Any trick to avoid last minute AA booking fee?

LearnMS

Level 2 Member
Hello all,

Just in few hours from now, I plan to book a last minute AA international award tix for 2 in either economy, biz or first, whichever is available.

I know some blogs dealt with trick to avoid booking fee for United, but I haven't see any for AA award tickets. Is there any tip or should I eat $150 booking fee for 2 persons?

Thanks!!
 

AnyNameYouWish

Level 2 Member
I looked all over a few months ago and couldn't find one. The old one was closed up (book out late and change to closer date). I'd love to learn about one if someone has better info.

I have no idea how much of a discount you can get on AA gift cards but I'd at least check it out. $150 hurts way more than just $75.
 

LearnMS

Level 2 Member
I looked all over a few months ago and couldn't find one. The old one was closed up (book out late and change to closer date). I'd love to learn about one if someone has better info.

I have no idea how much of a discount you can get on AA gift cards but I'd at least check it out. $150 hurts way more than just $75.
no luck! one has o eat $75 pp.
 

FlyerDad

Level 2 Member
Better late than never . . . if you book through American Express using MR points (instead of AA miles), the booking fee is only $39 (and changes are also only $39).
 

bspoke

New Member
Better late than never . . . if you book through American Express using MR points (instead of AA miles), the booking fee is only $39 (and changes are also only $39).
The cash fares last minute are also likely to be inflated, so you'll need to take that into consideration. You likely will end up spending more with this method. If there's no connections, you may want to use BA to avoid the fee. Otherwise you could use Alaska. The problem is that AA has been stingy with award space, so most of my recent bookings were using married segments and then dropping legs to get the actually itinerary I want. This isn't possible using AS or BA miles.
 
Top