Booking reward flights with AA

[ktate82]

DH and I are debating each getting an AAdvantage Aviator Red card for the bonus as he, 15 DD, 14 DS, and I are flying to Europe this fall. The points from the cards would cover two of us in Premium Economy, leaving two tickets to be purchased. If we do that, how does AA handle the four of us split up into three reservations? Can I use my points to book our daughter’s flight and put my son with me so he isn’t “unaccompanied”? Is there a better way to do that or does it not matter since we will pick seats? We are familiar with Southwest rewards, but AA is completely new to us.

 

[Propro]

I would contact American and talk to the AAdvantage group to find their rules. They'll probably need to book these for you. Since you have enough points for 2 of 4 travelers, I'd want the kids to get the award travel. Only the flights you pay for are eligible to accrue AAdvantage miles, so purchase the flights for you and DH so you get the miles credited to you, not your kids.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

You have to book points tickets separately from purchased tickets, so you would have two reservations. If you book you and your husband’s tickets using FF miles, then yes, you have the issue of your son technically being an unaccompanied minor. You need to call AA to book this and you should be able to avoid paying the unaccompanied minor fee. We had a similar situation flying with our minor grandson (United), and by booking with an agent, they made a note that our grandson would not be unaccompanied. Or you could use FF points for one adult and one child on reservation one, and pay for one adult and one child for reservation two.

 

[alliecat523]

Just went through this with AA. 15 year old can fly without the unaccompanied minor fee. If you’re paying cash for that ticket you can book online. If you want to book the 15 year old with miles, you have to call, or book with an adult ticket at the same time online.

The 14 year old would require the unaccompanied minor fee if booked alone without an adult So I would suggest booking one adult and one kid on miles and the other two on cash. You’re all on the same party so if you swap seats it’s no big deal.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I also suggest booking one adult with one kid. And be aware that AA awards are dynamically priced but in a sneaky way now. So their award chart says "Anytime Level 1, Anytime Level 2"- those are the starting prices in miles. I assume you've already checked your dates and saw availability? Just be ready to be flexible because it's impossible to know if those flights will still be available by the time you get hold of your miles.

Back to the actual question you asked! My reasoning on 1 adult per kid is ff something goes wrong and your flight goes IROPS (delayed, cancelled, etc.) 2 separate reservations are not guaranteed to be re-accommodated together. Mom and Dad flying out of Europe on alternate flight 1 and kids being put on alternate flight 2 the next day would be a very bad situation for you I'm guessing. I like to be better safe than sorry so I wouldn't risk that. As PP said if you all end up on the same aircraft as you plan you can switch seats.

 

[AngiTN]

I haven't done it with AA but with Delta. I had DH and I booked using a free companion ticket for DH an then needed to add DGD to one half of the flight. I was able to call and they booked DGD (11) for me and they tied it to our reservation so there was no UA fee. Basically they note it with "traveling with".

I suspect AA can do the same so you won't have to pay the fee even though you book them on their on reservation.

 

[kariyava]

I have done this a number of times. Buy the adult mileage tickets and then call aa to buy the kids’ ones and have all of your tickets linked up (you want that done in case the planes change and the seating assignments are moved around so you stay together).