight as available?
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline DBK

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #127 on: February 25, 2014, 04:02:23 PM »
Just checked again. I see nothing.

Can you book it?

Anyone else see this business class flight as available?
Just checked no business availability for that day.

Offline AJK

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #128 on: February 25, 2014, 04:02:57 PM »
Now we need a Lawyer to explain what's going on.......

Looks like we need a meshugener chassid to explain.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline meshugener

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #129 on: February 25, 2014, 04:28:03 PM »
Maybe tell me where I am going wrong. 
 I am speaking from experience.    I have called BA multiple times and they see the flights but tell me they don't have to honor other programs award flights.  If I argued without a basis you have a point. 

Maybe all the agents are wrong; that has happened before but if you search AA or Qantas there are plenty of of AB flights that appear but they do not appear on BA.  Then I call BA and they said no award availability.  I dont understand why we are assuming BA has to honor all other program's AB award flights.  How can we make BA honor these flights? that sounds difficult.  Please let me know what I am missing
if you had a experience please let me know.
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Offline meshugener

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #130 on: February 25, 2014, 04:29:15 PM »
Looks like we need a meshugener chassid to explain.
Stop with your racism before I call the police.
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Offline davidd75

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #131 on: February 25, 2014, 04:29:52 PM »
Valid point..... But is it an unheard of thing that a Airline releases some award availability to one partner and not to another?
+1
why are we assuming award flight capacities are released equally to all partner airlines? could be many reasons why not. 
Anybody have any link/proof that award flights are released equally?  Any simple search of AB flights on BA vr QY or AA  will show they are not. 

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #132 on: February 25, 2014, 04:30:11 PM »
Stop with your racism before I call the police.
+1
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Offline Dr Moose

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #133 on: February 25, 2014, 04:42:33 PM »
CMIIW, isn't LX F only bookable with LH ( or something like that) ?
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Offline AJK

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #134 on: February 25, 2014, 04:43:48 PM »
Wrong thread.

But, LX F isn't bookable by anyone except M&M Elites.
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Offline meshugener

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #135 on: February 25, 2014, 04:43:55 PM »
CMIIW, isn't LX F only bookable with LH ( or something like that) ?
Even LH miles (aka Miles & More) won't help you unless you have status.
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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #136 on: February 25, 2014, 04:44:26 PM »
CMIIW, isn't LX F only bookable with LH ( or something like that) ?
Same mileage program.

why are we assuming award flight capacities are released equally to all partner airlines?
Because they are.  Each airline's own system limitations and blockings notwithstanding.
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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #137 on: February 25, 2014, 04:50:16 PM »
Wrong thread.

But, LX F isn't bookable by anyone except M&M Elites.
i was trying to prove that its possible that an airline only releases to a specific airline. but ...

Same mileage program.
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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #138 on: February 25, 2014, 04:59:29 PM »
CMIIW, isn't LX F only bookable with LH ( or something like that) ?
What is LX F? and LH?

Offline chucksterace

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Re: One World Award Search Tips
« Reply #139 on: February 25, 2014, 05:14:19 PM »

What is LX F? and LH?

Oy oy oy

LX-Swiss  LH-Lufthansa. F-First
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