Five common misconceptions that keep premium travelers from getting the best values for premium air travel between North and South America.
This story may sound like it’s meant for road warriors. That’s not the case. The insights and strategies offered are relevant to you if you fall into any of the following categories:
- Frequent or non-frequent travelers (whether you fly a lot or a little doesn’t matter)
- American Elite or non-American customers (whether you want to earn elite status credit or have never heard of elite-status credit)
- American Mileage Bank Members or non-members (you need not have a single AAdvantage mile today to use these methods) -Premium Travelers (Business or First Class)
- Upgrade Experts and novice upgraders (whether you’ve been an FCF member for 17 years or joined yesterday doesn’t matter)
- Whether you fly from the U.S. to South America or from South America to the U.S.
Valuing Miles
If you don’t think your miles have significant value, the algorithm changes. Run the numbers to see how that alters the equation for you. Valuing your miles at much less than their replacement cost presupposes that you are traveling because you have the miles—as opposed to using miles because you travel. Or, you generate miles at such a dirt- cheap price in mass (which a number of people do) which would require personalization of this formula.
For those who spend endless amounts of time earning every 500- and 1,000-mile bonus you can; it gets tricky and even more time-consuming to figure out the value of your time. This piece is for people who place a high value on their time in general, remember, yet the data can be used for any situation’s decision process.
The theme for this article is the same as the others in this series, and bears repeating: “It’s hard to free ourselves of Travel-World Dogma, the accumulation of assumptions, ideas, and beliefs that pile up in our minds like stuff in an attic. These notions congeal into frameworks that end up affecting our approach to air travel.”
[aside headline="The Upgrade Mindset Lesson"alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]
The Real Lesson: Try everything. A primary tenet of The Upgrade Mindset is to have as few preconceptions as possible.
Moreover, what was true yesterday may not be true today. What your friend told you may not apply to your personal situation. What many pop media outlets advocate is often ill-informed.
One thing is for sure when traveling on American to and from South America: It’s well worth paying more miles (25,000) for a First Class award seat, as I’ve always maintained that the difference between Business and First Class is similar to the difference between coach and Business.[/aside]
Consider Using Mileage Upgrades If You Are:
- An Elite Status Seeker: Someone who needs to earn elite credit. If you are an American elite, Upgrade Awards are the only way to go.
- A Business Traveler: When company or clients are paying for the base fare in economy, use American miles to upgrade.
- Short on Miles: Costing roughly half the miles, upgrades stretch your mileage bank and keep you in the mileage game longer. Yet don’t forget how to manufacture miles (mentioned above).
- Convenience Oriented: With up to 2,500% more inventory available, mileage upgrades can offer more access to non-stops and to more convenient schedules. American Partner Awards theoretically open up space with more airlines, but the space is still much more tightly controlled than upgrades and often requires more stops or less convenient schedules.
- That said: Partner Awards have their place, especially for non-elites, for free First Class seats on American partners British Airways and Cathay Pacific. The best use: When fares are very high, and for those of you who are very flexible, especially if you can fly on a moment’s notice (see FCF’s February issue for more on the Upgrade Two-Step).
[aside headline="Don’t Use Miles to Upgrade to South America When:" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]Premium published fares are very low, which is often the case if you book 50+ days in advance, and when there’s a minimum stay requirement (usually 10 days). An example of this is the current First Class EasyUp fare on American’s Miami-Buenos Aires route, which starts at $3,054 round-trip, including taxes, and requires a 50-day advance purchase and a 10-day minimum stay. (With the miles you’ll earn, the net cost could actually be $2,640.) The Business Class fare is $2,554, only a $500 difference, so pay cash for First and use your miles another day. (In this case, neither an upgrade nor an award ticket yields a great return on miles for First or Business Class.) First and Business Class EasyUp fares are intermittently available in the $2,500 to $3,500 range. Snag them when they come up.[/aside]
FCF’s goal with this series of articles on The Upgrade Mindset (see July issue on United to Europe, August issue on American to Asia, and September issue on United to Asia) is to expose and undo these frameworks. This month I examine, using hard data, the question, “Are American AAdvantage miles better used for free tickets or upgrades when flying to and from deep South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay)?”
I can’t possibly cover every travel scenario, but I can put the ammo in your upgrade arsenal that will give you the most firepower to make decisions more confidently.
