Hello all,
I am curious to know when/how far in advance AA makes mileage redemption available. I am trying to book a multi-city flight from the US to Europe with a departure in May and a return in June. When I go to the website, enter my dates, and click the 'redeem miles' button, I get an 'We didn't find a match. Please choose different search options.' message. When I unclick the redeem button, all the usual options are displayed. I just chatted with an agent and tried to ask my question in several ways, but they wouldn't/couldn't be specific. They indicated I should wait until February to book. I am wondering what your experience is booking flights on AA with miles. Is there a window that they open up reservations to mileage redemption? I usually book 3 months out, so perhaps I just need to wait. Any insights are most appreciated.
Posted by
168 posts
I think your problem is using the multi-city feature. Book one way tickets when redeeming an award.
Posted by
OP
North Carolina, USA
482 posts
I don't think so, or at least I was able to do exactly what i am attempting to do this year.
Posted by
TX, USA
5875 posts
There are others more experienced than me with this, but I generally book a miles ticket as soon as it is possible - 331 days out. That being said, I haven’t found a pattern to release although I am sure the computer algorithm has one. I have also found good redemptions kind of last minute. It’s the mid-range that is difficult.
That said, I just found a good miles ticket home from Europe for 6 months from now. But I always keep my eyes open for a good deal on miles in business - and those seem to be more findable early. Another tip - I almost always book one ways when booking with miles. I found a great return ticket on miles months ago (different trip) and then later booked a very cheap one way ticket there in cash. Plus you often need to be flexible on dates. Just keep looking.
Edit to add: I almost exclusively use AA.
Posted by
Freedonia
18416 posts
There is no rule. The computers predict demand on certain flights and then allocate Award tickets. This can change at any time.
I've tried to get award tickets months in advance and saw none. I've also tried to get award tickets two weeks out and didn't have a problem.
The only suggestion I can make is keep trying. At some point you'll have to decide but i's a long way until May. I rarely get any tickets more than three months out--award or paying.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
7607 posts
There are indeed rules - at least some rules. But they are complicated - different rules apply for different cases. And there are multiple factors in play (some of which may require a pretty deep knowledge of multiple airline systems, each of which has it's own mysteries and complexities). So it can appear that things are completely wild and random everywhere. They are not - at least, not all of it.
If you are booking using the AA website, you will never see anything become available to book more than 331 days out (that applies for tickets you pay for with cash or with AA miles). That's a pretty reliable rule. Beyond that...there are many other "rules", some of which are easier to predict accurately, others which may typically follow generally-predictable patterns, but which also have some degree of variation (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot). Many of the generally-predictable-patterns-with-variations also apply to the price of tickets bought with money rather than miles.
This complexity and lack of predictability is actually a feature, not a bug (that is, it's generally intentional - and that can benefit you or frustrate you, depending on circumstances).
I do agree that simply searching one-way flights (rather than searching multi-city itineraries) is generally a more effective strategy. It certainly helps manage the complexity.
Don't waste your time asking airline customer service agents anything about this subject. None of them know a damn thing about it, they only read scripts (and the people who write their scripts know nothing about it either). Airline customer service agents are notorious for making up nonsense and telling lies. Not because they are stupid or evil, but because it's not their job to know such things, it's their job to process customer questions and move on as quickly as they can to the next caller.
Finally, AA's search engine is horribly broken, and often just throws up it's hands and produces the lame error message you saw. Try the same search a few hours later, the results may be different.
The best time to find deals for award flights are in the days just before flight departure. But that requires flexibility that most of us don't have - playing Russian Roulette with your trip plans. One strategy that may work well enough: book something 10 or 11 months ahead that you can live with. As your trip date approaches, check to see if there are other options much cheaper - they often begin to dump cheap award space about a week before the flight. Book that if you can, then quickly cancel your original booking for a full refund. But it requires some chutzpah.
Posted by
Solana Beach
151 posts
TexasTravelMom,
If you don't mind elaborating, how have you found deals for the flights in business using miles?
Do you just check random dates?
I have some flexibility in my travel so, I might be able to make something work.
Thank you!
Posted by
37 posts
Hi. You may want to call AA and see if the agent can book it for you. On AF, I have found that they need to book multi city.