Here are the most common misconceptions people have when using American miles on AA flights to and from South America.
Misconception #1
The Myth: You must have an American mileage account and a lot of miles to take advantage of mileage upgrade opportunities.
The Truth: Wrong. You do not need to be an AAdvantage member, today—or even know anything about the program or anything about mileage program strategies—to save on Business and First Class travel to South America, if you follow the guidelines here.
Why? Anyone can get American miles fast and easy by transferring points from Starwood, or by buying up to 60,000 miles annually—directly from American—in mere minutes.
Need more than 60,000 miles?
No problem: Open up multiple American accounts (it takes less than five minutes per account) in the names of friends, family members, or why not even your hairdresser? Yes— even your hairdresser, because you can use the miles you purchase with your credit card from their accounts (through American’s “gift AA miles” program) for your flights. Repeat: Your credit card—their miles—your flights. You’re manufacturing miles. Wait for sales or bonus miles promotions— which usually occur every other month or so—to lower the base rate (on AA, down to around 2.5¢ per mile).
Misconception #2
The Myth: The best way to use miles is for a free award ticket.
The Truth: When it comes to upgrading with miles to South America, most people see the co-pay ($700) and run for the Free Ticket Hills; this is usually the wrong move.
Side-by-Side: Upgrades vs. Free Tickets
As you can see from the chart below, an upgrade to Business Class often costs less than a free Business Class award ticket, once you put a dollar value on your miles.
Business Class Upgrade Award vs. Free Award, New York-Sao Paulo
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Misconception #3
The Myth: The odds of getting a free Business Class award ticket are the same as, or better than, an upgrade award on American.
The Truth: Usually wrong. On most routes, American releases many more Business Class upgrade awards than it does free awards.
Using miles for an upgrade based on two travelers gives you up to 2,100% more mileage seat inventory. (In fact, during a six-month span—April through September—only one day had free award space, while upgrades were available over half of the time. How many people realize this?)
Number of Days with Availability for Business Class Upgrade Awards vs. Free Awards: Miami-Santiago
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Misconception #4
The Myth: The odds of getting a free First Class award ticket are the same as, or better than, an upgrade award on American.
The Truth: Usually wrong. On most routes, American releases many more First Class mileage upgrades than it does free awards.
As you can see from the example in the chart below, using miles for an upgrade based on one traveler gives you up to 2,500% more days with availability.
What’s the biggest complaint about mileage awards? Availability. What’s the obvious Availability-Increaser at relatively the same cost? In two words: Upgrade Awards.
Number of Days with Availability for First Class Upgrades vs. Free Awards: Miami-Sao Paulo
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[aside headline="American Airlines’ Free Award or Upgrade Award: For FCF Subscribers Who Live Abroad (or in U.S. Cities Not in Examples)" alignment="alignright" width="half" headline_size="default"]No matter where seasoned travelers live, they often don’t know whether an upgrade or an award is more valuable. The article’s side-by-side comparison of an upgrade versus a free ticket on Miami-Sao Paulo also holds true for Sao Paulo-Miami.[/aside]
Misconception #5
The Myth: AA’s co-pay (cash surcharge) makes upgrading on American flights to South America too expensive.
The Truth: Wrong. You do not need to use AA miles and pay a co-pay for an upgrade on AA’s lowest economy fares. Through AA’s partner, Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles), American flights can be upgraded on almost any economy fare—and Asia Miles doesn’t have a co-pay.
So what is the trade-off? It takes more miles, at times, because Asia Miles is a flight distance program, meaning miles needed are calculated based on the miles flown.
American charges 50,000 miles round-trip to deep South America (plus a $700 co-pay) for an upgrade from economy to Business Class, while Asia Miles charges 50,000 to 70,000 miles. For example, Miami-Sao Paulo is 50,000 on AA, while JFK-Buenos Aires is 70,000 miles if booked through Asia Miles. So, if you have Starwood or Amex Rewards points, many of you can benefit by using Asia Miles to avoid the $700 co-pay on AA.
To upgrade from Business to First Class, AA also charges 50,000 miles round-trip and an $1,100 co-pay, while Asia Miles charges 60,000 to 85,000 miles. But if you figure in the Starwood transfer bonus, the difference is only 10,000 to 30,000 miles, and you save $1,100. Your call.